White Chocolate Candied Orange Biscotti #Recipe by @LibbyKlein #Gluten-free

 Libby Klein Happy New Year! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. You know I love my biscotti with coffee. I'm not beyond cookies for breakfast. Especially if I can dip them in my morning Yirgacheffe. I'm also a big fan of melty white chocolate. It makes the coffee so nice and creamy. These biscotti are nice and crisp without being too tough. Even biscotti skeptics will be hard-pressed to find a complaint with these. The candied orange and white chocolate pair lovely together and remind me of the white mocha valencia I used to get back in the Starbucks early days. I used an extract called Fiori di Sicilia which is like an orange vanilla. I bought mine from a pastry supply store, but King Arthur flour sells it now. If you don't have it, don't worry. A combination or vanilla and orange extracts work just fine.

Let me know in the comments, what is your favorite pairing with your morning coffee or tea?

Gluten-Free White Chocolate Candied Orange Biscotti

Yield 28 biscotti

Ingredients

12 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon Fiori di Sicilia or orange extract

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 large eggs

4 cups gluten-free flour

1 cup candied orange, finely diced

2 cups white chocolate chips - divided

 

 Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, and extracts until well combined and creamy.

Add the eggs and beat them into the batter until well mixed.

Add the gluten-free flour and the baking powder and beat in until just combined.

Fold in the candied oranges and white chocolate chips.

Turn the dough out onto a prepared baking sheet and form into a flat log. (Dust your hands with flour or use another piece of parchment paper on top - the dough is a bit sticky!)

Form log into a rectangle shape that is roughly the size you want the biscotti to be. The dough will spread a little.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. In the meantime, reduce the heat to 325°F.

Using a serrated edge knife, slice into 3/4" slices across the width of the log.

Place slices back onto baking sheet cut side down. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. Carefully turn the cookies over and bake for another 15 minutes or until the biscotti feel lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and allow biscotti to cool completely.

For the white chocolate drizzle: Place the remaining 1 cup white chocolate morsels in microwave safe bowl or cup. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat once or twice more, as needed, to almost fully melt the white chocolate. The heat of it will continue melting. Stir until smooth.

Once cooled slightly, place melted white chocolate in a zip-top bag. Cut off the lower tip – small-  and "pipe" the chocolate over each cookie. Allow to completely cool and harden before storing.

Poppy McAllister discovers that gluten-free Halloweens can scare up another case of murder in the latest installment of this delightful culinary B&B mystery series! - 

Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be . . .
 
While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can’t stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu. And now she has bigger worries than getting her house TP’d . . . 
Includes Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!
 

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her

classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/

 

 

Strawberry White Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe by Mia P. Manansala @MPMtheWriter

Hey everyone! I'm back again with another recipe that combines my husband's love of strawberries and white chocolate (recipes for truffles here and fudge here), but this time in cookie form. This was the other dessert I made for his birthday BBQ a few weeks ago and they were super popular! Even my mom, who doesn't like fruit (I know, I don't understand it either), loved these cookies. Since they use freeze dried strawberry powder rather than extract, they're bursting with a fresh strawberry flavor that's smoothed out by the sweetness of the white chocolate chips. My family and friends really enjoyed them, and I hope you do too!

Strawberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies in a glass bowl

Strawberry white chocolate chip cookies  recipe

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar 
• 11 oz bag of white chocolate chips 
• 6 TBSP freeze-dried strawberry powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• ¼ tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until combined. 
2. Add eggs and vanilla extract then mix until smooth. 
3. Add strawberry powder, flour, baking powder, and cream of tartar and mix until just combined.
4. Mix in the white chocolate chips.
5. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour to overnight. (optional)
6. Scoop dough (I use the medium-sized OXO cookie scoop) and place on lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
7. Let cool slightly before removing from the baking sheets.
8. Enjoy!

Cast of characters: eggs, flour, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, cream of tartar, butter, baking powder, freeze dried strawberry powder, bag of white chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until fully combined.

Mix in the strawberry powder, flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar until just combined.

Mix in the white chocolate chips.

Chill for at least an hour, then scoop onto lined baking sheets and bake in a 350 F oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from baking sheets.

Enjoy!

I'll be at Bouchercon starting today, so I hope to see some of you there! My debut novel, ARSENIC AND ADOBO, is nominated for an Anthony Award for Best First Novel, so fingers crossed!

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!

Blackmail and Bibingka (October 4, 2022)

When her long-lost cousin comes back to town just in time for the holidays, Lila Macapagal knows that big trouble can’t be far behind in this new mystery by Mia P. Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo.

It’s Christmastime in Shady Palms, but things are far from jolly for Lila Macapagal. Sure, her new business, the Brew-ha Cafe, is looking to turn a profit in its first year. And yes, she’s taken the first step in a new romance with her good friend Jae Park. But her cousin Ronnie is back in town after ghosting the family fifteen years ago, claiming that his recent purchase of a local winery shows that he’s back on his feet and ready to contribute to the Shady Palms community. Tita Rosie is thrilled with the return of her prodigal son, but Lila knows that wherever Ronnie goes, trouble follows.

She’s soon proven right when Ronnie is suspected of murder, and secrets surrounding her shady cousin and those involved with the winery start piling up. Now Lila has to put away years of resentment and distrust to prove her cousin’s innocence. He may be a jerk, but he’s still family. And there’s no way her flesh and blood could actually be a murderer . . . right?

Pre-order from The Book Table or Centuries & Sleuths for signed, personalized copies!

White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Cookies #Recipe @PegCochran

 

This delicious recipe comes from Mary Matthews of Michigan who let me use it in my sixth Cranberry Cove book, Berried Motives.

 These cookies are to die for.  I wasn't sure about the white chocolate since I am generally not a fan, but it works perfectly in this recipe.  And with the bright red from the cranberries, I think these cookies would be festive enough for Christmas!

Ingredients:

 

3 cups all purpose, unsifted flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Two 4-ounce white chocolate baking bars

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 extra large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Place the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl. Using a spoon or whisk, blend the dry ingredients together and set aside.

 

Break or chop the white chocolate baking bars (using a serrated knife) into chunks onto a sheet of parchment paper.  Slide the chocolate off the paper and into the flour mixture.

 

 

 

Add the dried cranberries and chopped chocolate to the flour mixture and lightly mix the ingredients until all cranberries and chocolate are coated with flour. Set aside. 

 

Cream butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Add orange extract, eggs, and vanilla, and beat well.

 

 

 

Add the flour and cranberry/chocolate mixture to the butter, sugar and egg mixture and blend using a wooden spoon or stiff spatula. If dough appears too dry, add 1 tablespoon milk.

 

Either drop by spoonfuls, or lightly roll the dough into a rounded ball shape and place on an ungreased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

 

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. The size of the cookies will determine baking times.   Larger cookies may need an additional 2 to 3 minutes.    

 

 

And speaking of Cranberries...have you gotten your copy of Berried Motives yet?

 

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

"Recipes, well developed characters and a solid whodunit. It doesn’t get better than that!" Amazon Reviewer

 

An ambitious TV personality takes a star turn in murder in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!

With the cranberry farm in full harvest mode, Monica is thrilled to learn that they’ll be the featured guests on a local TV news show. Certain the exposure will give her bakery products and the farm’s store a welcome boost, she’s also nervous about how she’ll come across on-screen. But her real worries begin when the show’s ruthless star is found bludgeoned to death on a side road of the farm—and Monica’s own brother heads up the list of suspects.

Launching an investigation to find the real killer and clear her brother, Monica discovers there was no love lost between the victim and those closest to her. From the dead woman’s husband, a calculating politician with his sights set on more lucrative pastures, to the timid cameraperson she repeatedly bullied, there’s no shortage of suspects or motives. And when Monica unearths a compromising secret that turns the spotlight on one of them, she suddenly realizes the solution has been staring her in the face. As she closes in on the killer, she’ll need sharp wits and steely nerves to avoid taking her final bow . . .

Includes tasty recipes!

 

And for a quick trip to England--Murder in the Margins!

 

 Amazon

Barnes & Noble

 

Decadent Chocolate Almond Cookies

A couple of weeks ago I took on the challenge of making a chocolate peppermint ice cream pie (there’s none left!).

At the end of that recipe I mentioned the idea of playing with the chocolate crust (which is both easy to make and tasty). And I couldn’t forget the idea of doing something different with it.

But what? I started exploring my crowded pantry closet to see what I had to work with. Hmm, almond paste, chopped almonds, white chocolate chips, chocolate nibs . . . Voila, I have invented a new cookie! (No, I did not go hunting in my cookbooks.)

The ingredients for the bottom crust are the same as for the earlier pie, save that I added half a cup on the finely chopped almonds to give the bottom layer a bit of crunch.

First Layer (the crust):

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tblsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tblsp sugar

½ cup finely chopped blanched almonds

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 Tblsp vegetable shortening (like Crisco)

1 large egg yolk

2-3 Tblsp ice water

Instructions:

In a food processor, combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, chopped almonds and salt and blend. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture looks like large crumbs (a few seconds).

Add the egg yolk and ice water and pulse until the dough forms a ball.

On a lightly floured board, flatten the dough then roll out into a round disk about 1/4 inch thick. (This is really easy to roll out!)

I’ve been collecting baking tins for years. For this recipe, I chose a muffin tin (more or less) with room for 12 cakes/cookies. After rolling the dough I cut 12 circles, which would fit neatly in the muffin cups. 

I oiled the cups of the pan and pressed the dough into it. Then I baked this layer in a 350-degree preheated oven for about 5 minutes—just enough to firm it up.

Now on to the new part!

The second layer is pure marzipan. I rolled it out thinly, then cut circles only slightly smaller than the chocolate circles, and pressed them over the chocolate.

Third layer: white chocolate chips, scattered randomly over the top in a single layer.

Fourth layer: small chocolate nibs (I couldn’t even remember why I had those), scattered over the white chocolate (not too thickly).

Then I returned the cookies to the already-heated oven and baked for another 5-10 minutes. The chips should turn a little brown, but not too much, and the bottom crust will remain a bit chewy.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool partially before removing the cookies from the pan and letting them cool on a wire rack. Use a slender spatula and they come out easily.

Definitely decadent!

Granola Cookies

by Sheila Connolly

Recently I visited my local supermarket and came upon a not-young couple offering free samples of their locally made granola. They were parked at a card table between the vegetable and fish sections, a rather unlikely place for any food giveaway, much less a breakfast/snack one, but at least they got a lot of foot traffic there. I’m not much of a cereal eater, much less granola, but as a writer who has spent a lot of time sitting in unlikely places doing book signings (or hoping to have anyone at all ask for a signing), I felt compelled to stop and chat. And taste, of course.

It was good stuff, I have to say. The couple operate their Golden Girl Granola business out of Carlisle, MA, their hometown, and started small, working in their kitchen and selling at local farmers’ markets. Now they have a commercial kitchen not far away, but they still hand-stir the granolas, and they make a range of flavors. My husband favored the “Creative Cranberry” while I opted for the “Forest Maple.” We bought one of each.

Our purchase came with a mini-cookbook, so of course I went straight for the desserts (although they did include some savory recipes), specifically cookies. I was going to make their Cranberry Cookies, but my husband ate all of that flavor before I could get around to baking, so I used the Forest Maple instead (which tastes very maple-y, not artificial), and threw in a few dried cranberries. It turned out to be a nice combination. In fact, the cookies are kind of addictive.

Maple (Cranberry) Granola Cookies

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups granola (whichever flavor you like)

1 cup white chocolate chips

(1 cup dried cranberries)

                            

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two baking sheets.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and orange zest.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended.

Stir in the granola and white chocolate chips (and cranberries, if you’re using them).

Drop by spoonfuls onto the baking sheets and bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for a few minutes (if you try to remove them from the pan too soon, they fall apart). When cool enough to handle, remove the cookies to a rack and finish cooling.

Makes 3 dozen. Watch how quickly they disappear!

An Early Wake, arriving in one month! 

My protagonist Maura Donovan does not cook (hard to believe, isn't it?), but I'm thinking of sending her young employee Rose Sweeney to a local cooking school--there are some good ones in the area, and the local products are outstanding (believe me, I've sampled them).  

Do you think Rose should learn to cook?

Peppermint White Chocolate Popcorn AKA the Easiest Holiday Treat Ever!

We at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen are delighted to welcome guest Paige Shelton, who gives us a wonderful (and easy!) holiday treat!

Necessity being the mother of invention and all, this quick and easy treat was first whipped up one late afternoon after my husband mentioned that he’d offered to take something to a holiday party we were to attend about one hour later. Dropping by the grocery store on the way was an option, but I thought I’d give the pantry a quick look. The popcorn box fell as I opened the door, so I took it as a sign. Well, two signs – however, I ignored the “pantry needs cleaning out” sign.

I picked up the box, started rummaging around some more and gathered the peppermint extract. Then I got lucky and found two bars of white chocolate (I think holiday elves must have put them there to help me out – it is rare and unusual that I would have such a thing hanging around), and got to work.

The best popcorn for this recipe is the Homestyle variety, which means it has only a smattering of butter. No Movie Theater here. You can also pop it yourself in a popper or saucepan on the stove and leave out the butter, but I was in way too much of a hurry the first time I made it - microwaved had to do and it worked well. 

Pop two bags and dump the popcorn into a bowl. I add another ¼ or so teaspoon of salt because that salty/sweet combination is one of my favorites, and I really like to notice the salty part.

Melt the white chocolate in a bowl in the microwave per the melting instructions and then mix ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract into the melted goodness. Pour over the popcorn. It’s pretty important to try to pour evenly – don’t just dump it in and then toss. Try to stir the popcorn while pouring and then do some extra tossing. And, when you’re stirring and tossing, keep the utensils close to the bowl sides and bottom when you first go in – fewer broken pieces that way.

When I made it for the party, I just poured it into a bowl after coating it and took along. Even though the white chocolate hadn’t had time to solidify all the way it wasn’t gooey, and the popcorn was gobbled up quickly. Other times I’ve made it, I’ve spread it out on a baking sheet and let the coating harden up before serving it.  Additionally, I’ve tried adding little pieces of peppermint candy, but I like it better without the candy. It keeps the texture consistent.

 

 

 

See, easiest ever, huh?

Thanks to Mystery Lovers Kitchen for letting me drop by today. Hope everyone has a delicious and happy and safe holiday season.

Paige

 

Paige Shelton is the author of two mystery series. Her latest book and the fifth in her Farmers’ Market series MERRY MARKET MURDER is now available at bookstores and online everywhere. For more information on Paige or her books, visit www.paigeshelton.com