TOMORROW: Cozy Up & Read at the Red Wing Library
Tomorrow will be my first book event in my new home of Minnesota, and, uh, the temperature is supposed to dip subzero for the first time this season. Brave the cold, and I’ll try to make it worth your while with lots of free, delicious cookies and excerpts from my works. I’ll have some of my new releases for sale, too.
WHERE: Red Wing Public Library in Red Wing, MN, right on the Wisconsin border
WHEN: January 13th at 10am
BE MORE PRECISE, PLEASE: the Foot Room, down in the basement, where there probably aren’t any ghosts
#SFWAPro
Read MoreBready or Not: Brownie Cookies
If ever you are experiencing a chocolate emergency (need chocolate NOW, don’t want to leave the house, don’t want to spend a long time making something), these Brownie Cookies will satisfy nicely.
These cookies mix up fast. They bake fast. They cool fast. They enter your stomach fast.
Plus, they are imbued with brownie goodness. The dough includes melted chocolate and chopped walnuts. Yes, you can replace the walnuts with a different nut–or leave out the nuts entirely, if you so choose. I really love the texture of a chewy cookie with a crunchy nut, though.
Actually, you could even replace the nuts with something like M&Ms. That’d make these easy to modify for holidays, too–green and red candies in December, the Valentine’s mix in February. Have fun with this recipe!
Bready or Not: Brownie Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- tablespoon scoop or spoon
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Add the corn syrup and egg. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix this into the wet ingredients, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is combined. Fold in the walnuts.
- Use a tablespoon scoop or spoon to dollop rounds of dough, spaced out, on baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, then let rest on sheet a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Publication Day: A FEAST FOR STARVING STONE
Today’s the day! The second and final book of my Chefs of the Five Gods series is out now in trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook. A Feast for Starving Stone continues the adventures of Ada and Solenn as they strive to bring peace to the continent, and most importantly, to their own broken family. Princess Solenn plays an even bigger role this time around. In many ways, it’s a coming of age tale against a background of war and exceptionally good food.
Buy it everywhere online where books are sold, and request it in your local brick and mortar store (especially those indie stores that always need extra love). Also, please request that your local library buy the series!
- Amazon: paperback | kindle | audio CD | Audible
- Barnes & Noble: paperback | audio mP3 on CD | audio CD
- Bookshop: paperback | compact disc | MP3 CD
- Books-a-million: paperback | audio mP3 on CD | audio CD
Also: this coming Saturday, January 13th, I’ll be talking books, stories, and probably cheese at the Red Wing Public Library here in Minnesota. The event starts at 10am and will be downstairs in the Foot Room. I’ll have my signature cookies, and you can buy copies of my new series and my collection.
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies
I’m not going to pretend these are some kind of healthy cookie for the new year just because they include oats. No, these Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies, are classic, homey, and delicious, and that’s probably because they include a heaping helping of butter and sugar.
These cookies aren’t hardcore on sweetness. The oats and the warmth of cinnamon really come through. This is a superb winter baking cookie for me. They aren’t all-out spicy in a way that makes a person think of the holidays, but they are still fragrant and cozy.
They are a breeze to make, too. No chill is required. Make and bake.
Modified from Taste of Home: Best of Baking 2022.
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies
Equipment
- tablespoon scoop
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups quick oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- In another bowl, combine with flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients in with the wet, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is mixed. Fold in the oats, stirring well to make sure they are coated.
- Use a large cookie scoop or spoon to dole out dough onto baking sheet, leaving several inches of space around each; they will spread. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let set on sheet a few minutes before transferring to a rack to completely cool. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Cardamom-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Let’s end the year with an outright dreamy cookie: Cardamom-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Seriously, these things are amazing. The flavor of coffee hits the tongue first, followed by a warm kick of cardamom. The overall dough is buttery and rich.
The texture is chewy and luscious. Really, these are a pleasurable sensory bomb in the mouth.
Bready or Not: Cardamom-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- plastic wrap
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- tablespoon scoop or spoon
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons espresso powder
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounces chocolate chips 1 bag, or mixed kinds to equal amount
Instructions
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add both sugars, beating until fluffy; scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the espresso powder and vanilla.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Wrap dough and chill in fridge for at least an hour, but as long as a day or two.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a tablespoon scoop or spoon to dole out balls of dough, spaced out, on the baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cookies should look set. Let them rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store cooled cookies in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Dulce de Leche Brownies Redux
Do you need a brownie recipe that will really impress people this holiday season? Try these Dulce de Leche Brownies!
This is a resurrected recipe that was originally shared on the Holy Taco Church, which I then reposted here on my site in 2015. It was a big hit back then–I had several people reach out to say they tried it and loved it.
Now, one big warning: This is a dangerous recipe, and I’m not just talking calories. Sweetened condensed milk becomes lava after mere minutes in the microwave. Make this recipe with care. I originally advised using 10-12 minutes total time to make the dulce de leche in the microwave, but when I remade it this year, I did shorter bursts and spent more like 15 minutes, and there were no scalding-hot overflows.
So, take care with this recipe, and know that the reward for your risk is sweet indeed.
Bready or Not: Dulce de Leche Brownies Redux
Equipment
- microwave
- large bowl
- 9×13 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray
- uneven spatula
Ingredients
Dulce de Leche
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk can
- 1 Tablespoon corn syrup
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Brownies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional but awesome
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
To make Dulce de Leche
- (Note that you can buy canned Dulce de Leche on the Hispanic foods aisle in many grocery stores and skip this step! You can also make it in a crock pot or stove–look up these other methods online. Microwave is faster, but has some danger involved.)
- Combine sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup in a LARGE microwave safe bowl. You need the bowl large because the stuff may start to boil like an erupting volcano.
- Microwave on 50% power, stopping and stirring every 2 minutes. Start watching VERY CAREFULLY about the 5 minute point. It can start to boil over very quickly. Start doing 1 minute increments, stirring well in between. Somewhere from 10 to 15 minutes, it will thicken and look caramel-colored rather than white, at which point it is ready. It might look curdled but that goes away when you stir. Add in the butter and stir until it’s melted. Set aside.
To Make the Brownies
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and butter it or apply nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, espresso powder (if using), cocoa, and salt. Add dry ingredients into creamed mixture; mix until well blended.
- Spread about 1/2 of mixture in the prepared pan. This will just cover the bottom. Drop spoonfuls of Dulce de Leche evenly over this layer and smooth out with an uneven spatula. Sprinkle chocolate chips all over. Cover with remaining brownie batter using clean uneven spatula.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Cool and cut into squares.
OM NOM NOM!
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