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Sunday Quote has a 5th grader

Posted by Beth on Aug 9, 2015 in Blog, Quote | Comments Off on Sunday Quote has a 5th grader

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
~ Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

My WorldCon/Sasquan Schedule

Posted by Beth on Aug 6, 2015 in Blog, public speaking | Comments Off on My WorldCon/Sasquan Schedule

I’ll be in Spokane for WorldCon/Sasquan August 19th through 23rd! I had a blast at WorldCon in San Antonio two years ago, and I am super excited to attend this year! This time around, I have panels and other events, too.

Here’s where you can find me for sure:

Thursday the 20th
Steampunk, Colonialism & Imperialism
11:00 AM to 11:45 AM (45 minutes)
Charles Stross Moderator , Arthur Chu , Leigh Ann Hildebrand , Warren Frey , Beth Cato
CC – Bays 111B

Autographing – Beth Cato
02:00 PM to 02:45 PM (45 minutes)
CC – Hall B

Friday the 21st
The Future of Food
12:00 PM to 12:45 PM (45 minutes)
Beth Cato , Fran Wilde , Lawrence M. Schoen , Scott Edelman , Amy Thomson Moderator
CC – Conference Theater 110

Reading – Beth Cato & Tina Connolly
Aug 21 03:00 PM to 03:30 PM (30 minutes)
CC – 304

Bready or Not: Double Peanut Butter Cookies

Posted by Beth on Aug 5, 2015 in Blog, Bready or Not, cookies | Comments Off on Bready or Not: Double Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter in the dough. Peanut butter and chocolate chips teamed up for flavor reinforcement. That’s why these are called Double Peanut Butter Cookies.

These taste like a cookie version of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Then there’s the texture. See, you whip a lot of air into the dough by mixing it for five minutes at the start, then you chill the finished dough for a prolonged period of time.

This combination adds LOFT. The end result is like a fluffy pillow of cookie. Seriously, these things don’t even spread when they bake. You need to compress them to be flat and bake evenly.

This dough will keep at least five days fully wrapped in the fridge. You can also freeze it. After baking, the cookies keep well for at least five days. Maybe longer than that. I can’t say. They were all eaten by that point.

If you love peanut butter, make these cookies. They will change your life.

Modified from Averie Cooks.

Print Recipe

Bready or Not: Double Peanut Butter Cookies

These thick, pillowy cookies taste like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup! Plan ahead so that the dough chills for a few hours or days before baking.

Course: Dessert, Snack

Keyword: chocolate, cookies, peanut butter

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

1 large egg room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar packed
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter not homemade or natural peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, softened
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

In a large bowl, cream together the egg, brown sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla extract. A mixer is best. Pause every so often to scrape down the sides of the bowl, but continue mixing until the dough is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt until just incorporated. Add the peanut butter and chocolate chips.
Place two large strips of plastic wrap on the counter. Divide the dough in half, compress it to be stackable, and completely wrap each big disc. Stash it in the fridge for a couple of hours or up to five days. (Chilling the dough makes the end result thick and pillowy! Don't skip this.)
Preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Use a tablespoon scoop to dole out the dough. Compress each ball of dough to a thick oval; this is important because the dough won't spread much as it bakes.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges have just set. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet another 10 minutes; they will firm up during this time. Transfer them to a rack to finish cooling, and start the next batch.
Cookies will keep at least five days in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!

Reprints FTW

Posted by Beth on Aug 3, 2015 in anthology:story, Blog, clockwork crown | Comments Off on Reprints FTW

First of all, book news!

The Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog had awfully nice things to say about The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown: “Indeed, one of the things I find so winning about Octavia is her incredible compassion. When her enemies are hurt, she tends to them, as well as to her friends and strangers. She’s not a sap; she knows, the way doctors do, that triage is often necessary. The Clockwork Crown… provided a very satisfying conclusion to an excellent duology.”

I also have a Goodreads giveaway for The Clockwork Crown that ends Monday night! That’s TONIGHT! So enter and spread the word. Scroll down to find the widget.

Now, to the subject from the headline. I haven’t had much time to write new stories this year, but I have made an extra effort to seek out reprint markets. This has turned out surprisingly well. It amazes me that stories that were rejected five, ten times on initial submission are now selling multiple times as reprints–and for a heck of a lot more money, too.

Last week I shared the news about “Red Dust and Dancing Horses” in For Want of a Horse.” That same story will also be appearing next year in 2016 Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide. That’s right, a middle-grade adventure anthology! How cool is that?! Plus, it’s very girl-positive, and that makes me REALLY happy. There will be a Kickstarter to expand the anthology; I’ll post more about this soon!

I also sold a reprint of my science fiction story “Overlap” to Science Fiction Short Stories from Flame Tree Press. They are publishing this as a deluxe hardcover–the book itself looks gorgeous! Plus, I’m tickled to share the anthology with several friends as well as classic authors like Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Jules Verne, and Jack London. This book will actually be out in the next few months–in time for Christmas!

Now here’s the giveaway link for The Clockwork Crown, as promised!