Bready or Not Original: Matcha Cheesecake Cookies
The green tea theme continues to celebrate the release of Call of Fire! This is a fully original recipe: Matcha Cheesecake Cookies.
The Cheesecake Bars from last week were such a hit, I decided to grab my old Philly Chippers recipe and revamp it with matcha.
The result? Rich, luscious cookies that worked well with the fresh taste of green tea! Weirdly enough, the green color ended up faint again. I’m sure there’s a scientific reason for that, but for now, it remains a mystery.
This dough is great to work with. It doesn’t require any time to chill after everything is mixed together. Just make dough balls and start baking!
Since the cookies are already quite rich, I don’t recommend adding white chocolate to these. Instead, perhaps try some nuts like pecans for a nice complementary flavor and texture.
Or just eat’em plain. They are delicious with the recipe as-is!
Bready or Not Original: Matcha Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter two cubes, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese 1 box, softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 Tb matcha powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
- Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Sift dry ingredients together and slowly incorporate them with the wet ingredients.
- Use a tablespoon scoop to transfer dough to a cookie sheet. The dough will not spread much as it cooks.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to a rack to cool.
- OM NOM NOM!
Where to get my signed books
No matter where you are in the world, you can order signed copies of Call of Fire through Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona. They know their stuff–they handle massive quantities of books for authors like Diana Gabaldon. Order online, by phone, or walk in. They can hook you up with my other books, too: Clockwork Dagger, Clockwork Crown, Deep Roots, and Breath of Earth.
If you live around Phoenix, you have some other options, too. Last Saturday, I drove a big loop around the metropolitan area to visit as many Barnes & Noble stores as possible that listed Call of Fire as in-stock via their website. Here’s where I signed books:
Metro Center B&N: 1 Call of Fire
Happy Valley B&N: 3 2 copies Call of Fire
Desert Ridge B&N: whole bunch of signed Dagger, Crown, Breath of Earth, and Call of Fire
Tempe B&N: 1 Call of Fire (with more copies of that and Breath of Earth on order)
There are also a few signed copies of Call of Fire at Half Price Books stores around Indianapolis. I’m not sure exactly where they dispersed after Gen Con, so maybe you can get a kind of treasure hunt out of it.
If you want to see my books in your local stores–whether in Arizona or elsewhere–order them through the store! That way, the local manager sees there is a demand, and that encourages them to order more to stock the shelves.
Libraries kind of work the same way. You can request my books be stocked there. If the novels are checked out regularly, the librarians know, too, and will buy more books by that author… and will also replace books if they get too worn.
If you have any questions about where to find my books, comment here or use my contact form, or reach out on Twitter or Facebook. I’ll be happy to help you out!
#SFWAPro
Read MoreHow to Bake Up an Author Brand
If you write and sell stories, you are a business person. You sell stories, but you also sell yourself. This is your author brand. It’s an identity that should be constructed with care.
If your social media presence ONLY consists of “Buy my book!” “Here’s a line from my book!” “Here’s my book link to Amazon!” you end up looking like a spam bot. This type of author is especially prevalent on Twitter. Do I want to be friends with a spam bot? No! Do I want to buy the product pitched by a spam bot? No way!
At the same time, though, we authors are business people. We need to sell books. We need to post those Amazon links. This is where author branding comes in. You must be more than your product. You must find a balance between posts about your book/story and yourself… and the book-selling element shouldn’t dominate.
Ask yourself:
What is my expertise?
Who am I as a person?
Am I a parent? A spouse?
A cat lover? A dog lover?
A hobbyist–a knitter, scrapbooker, woodworker? A foodie?
A resource within my fandom?
What do I want to project to the public?
What defines me?
In my case, back in late 2011, I realized I wanted to post more regularly on my blog. I didn’t feel comfortable doing frequent “how to write” posts, so I wanted to figure out another way to build my online author identity. I’d had a good response to a series of recipe posts the year before, so I decided I would make them a regular feature. I chose Wednesday as my posting day and dubbed the feature “Bready or Not.”
Other personal elements I share online include my cat, Porom. The internet exists because of cat pictures, after all, so I must do my part. I sometimes discuss or share links on autism, as my big day job is being mom to an autistic son. I also do what I can to support my author friends by sharing links to posts or giveaways, or calling out books that I have read and loved. I make an effort to stay positive and avoid drama.
As you build an online identity, you need to be aware that you are in control of how much you share. Some people share the minutia of the day; others manage well with a couple tweets or Facebook posts a week. However you construct your brand, do remember to post regularly. Keep your presence out there. Share animal pictures, craft projects, or recent book buys. Heck, I once shared a picture of a rather large scorpion that I found in my toilet bowl first thing in the morning–that gathered quite a reaction online!
As for me, I have maintained weekly Bready or Not posts for years now. My food blog has been mentioned in print publications like the Arizona Republic and RT Book Reviews Magazine. People associate me with cookies. I do my utmost to live up to my reputation by bringing baked goods to most of my events across the United States. I can be shy in person, but cookies help me to open up to people, and for them to open up to me.
I don’t even have to mention my latest book as I pass around a container of lemon cornmeal shortbread. My public persona is basically, “Hey, I bake delicious evil stuff. I love cats. I’m an unabashed geek. And oh yeah, I have published a few books, too. If you liked that cookie, the recipe is on my website!”
At heart, author brand is about the soft sell. It’s about presenting yourself as a public person–a public character–someone who is more than a book.
And in my case… someone who also traumatizes people with photos of scorpions in toilets.
Reposted from Novelocity.
Read More
Sunday Quote is ready for summer to be done
Read More“Generally speaking, books don’t cause much harm. Except when you read them, that is. Then they cause all kinds of problems.”
~ Pseudonymous Bosch, The Name of This Book Is Secret
Release Event at Desert Ridge Phoenix B&N tomorrow!
At 2pm tomorrow, I’ll be at the Desert Ridge Barnes & Noble location to talk books and happily sign copies, too! Bring books or buy there; Call of Fire will be available for purchase. If you’re in the Phoenix area, please come by. I’ll have cookies…!
#SFWAPro
Read More
