Bready or Not Guest: Author Dan Koboldt with Gooey Butter Cake Cookies
I’m happy to welcome friend and fellow author Dan Koboldt! The third book in his fantastic Gateways to Alissia series is out today, and Dan is here to celebrate in proper Bready or Not fashion: with COOKIES. But first, a bit about The World Awakening:
Quinn Bradley has learned to use the magic of another world. And that world is in danger.
Having decided to betray CASE Global, he can finally reveal his origins to the Enclave and warn them about the company’s imminent invasion. Even if it means alienating Jillaine…and allying with someone he’s always considered his adversary.
But war makes for strange bedfellows, and uniting Alissians against such a powerful enemy will require ancient enmities–as well as more recent antagonisms–to be set aside. The future of their pristine world depends on it.
As Quinn searches for a way to turn the tide, his former CASE Global squad-mates face difficult decisions of their own. For some, it’s a matter of what they’re willing to do to get home. For others, it’s deciding whether they want to go home at all.
Continuing the exciting adventures from The Rogue Retrieval and The Island Deception, The World Awakening is the spellbinding conclusion to the Gateways to Alissia fantasy series from Dan Koboldt.
I grew up in St. Louis, a place that specializes in delicious food and drink that’s not necessarily good for you. It’s home, for example, to Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser. When a new employee starts at Anheuser-Busch, they receive another local specialty as a welcome gift: a gooey butter cake. This delicious concoction is exactly what it sounds like. It has an almost pie-like consistency, however, so it’s not very portable. The solution to that problem is today’s recipe, gooey butter cake cookies.
These are easy to make and require only six ingredients. They taste like yellow butter cake. You really can’t go wrong.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsisus. For you non-scientists, that’s 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Once that’s consistent, blend in the egg and vanilla. Then, add cake mix, and continue mixing/stirring until it’s smooth and well blended.
Optional pro tip: chill the dough for 30 minutes, which will make the next step much easier.
Pour the powdered sugar into a separate shallow bowl. You’ll use this to coat the doughballs before you lay them on the cookie sheet.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. I like to use a cookie dough scooper for this part, but you can also use a spoon. Optional pro tip: spray whatever you use with non-stick spray before you start.
Drop each into the powdered sugar to form a light coating. This can be a little messy if you didn’t chill the dough. Once you get some powdered sugar on them, the doughballs are easier to handle. Place sugar-coated balls at least an inch apart on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the edges begin to turn brown. Let them cool for a few minutes before you transfer them.
These cookies keep remarkably well in an airtight container. Enjoy them with a good book!
Author Bio
Dan Koboldt is a genetics researcher and fantasy/science fiction author from the Midwest. He is the author of the Gateway to Alissia series (Harper Voyager) about a Las Vegas magician who infiltrates a medieval world. He is currently editing Putting the Science in Fiction, (Writers Digest), a reference for writers slated for release in Fall 2018.
By day, Dan is a genetics researcher at a major children’s hospital. He has co-authored more than 70 publications in Nature, Science, The New England Journal of Medicine, and other scientific journals. He lives with his wife, daughter, and twin boys in Ohio.
Find out more about Dan’s books:
The World Awakening
Bready or Not Guest: Gooey Butter Cake Cookies By Dan Koboldt
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 8 ounce cream cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 18.25 ounce yellow cake mix
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsisus. For you non-scientists, that’s 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Once that’s consistent, blend in the egg and vanilla. Then, add cake mix, and continue mixing/stirring until it's smooth and well blended.
- Optional pro tip: chill the dough for 30 minutes, which will make the next step much easier.
- Pour the powdered sugar into a separate shallow bowl. You’ll use this to coat the doughballs before you lay them on the cookie sheet.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. I like to use a cookie dough scooper for this part, but you can also use a spoon. Optional pro tip: spray whatever you use with non-stick spray before you start.
- Drop each into the powdered sugar to form a light coating. This can be a little messy if you didn’t chill the dough. Once you get some powdered sugar on them, the doughballs are easier to handle. Place sugar-coated balls at least an inch apart on a greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the edges begin to turn brown. Let them cool for a few minutes before you transfer them.
- These cookies keep remarkably well in an airtight container. Enjoy them with a good book!
Sunday Quote dreads excessive flavor
Read More“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
~ Truman Capote
Bready or Not: No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Homemade granola bars! These things are delicious and great for breakfast or snacks, for kids or adults.
Making these requires some brief time at the stove. This is a great recipe to get kids or grandkids involved, as they can help measure the dry ingredients and help to stir.
Do note that these bars won’t be quite as firm as the store-bought stuff, so keep that in mind if you’re transporting them around.
However, they taste a lot better than the store stuff. They taste FRESH. And peanut butter-chocolatey. Plus, they can be even more chocolatey if you use Nutella instead of peanut butter.
Speaking of chocolate, for Valentine’s Day next Wednesday, gird yourself (i.e. bust out the stretchy pants) in preparation of a Chewy Brownie recipe!
Bready or Not: No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 cup puffed rice cereal like Rice Krispies
- 1/4 cup peanut butter creamy or crunchy
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a big bowl, stir together the oats and cereal. Set that aside. Measure out the peanut butter and vanilla extract and set near stove.
- Place the coconut oil, honey, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, as sugar dissolves, and continue to heat until it just starts boiling. Remove pot from burner. Quickly add the peanut butter and vanilla, and stir until everything is incorporated.
- Pour the hot mix into the bowl with the oats and cereal. Stir until everything is coated, then pour into the prepared pan. Use a spatula to press down evenly. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top. To compress the granola even more, line waxed paper over the pan, then use the bottom of a glass or other flat, heavy implement to press down.
- Allow pan to set for several hours. Slice into bars. Pack up individually with plastic wrap or keep in a sealed container with plastic wrap or waxed paper between layers. At room temperature, keeps well for up to a week; bars can also be frozen.
- OM NOM NOM!
Sunday Quote heeds the captain of the ship
Read More“There’s luck in art. And then there’s the gift. You can’t earn that. But you can learn skill, you can earn it. You can learn to deserve your gift.”
~ Ursula K. le Guin, Steering the Craft
