12 Days of Christmas!!

Another weekly round of the daily advent calender which means we are another week down and another week closer to Christmas!! We are now inside the 12 days of Christmas. How exciting. Are you prepared for the big day? I must say I am not doing too bad and ALL the presents are wrapped under the tree. I went out for a birthday lunch on Wednesday and my two and three year old decided to break into their advent calenders and eat all their chocolates so now they are on the naughty list!! I must say I did something similar when I was a kid, well I opened the doors, ate all the chocolate and closed the doors again. Oops! I hope you have been enjoying my daily postings and taking advantage this festive season by downloading a book or two or trying one of the many Christmas treats. If you have missed any of them, there's no need to worry because here they are, in one fell swoop, everything that has been posted in the last 7 days. Take a moment, feast your eyes over the ebooks and lick your lips at the delightful recipes and whilst you do that, listen to the Christmas jingles and have a sing along too. Enjoy!   

Freebie! I read this last year and very much enjoyed it. This is a short, lighthearted Christmas story of finding love next door.

Bah, Humbug UK link
Bah, Humbug .Com link

****Strawberry Santa's****

A delightful Christmas recipe that only takes 10 minutes to prepare and will brighten up any party buffet. 

Ingredients ~

10 large strawberries

200g cream cheese

2 tsp sieved icing sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Poppy seeds, to decorate

Method ~

Thoroughly rinse the strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry.

Remove the top and dig out the inside of the strawberry with a paring knife. Keep the tops as these are used for the Santa hat.

Add the cream cheese, icing sugar, and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy.

Add the cream cheese mix to a piping bag with the corner snipped off. To make the Santa face add the mixture to the top of the base of the strawberry. Then add 2 small buttons to the front.

Add a small amount of the mixture to the top of the strawberry and place the tops of the strawberries back on. Decorate them with poppy seeds as eyes.

8th December Christmas Jingle (two of my most loved male singers together!) ~ Winter Wonderland - Michael Buble and Rod Stewart

A very short festive read published 10th Dec 2013 and free to download. I am looking forward to reading this.

Christmas Wish - Carole Matthews UK link  Kindle
Christmas Wish - Carole Matthews .Com link Kindle

****Calling all Oreo Lovers****

OREO BALLS

How tasty do these look? They are so simple to make (apparently) with on only 3 ingredients in 5 simple steps. Here's how ~

Ingredients ~

1 package Oreo Cookies

1 block cream cheese, softened

1 pack Cooking Chocolate (Hershey's Semi sweet chocolate chips the best)

Method ~

1. Place Oreo Cookies in a bag/blender and smash/blend until it is the consistency of dirt.

2. Mix the softened cream cheese into the smashed oreos.

3. Roll the mixture into balls.

4. Melt chocolate in the microwave.

5. Cover balls in chocolate then leave to set in the fridge.

9th December Christmas Jingle (don't worry I am not a Justine Bieber fan despite my 10 year old's best efforts but I must say that his Christmas album is good, especially this song as it features Tinie Tempah who I am a fan of) ~ Drummer Boy # Justine Bieber ft Tinie Tempah

Today's festive ebook suggestion consisted of 5 downloads for 99p/$1.62 each. Here are the links ~

Christmas Carol UK link
Christmas Carol .Com link

Christmas with Mr Darcy UK link
Christmas with Mr Darcy .Com link

Wish upon a star UK link
Wish upon a star .Com link (only available in paperback & audio)

Christmas List UK link
Christmas List .Com link

Christmas at the Crescent UK link
Christmas at the Crescent .Con link

****Christmas Pudding Lovers****

Mini Christmas Puddings

I am in love with these and I am not even a Christmas pudding lover. Mini Christmas puddings are so simple to make, look delicious and are a perfect bite-sized treat.   Not only are they quick to put together, they are cheap to make and don’t require cooking.  That's a win-win no? 

Ingredients ~ 

1 800g premade fruit cake

2 tablespoons of brandy

100g white chocolate

100g milk chocolate (optional)

5 Red raspberries

10 mint leaves or green sugared jubes

Method ~ 

Firstly, to save on the mess pop on some disposable gloves.

In a large mixing bowl, break fruit cake into crumbs with your hands, add brandy and mix together.

As an optional extra, I like to add 100grams of melted milk chocolate.

Using your hands roll a tablespoon of the mixture into a firm ball and place on a tray covered with baking paper. Once completed pop the balls into the fridge.

Cut raspberries into small pieces and slice the mint leaves into small strips.  I tend to just use the outside sugared areas as they look the best.

In a small bowl, melt the white chocolate and using a teaspoon drizzle a small amount over each ball.  Press the red raspberry pieces in the middle of the chocolate and two green ‘leaves’ either side.

10th December Christmas Jingle (Any Elvis fans out there? This is for both my Nan's!) ~ Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas 

The Twelve Dates of Christmas is a 12 part festive comedy broken down into 6 ebook downloads by Lisa Dickenson. These are 99p/$1.61 each.

Book 1 & 2 UK link
Book 1 & 2 .Com link

Book 3 & 4 UK link
Book 3 & 4 .Com link

Book 5 & 6 UK link
Book 5 & 6 .Com link

Book 7 & 8 UK link
Book 7 & 8 .Com link

Book 9 & 10 UK link
Book 9 & 10 .Com link

Book 11 & 12 UK link
Book 11 & 12 .Com link

****I'm dreaming of a white Christmas****

Fancy a change from the norm? Then why not try this white Christmas cake. 

Ingredients ~

3 cups of rice bubbles

1 cup icing sugar

1 cup coconut

1 cup milk powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup of chopped glacier cherries

½ cup sultanas

½ cup chopped apricots

225g copha

Method ~ 

Line a slice tin with baking paper and set aside.

Melt copha and set aside to cool

Place the rice bubbles, coconut, chopped fruit, icing sugar and milk powder into a large bowl and mix together.  Pour the melted copha (which is vegetable shortening) over the mixture and combine.

Using a large metal spoon, press the mixture into the slice tin and press it down firmly..

Place the tray into the fridge to set. I often decorate the top by sprinkling coconut over the top or even some melted white chocolate.

Cut into squares and enjoy!

11th December Christmas Jingle (I really like this song and I think Christina does a pretty good cover) ~ Christina Aguilera - Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire

Being a Carole Matthews fan, I am looking forward to reading this one. I previously read Cottage by the Sea and very much enjoyed it. I also have her free download The Christmas Wish still to read. I am undated with festive novels but I love it. I may read these when I have finished my current read.

Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews UK link Kindle £2.99/Paperback £3.80

Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews .Com link Kindle $4.89/Paperback $9.26

****Italian Christmas Cookies****

How nice do these look? A festive and simple Christmas cookie that will be enjoyed by everyone. I know I wouldn't mind biting into one of these! 

Ingredients ~

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp. vanilla

3 1/2 cup flour

4 tsp. baking powder

Method ~

Sift dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs; add vanilla and dry ingredients.

Knead and add flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to hands. Pinch off dough, roll in your hands to form a log and then twirl into shape. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Icing

2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

6 tsp. water

Stir until creamy

Dip cookies into icing and sprinkle with trim. Place on wire rack with wax paper on counter to collect the dripping icing and sprinkles.

12th December Christmas Jingle (I know there's a few covers to this song but Band Aid 20 is my fav because quite frankly you cannot beat a bit of Robbie Williams and Dizzy Rascal!) ~ Do they know it's Christmas - Band Aid 20

Today's download is a festive romance for just £1.00/$1.64

Sleigh Bells Snow by Sarah Morgan UK link

Sleigh Bells Snow by Sarah Morgan .Com link

****SHOT & EAT****

Strawberry and chocolate shorts

NO recipe as such...Start with hulled out strawberries dipped in melted chocolate and filled with whatever you’d like ~ vodka, archers, whisky, tequila, with some chocolate syrup for a delicious shot in an edible glass. Take your shot and eat it too. Perfect for any party!

13th December Jingle (I'm not a Leona fan but I do really like this!) ~ Leona Lewis - One More Sleep

A story of Christmas miracles in this magical short story eBook exclusive! Only 99p/$1.60 

A Vintage Christmas by Ali Harris UK link 
A Vintage Christmas by Ali Harris .Com link 

****Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes****

Back to Strawberries because we LOVE strawberries, don't we? It's amazing how many wonderful tasty treats you can make out of just a strawberry! These are Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes!

Ingredients ~ 

1 package cake mix, chocolate 

1 package strawberries, cleaned and hulled 

1 package pudding, chocolate 

Fresh mint sprigs,optional but awesome 

Method ~ 

1. Prepare cupcakes according to package and let cool. Using a paring knife, core out a well down into each cupcake, for your strawberry to fit into. Prepare your pudding according to the package. Let set until nice and pudding-y (solid - wet gloopy pudding will ruin the cupcakes, so don't be in a rush, let the pudding firm up!) 

2. Stick the strawberry pointy side down into your cupcakes. Take the piece of the cupcake that you cut out, and place it on top of the strawberry, after you push it down into the cupcake. 

3. Top liberally with pudding in leu of frosting. 

4. Add a sprig of mint if you like.  I think it adds a certain something, and my neighbor had some growing in her kitchen and shared…but don’t go out and buy some. 

5. Cut each cutcake in half and set it on a plate, because presentation is everything with these suckers. They are DELICIOUS and super easy!

14th December Christmas Jingle (I think Alexandra Burke is the best winner to come out of Xfactor (along with this year's James Arthur) and I like this Christmas song. It's different to the rest) ~ Hallelujah - Alexandra Burke

Remember you can check in every day at Kerry Frith Author Page

DISAPPEAR WITH ME BLOG TOUR

Thank you for having me today! I am new author, L. Dean Pace-Frech and my second novel, Disappear With Me, was just released on December 6. 

In 2006, a co-worker shared with me that one of her bucket list goals was to write a novel. That comment awakened a desire in me that had been buried since I was in the fifth grade. After a visit to Pea Ridge National Military Park near Pea Ridge, Arkansas, my characters and their story revealed themselves to me and I started writing.

I have always loved history. I grew up reading the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The Young Adult category didn't exist when I was growing up, so I graduated from those books and went on to read historical dramas like Roots, The Blue and the Gray, the Kent Family Chronicles, and the North and South Trilogy.  It's inevitable that I write historical fiction.

Disappear With Me is the story of the search for love and acceptance. First of all, orphaned Reverend Leander Norris searches for self-worth and unconditional love. Once he discovers unconditional love, he gains the courage he needs to fight the accusations against him. Although my characters are gay, the book is classified as LGBT fiction, and I am gay, my goal was to make the story universal.  Frank and Gregory could be any couple facing parental influences, natural disasters, or societal prejudices.

My goal was never to create an allegorical story or political statement with my novel. I started out writing what I wanted to read:  historical fiction with strong LGBT characters.  With our current political climate and the issue of marriage equality, it's difficult to deny that there are some thematic elements that support equal rights.  I read in the mid-1990s that just being an out gay man at the time was a political statement.  I think it's hard not to be an LGBT writer right now and avoid any thematic messages about marriage equality or other civil rights issues.

As a writer, I try to create stories that are interesting to different types of people.  If just one person who doesn't understand the fight for LGBT equal rights is persuaded by my novel to be open to those discussions, then I have done my job.

Thanks for having me.  You can join the discussion on social media using the hashtag #disappearwithme and I will join in.

Here’s a little more about Disappear with Me:

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural?

In 1910, the United Kingdom was in turmoil. King Edward died after only nine years on the throne. The social class system that upheld British society for centuries was being chipped away by social, political, and economic unrest across the Commonwealth. Amidst this backdrop, Reverend Leander Norris is accused of sodomy. After discovering his own self-worth and unconditional love, Leander finds the courage to stand up for what he believes is right and pleads not guilty to the charges. Throughout the trial, Leander’s past is revealed, including the temptations that bring the accusations against him. By the end of the trail, Leander is once again reunited with a romantic interest from the past, but it may be too late to rekindle any love that might remain, given the circumstances of the era and Leander’s likely sentence.

Excerpt:

“Are you not a scholar?” Weeks asked. “Do you not know the Bible that you preach from each Sunday?”

“I know it very well,” Leander answered. “But the Bible has many interpretations. I think you can guess that mine might be a little less than conventional.”

Weeks reclined back in his chair. He made a steeple with his fingers and rested them on his pursed lips. “You're actually sitting here telling me that, as a man of God, you're all right with buggery and feel you've done nothing wrong?”

“Mr. Weeks, do you realize you keep asking me the same question over again, using different words?”

“As your counsel, I need to be sure that I understand your position, the one you expect me to defend.”

“You sound shocked that I would suggest such a thing. I can't have you defending me if you don't believe it yourself.”

“Reverend, my beliefs about the situation are irrelevant; it doesn't matter what I believe. I need to be able to defend our position in court and hope our defense can refute what the prosecution will present.”

“I have to have conviction in my sermons each Sunday morning. I think you also know you need to have conviction when defending your clients.”

“And I can assure you that I have that same conviction to make sure that you receive a fair trial. I will do my best—”

“Do your best to what? Go through the motions and make sure that the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed so it looks like I've been given a good defense?”

Weeks didn't answer and that was all the answer that Leander needed. After a moment, Weeks tried to start again. “Look, Reverend, I am your assigned counsel for this trial. I am on your side. I want to see you get a fair trial, but you must understand what we're up against is quite overwhelming.”

“I know; I've never done anything the simple way.”

“Sir, you must understand that we are going up against laws that are rooted in two thousand years of Christian tradition and about as many years of British attitude.”

“Mr. Weeks, do you love your wife?”

Weeks let out an impatient sigh. “Of course, but here you go asking intimate questions about me that have no bearing on my defending your case.”

“Humor me, sir. Do you love your wife?”

“Yes, I very much love my wife and family.”

“What if you woke up tomorrow and a constable showed up on your doorstep and arrested you because they said the love you share with your wife was illegal?”

Weeks didn't answer him. Instead, in a quiet voice, he said, “You know you and I are just two people. We're not going to change these laws overnight.”

Buy Links:

Directly from Musa Publishing

Check my Author Page at Amazon US for availability here.

Check my Author Page at Amazon UK for availability here.

Check Barnes and Noble for availability here.

About the Author:

With inspiration from historical tourism sites, the love of reading, and a desire to write a novel, L. Dean Pace-Frech started crafting his debut novel, A Place to Call Their Own, in 2008. After four years of writing and polishing the manuscript, he submitted it for publication and Musa Publishing offered him a contract in early 2013. Disappear With Me is his second novel.

Dean lives in Kansas City, Missouri with his partner, Thomas, and their two cats. They are involved in their church and enjoy watching movies, outdoor activities in the warmer weather and spending time together with friends and family. In addition to writing, Dean enjoys reading and patio gardening.

Prior to novels, Dean did some technical writing in his career. He plans to write a sequel to both A Place to Call Their Own and Disappear with Me.

Email deanfrech@aol.com

Blog:  Dean's Web Site

Facebook:  Dean Pace-Frech, Author page or send me a friend request Dean Pace-Frech.

Twitter: @deanpacefrech

Google+: +deanpacefrech

Goodreads: L. Dean Pace-Frech

Pinterest:  Dean Pace-Frech

Check out Dean’s first book, A Place to Call Their Own, at Musa Publishing, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other great sites!

A Place to Call Their Own on Musa Publishing

A Place to Call Their Own on Amazon US

A Place to Call Their Own on Amazon UK

A Place to Call Their Own on Barnes and Noble

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hey guys! 

I hope you are all now truly into the holiday spirit. I know I am! Gift buying almost done, tree up, decorations hung, Christmas cards written, some gifts wrapped and belting out the Christmas tunes. I am also onto my third Christmas read. 

So, as I am sure you are aware, we have been counting down to Christmas with my daily advent calender posted every day on my Facebook page. I am having so much fun doing it and I thought in case you have been busy reading, writing or Christmas buying and might have missed it, I would do a round up of the week's posting. So here it is ~ 

We kicked off the advent calender with a free Christmas read called Home for Christmas. Unfortunately it's no longer free but here are the UK and .Com links in case you would like to download ~

Home for Christmas UK link Kindle £1.92
Home for Christmas .Com link  Kindle $3.14



It's December so you are now officially allowed to eat mince pies! Here is a delicious recipe for you to try! 

Ingredients ~ 

240 grams plain flour
60 grams vegetable shortening
60 grams cold butter
juice of 1 orange
1 pinch of salt
350 grams of mincemeat
Icing sugar
For cranberry studded mincemeat ~ makes 21/2 cups
60 ml ruby port
75 grams soft dark brown sugar
300 grams of cranberries
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
75 grams of currants
75 grams raisins
30 grams dried cranberries
finely grated zest and juice of 1 clementine
25 ml brandy
3 drops of almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of honey 

Method ~ 

Make the mincemeat in advance. In a large pan, dissolve the sugar in the ruby port over a gentle heat. Add the cranberries and stir. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves, currants, raisins, dried cranberries and the zest and juice of the clementine. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until the fruit has broken down and has absorbed most of the liquid in the pan. (You may need to squish the cranberries a little with the back of a wooden spoon to incorporate them fully.) Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Add the brandy, almond extract, vanilla extract and honey and stir well with a wooden spoon to mash the mixture down into a paste. Spoon the mincemeat into sterilised jars and, once cool, store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Then once you are ready to make your mince pies, get out a tray of miniature tart tins, each indent 4.5cm / 2 inches in diameter, along with a 5.5cm / 2¼ inch fluted, round biscuit cutter and a 4cm / 1¾ inch star cutter.

Measure the flour into a shallow bowl or dish and, with a teaspoon, dollop little mounds of vegetable shortening into the bowl, add the butter, diced small, shake to cover it, then put in the freezer for 20 minutes. This is what will make the pastry so tender and flaky later.Mix together the orange juice and salt in a separate, small bowl, cover and leave in the fridge to chill.

After the 20 minutes, empty the flour and fat into the bowl of your food processor and blitz until you’ve got a pale pile of porridge-like crumbs. Pour the salted juice down the funnel, pulsing until it looks as if the dough is about to cohere; you want to stop just before it does (even if some orange juice is left). If all your juice is used up and you need more liquid, add some iced water.

If you prefer to use a freestanding mixer to make the pastry, cut the fats into the flour with the flat paddle, leaving the bowl in the fridge to chill down for the 20-minute flour-and-fat-freezer session. Add liquid as above. I often find the pastry uses more liquid in the mixer than the processor.

Turn the mixture out of the processor or mixing bowl onto a pastry board or work surface and, using your hands, combine to a dough. Then form into 3 discs (you’ll need to make these in 3 batches, unless you’ve got enough tart tins to make all 36 pies at once).

Wrap each disc in clingfilm and put in the fridge to rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7/425ºF.

Roll out the discs, one at a time, as thinly as you can without exaggerating; in other words, you want a light pastry case, but one sturdy enough to support the dense mincemeat. This is easy-going dough, so you don’t have to pander to it: just get rolling and patch up as you need.

Out of each rolled-out disc cut out circles a little wider than the indentations in the tart tins; I use a fluted cookie cutter for this. Press these circles gently into the moulds and dollop in a scant teaspoon of mincemeat.

Then cut out your stars with your little star cutter – re-rolling the pastry as necessary – and place the tops lightly on the mincemeat.

Put in the oven and bake for 10–15 minutes: keep an eye on them as they really don’t take long and ovens do vary.

Remove from the oven, prising out the little pies straight away and letting the empty tin cool down before you start putting in the pastry for the next batch. Carry on until they’re all done.

Dust over some icing sugar by pushing it through a tea strainer, and serve the pies.

My 1st of December Christmas Jingle ~ Everything's gonna be cool this Christmas

Another freebie which is no longer free. 

Winters Wonder Love UK link Kindle £0.77

Winters Wonder Love .Com link Kindle $1.26 

I absolutely love these. Reindeer cupcakes I really must give these a try! 

Here's how ~ 

1. Bake cupcakes of your choosing. Either from scratch or use chocolate cupcakes from a box mix.
2. Frost with chocolate frosting.
3. Top with pretzels for the antlers, a Nilla Wafer for the face, white M&Ms for the eyes (or any other type of white candy), black icing for the eyeballs, and brown and red candies for the nose (peanut butter M&Ms and Cadbury chocolate balls).

2nd December Christmas Jingle (it's not Christmas without this tune!) ~ The Pogues ~ Fairytale of New York


I have read this book and loved it. It's a Christmas Novella and the second book to The Beach Cafe. You can find my review here ~ Christmas at The Beach Cafe Review 

Christmas at The Beach Cafe UK link Kindle £0.59p
Christmas at the Beach Cafe .com link Kindle $0.96

These look nice. Almond cookies. If you like to bake, have a go. Here's how ~ 

Prep: 10 min. Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling

Yield: 36 Servings

Ingredients ~

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sliced almonds

Method ~

In a small bowl, cream the shortening, 1/2 cup sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls. Roll in remaining sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with the bottom of a glass. Press three almond slices into the center of each. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

3rd December Christmas Jingle (in my top 3 fav Christmas songs!) ~ Jon Bon Jovi - Please come home for Christmas 

I have read Blue Christmas Balls and it really did have me laughing out loud. For a lighthearted fun short read I would recommend this. You can read my review here ~ Blue Christmas Balls Review 

Blue Christmas Balls UK link Kindle £0.99p

Blue Christmas Balls .Com link Kindle $1.61

How tasty does this look? For the chocolate lover in your life, why not try this? 

Ingredients ~

BROWNIE:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup salted butter, melted

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup mini- chocolate chips

COOKIE DOUGH:

3/4 cup salted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup semisweet chips + 1 teaspoon shortening for drizzle

Directions

Prepare the brownies ~

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Spray a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray.

In a medium glass bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave in short bursts of 30 seconds; stir after each burst and remove from microwave when melted and smooth.

Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk those in too.

Mix in melted chocolate.

Whisk in the flour and mix just until combined (don’t over-mix).

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake 25 to 35 minutes.

Watch closely and remove from oven when toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Prepare the cookie dough ~

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine butter, brown sugar and white sugar.

Mix in milk and vanilla.

Mix in flour just until combined.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread cookie dough over the cooled brownies.

Refrigerate until the dough is quite firm. Use a sharp knife to cut the brownies.

To add chocolate drizzle on top, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of shortening in the microwave; stir until smooth.

Scoop the melted chocolate into a zip baggie and snip off the corner.

Squeeze the bag to drizzle the chocolate on top of each brownie.

Sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top.

4th December Christmas Jingle (can never resist the beautiful voice of MB) ~ Michael Buble - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 

A free short story Christmas read. I have downloaded this myself but haven't read it yet.

The Christmas Bake-off UK link 

The Christmas Bake-off .Com link 

These look tasty and if you want something away from the norm, then why not give them a try? 

Pancake muffins ~

1 cup milk

6 eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. orange zest (optional)

1/4 cup butter, melted Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Blend first six ingredients (milk thru orange zest) in a blender. Be careful to see that any flour clumps get well-blended. 

Blend in butter a little at a time in order to temper the eggs.OR YOU CAN USE PANCAKE MIX

Grease muffin tins well and distribute batter evenly between 24 tins. Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffy and golden on top. While that is baking put your favorite berries in a sauce pan on the stove top and warm through. Pull pancakes out and put on a plate. Dust with powdered sugar 5. Carefully fill with warm gooey berries.

5th December Christmas Jingle (guilty pleasure!) ~ The Darkness - Christmas Time

Massive fan of the iHeart series and I cannot wait to read this! It's not free but you can download it for just £3.56 I am sure it won't be a waste of money.

iHeart Christmas UK link  Kindle

iHeart Christmas (French Edition) .Com link 

How cute are these? I might try these for the kids! Snowmen Cupcakes. Here's how ~ 

Ingredients ~

100g/4oz softened butter or soft margarine

100g/4oz golden caster sugar

2 eggs

100g/4oz self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

Icing sugar for dusting (OR you can use a cake box mix)

150g/5oz ready-to-roll white icing

3 tbsp apricot jam

Marshmallows

Tubes of coloured writing icing

Sugar baubles (for cake decoration)

Method ~

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/300ºF/gas mark 4. Place the softened butter or margarine, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla essence into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat for a few minutes until the mixture is light in colour and fluffy. Line a bun tin with eight paper cases and divide the mixture between them, filling the cases to about two-thirds of the way up. Bake for about 20 minutes until the fairy cakes have risen and are lightly golden. Lift the cakes (still in their paper cases) out of the tins and leave them to cool on a wire rack. Dust a clean work surface with icing sugar and roll out the icing to about 5mm/¼in thick. Cut out eight circles using a small pastry cutter that is the same size as the top of your cakes. Put the apricot jam into a small dish and stir in one tablespoon of hot water. Brush this over the surface of the cakes and stick the circles of icing on top. To decorate the cakes, use marshmallows for the snowmen’s heads, black writing icing for the eyes, red writing icing for the smiles and sugar baubles for noses (stick them on with a blob of writing icing). Stick the heads on the cakes using a little apricot jam, then stick on the edible baubles for buttons. You could wrap fizzy lances around the snowmen’s necks for scarves.

6th December Christmas Jingle (suits the weather perfectly) ~ Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews - Baby it's cold outside 

Fancy having Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe? It sounds good to me! Download this short festive story. 

Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe UK link Kindle £1.99
Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe .Com link Kindle $3.26 

Today's recipe I got the inspiration from the ebook download. I mean Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a gingerbread house, would it? It's fun to make, certainly yummy to eat and a great way to get the children helping in the kitchen. My husband made one a few years back (see photo above). It wasn't quite made out of gingerbread, the inside was sponge cake, exterior was made out of marshmallows and for the roof he used Cadbury flake. The most yummy cake ever but it goes to show the possibilities are endless and you can chop and change any of it to suit you. If you would like to give it a go, here's how ~

Ingredients ~

6 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 teaspoons ground ginger

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup dark molasses

1 Tbsp water

Method ~

Make the Gingerbread Dough

1 Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.

2 Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and well blended. Beat in the eggs, molasses and water until well combined.

3 Beat half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead (or use your mixer's dough hook) until well blended. If dough is too soft, add a little more flour.

4 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours, preferably overnight. You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before rolling out.

Create and Cut Out Pattern Pieces ~

Create a gingerbread house pattern by cutting out pieces of stiff paper (like that of a manila folder) or cardboard. I like cardboard because it's almost as thick as the gingerbread house pieces will be, and you can create a house model easily using the pieces. The following links are to gif images of the pattern that we used to make these houses. They should print out with the correct proportions (1 inch on the pattern = 1 inch in real life), but if not, the dimensions are also given on the pattern so you can use a ruler and create your own.

Roof Pattern

Side and Chimney Pattern

Front and Back Pattern

Make the Gingerbread House Pieces ~

1 Preheat oven to 350°F, with the oven rack in the middle. Have several flat cookie sheets ready, preferably ones that you know will not warp in the oven heat.

2 Divide the dough in two. Spread parchment paper or wax paper on a large flat surface for rolling. Dust the paper lightly with flour. Working with one portion of the dough at a time, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to an even thickness of 1/4-inch. Add a little flour to the surface of the dough, and check for sticking as you roll it out. If it sticks to either your rolling pin or the rolling surface, dust with more flour. If the rolled out dough is very soft, you may want to freeze it for an hour before cutting out the patterns.

3 Rub a little flour over the surface of the dough. Place the pattern pieces on the dough, as many pattern pieces as will fit on the dough. Use a small sharp knife to cut out the pattern pieces from the dough, wiping the knife surface clean frequently. Depending on how soft the dough is, you may need to use scissors to cut the wax paper or parchment paper. You can cut out the patterns through the dough and parchment paper, placing the dough pieces with the paper directly on the cookie sheets. If you are not using parchment paper or wax paper, you may need to use a large metal spatula to transfer the dough pieces to a greased cookie sheet. Space the pieces on the cookie sheet an inch apart from each other. If dough pieces stretch during the transfer process, push them back into shape.

You can cut out a door and window(s) at this point, or you can wait until after baking, soon after the pieces have come out of the oven while the cookies are still warm.

4 Bake in a 350°F oven until the edges are just beginning to darken, 11-15 minutes for the large pieces, 6-8 minutes for the small pieces. Rotate the cookie sheets half way through the baking for more even browning. Remove the sheets to racks to cool, about 15 minutes.

While the pieces are still slightly warm, lay the pattern pieces over them and use a large straight chef's knife to trim off any parts of the pieces that have through cooking spread beyond the pattern.

Remove pieces to cool directly on racks to cool completely.

Make Royal Icing ~

Royal icing is not only used for decorating, but it is the mortar that holds the gingerbread pieces together to form the house. The following proportions should make enough icing for both the mortaring step and for decorating for one gingerbread house.

2 large egg whites

2 2/3 cup powdered sugar, divided

1 Whisk together until smooth the egg whites and 1 1/3 cups of the powdered sugar.

2 If you are planning to eat your gingerbread house, and are concerned about the safety of raw eggs, you can microwave the egg white powdered sugar mixture for several seconds (30-40) until the mixture reaches a temperature of 160 degrees, but not higher than 175°F. You can also use pasteurized dried or liquid egg whites.

3 Add the remaining 1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar to the sugar egg mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until the icing holds stiff peaks. If it doesn't form stiff peaks, add more powdered sugar.

4 Place a dampened clean towel over the bowl of royal icing. Keep this towel over the icing to prevent it from drying out while you work with it.

5 When you are ready to mortar or decorate, fill a pastry bag with the icing. If you don't have a pastry bag, you can make your own with a re-sealable plastic freezer bag, just cut off the tip (a small cut) of one of the corners of the bag. Plastic or metal piping tips are available in supermarkets which you can also use with a freezer bag, for more controlled piping.

Construct the Basic House, Mortaring the Pieces Together with Royal Icing ~

This is where it really helps to have more than two hands working on a house, and why making a gingerbread house is so much more fun with company than alone. If you are working on this alone, it may help to grab some canned goods from the pantry and use the cans to help prop up the pieces while the icing mortar is drying.

1 Pick a solid base for your gingerbread house - either a flat cookie sheet, or a thick, sturdy piece of cardboard. If you want, line the base with aluminum foil or wax paper.

2 Pipe a thick line of icing along a short end of one of the side pieces. Press the iced side piece against the edge of either the front or back pieces. Hold in place for a few minutes until the icing is partially set. Repeat with the other side piece. Prop up with cans if necessary. Repeat with the other short edges of the side pieces and the remaining front/back piece. Pipe icing along the seams, inside and outside of the house, to fill in any gaps and to add extra stability. Pipe icing along the edges of the house where it meets the base. Let set for at least an hour before attempting to add the roof pieces.

If any of the gingerbread house pattern pieces breaks, as can happen easily when working with what are essentially cookies, most likely you can repair them. On my house I forgot to cut out the door and window until the front piece had almost completely cooled. When I went to make the cuts, the piece broke. Fortunately, it was easy to mortar back together with royal icing. We even created a "splint" out of cardboard and used royal icing to hold the splint to the piece. Let harden completely before using the piece for the house construction. When it comes time to decorate, you can pipe icing right over the broken seam and no one will be the wiser.

3 Once the royal icing has dried enough so that the base structure is solid, you can go to work on the roof. Pipe icing all along the top edges of the structure, front and back and two sides. The roof pieces are a rectangular shaped. Place the roof pieces so that the long ends of the rectangle are running along the top of the house. It helps if you have two people working together to place the roof pieces on the house at the same time so that they meet easily at the top center, and extend out a little bit, forming an overhang at each end. Gently hold the roof pieces in place for a few minutes until they are set enough so they don't slide off when you remove your hands. Pipe the top seam of the house with extra icing. Let the house stand for at least an hour, and preferably 8 hours before decorating.

4 The chimney. The dimensions of the chimney can be a bit tricky because of the angle of the roof. Although you may have cut your chimney out of a pattern, these small pieces likely have spread a bit through cooking, and you may have to use a chef's knife to cut the pieces and adjust the angles of the pieces so they align better with the roof. It's easiest to assemble the chimney first upside down, separate from the house. Pipe the pieces together with royal icing and let set until stable. Then, turn the chimney right-side-up and attach it to the roof using piped royal icing. You can do this either right after the house has initially set (1 hour after assembly) or later, during the decorating process.

Decorate the Gingerbread House ~

This step requires a trip to the candy section of your local grocery store. You can decorate your house with whatever types of candy pleases you. Be careful taking kids along to the store however, as you will invariably buy more candy than you actually need (though they do have the best ideas of what candies would be good for various decorative effects). Red hots are really practical, as are small gumdrops, and candy canes. Audrey used a whole bag of chocolate truffles for the stone wall around her house, and some type of waffle-patterned cookies for roof tiles. Pipe royal icing to make decorative designs around the walls of the house and roof. Use royal icing to "glue" pieces of candy to the house. 

 

7th December Christmas Jingle (my fav Christmas song ever by my fav artist, although Kylie's cover is pretty good too!) ~ Santa Baby - Madonna

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