Apple Cider @vmburns #recipe

 VMBurns: I keep the thermostat in my house about two degrees above the morgue (menopause is no joke). So, when its cold outside (Mother Nature has been a bit schizophrenic with the weather lately), I like a hot beverage to warm my insides. Normally, a good cup of coffee or tea are my jam when it comes to hot beverages. However, I have to limit both if I want to sleep (getting old is no joke either). During the Christmas holiday, I decided to try my hand at apple cider. That's a great choice because its super easy and can be consumed warm or cold. Plus, there's the added benefit that when you make it, your house will smell heavenly. 

The types of apples you use will determine how tart or sweet your cider is. My favorite apples are Honey Crisp, which are sweet. However, you can use whatever type of apples you have on hand. If you use a tart apple, like a granny smith, then you may want to increase the amount of sugar. Or not. It's completely up to you. I also have combined Honey Crisp with Red Delicious apples. Both were sweet, so I didn't notice a big difference in the taste. This is an easy recipe to play around with and tweak. You can add oranges, star anise, cloves, cranberries, etc. You can also make this in a crock pot. It's so easy and versatile, but the taste is awesome.

APPLE CIDER

INGREDIENTS

8-10 Medium sized apples

1/2 Cup brown sugar

4-5 Cinnamon sticks

1 Tablespoon Allspice

1/2 Tablespoon Nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the apples into quarters and put into a large stock pot and cover with water. The apples will float, so add enough water so that there's at least 2 inches of water over the apples, if you were to push down.  
   
   
   
2. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg and bring to a boil for one hour.
   
   
3. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
   
4. Strain through a cheesecloth or mesh sieve (I used both). Discard the solids and strain once more. Although, I don't mind a few apple bits in my cider.
   
5. Serve warm. Or refrigerator and serve cold. It's yummy either way.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

READERS: What's your favorite hot beverage? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Or, something else. Let me know in the comments. 




Mystery Series by Valerie (V. M.) Burns

































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Apple Cider Chai Spice Bundt Cake #recipe by Mia P. Manansala @MPMtheWriter

This cake is simple, delicious, and a cold weather fave. Not only does it combine two of my favorite drinks (apple cider and chai), but it looks and tastes like a giant apple cider donut! There are still a few tweaks I’d like to try to up the apple cider flavor (maybe double the cider and boil to reduce to a syrup and concentrate the flavor? Add an apple cider glaze instead of the cinnamon sugar coating? Both?) and I think creating my own chai spice mix would be better than the jarred mix I used, but if you want a fairly impressive dessert without a lot of fuss, you should definitely give this a try!

Apple Cider Chai Spice Bundt Cake

Apple Cider Chai Spice Bundt Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 TBSP chai spice mix or pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 TBSP baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable or coconut oil
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup apple cider
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the cinnamon sugar coating:

• 1/4 cup (half a stick) melted butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon OR chai/pumpkin pie spice mix

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray and then dust with flour or use Baker’s Joy (my preference). Set aside.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, spice mix, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar and oil. Mix to combine.
4. Add the eggs to the sugar mixture and mix on medium speed for about two minutes.
5. Add the applesauce and vanilla. Mix to combine.
6. With the mixer on low, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by half of the apple cider. Continue alternating the flour mixture and the apple cider, finishing with the flour mixture. Mix until no streaks of flour remain.
7. Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for about 50 minutes. The cake is done when a knife or chopstick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it, but no batter.
8. Let the cake cool for at least an hour in the bundt pan before turning it over onto a cake plate or cooling rack.
9. Using a pastry brush, coat the cake in melted butter.
10. Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the coating and then sprinkle onto the top and sides of the cake.
11. Enjoy with a steaming cup of tea or a nice hot cider!

Mix the sugars and oil thoroughly, then add the eggs and mix until combined. Add applesauce and vanilla extract and mix for about two minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture.

With the mixer still on low, add half the apple cider. Alternate adding the remaining flour and apple cider, finishing with the last third of the flour.

Once the cake batter is fully mixed, with no large clumps of flour, add to the prepared bundt pan and bake in a 325 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 50 minutes. Check with a thin knife or chopstick--it's done when there's only a few moist crumbs on the utensil.

Let the cake cool for at least an hour, then flip out onto a plate. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and melt the butter for the coating.

Use a pastry brush to coat the whole cake with melted butter. Use all of the butter even though it seems like a lot at first!

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar all over. You might want to put your cake plate on top of an easy to clean surface since this part can get messy.

Enjoy!

My family isn't very big on pie, but they really enjoyed this cake on Thanksgiving! It'd make a great addition to any gathering, no matter what holidays you celebrate. Where do you fall in the Cake vs. Pie argument? Let me know in the comments!

If you liked this recipe, make sure you sign up for my newsletter! I include a Filipino-themed recipe every month, as well as giveaways and book recommendations!

 

Homicide and Halo-Halo (February 8, 2022)

Death at a beauty pageant turns Tita Rosie’s Kitchen upside down in the latest entry of this witty and humorous cozy mystery series by Mia P. Manansala.

 

Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent despite the attention of two very eligible bachelors. Or her professional life, since she can’t bring herself to open her new café after the unpleasantness that occurred a few months ago at her aunt’s Filipino restaurant, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.

 

To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila’s little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago—a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case—because it looks like one of them might be next.

Pre-Order

 

Pre-order from Murder by the Book and get a signed bookplate, sticker, and bookmark!

Apple Cidertini from @MaddieDayAuthor plus #giveaway

MADDIE: Well, Thanksgiving is over. I hope you all had a delicious, cozy, and safe feast yesterday. That said, if family has departed, you might want a nice adult beverage to relax (collapse?) on the couch with as you curl up with a cozy mystery, and you might have some apple cider still in the fridge. 

In Murder at the Lobstah Shack - which releases Tuesday, squee! - Mac Almeida's boyfriend Tim makes a delicious Cidertini for her one evening. I thought it would be a perfect time to let you all in on the recipe!

Apple Cidertini

I was out of apple brandy, and regular brandy was fine.

For one serving:

1/2 cup apple cider

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce apple brandy

Cinnamon stick to stir

Apple slice for garnish

Directions

Combine cider and liquors. Shake over ice and serve in a pretty glass, or just pour over ice in a Manhattan glass. Enjoy!

Readers: What's your favorite holiday or post-holiday drink? I'll send one commenter a signed copy of the brand-new book!

Please join me and others in a Kensington Authors' party on Facebook on the evening of 30 November!

And on December first, my good friend author Ellen Byron and I are going to present the virtual Edith and Ellen show, hosted by Belmont Books, with chat, prizes, and lots of laughter. I hope you'll register for it!

My most recent release is Country Store Mystery #9. No Grater Crime came out in August!

Murder at the Lobstah Shack, the third Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, is up for preorder and releases at the end of November.

The next up is Batter Off Dead, Country Store Mystery #10, to release in February 2022.

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.