Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Daryl Wood Gerber & Wreath Between the Lines

Posted November 12, 2018 by meezcarrie in Author Interview, contemporary, cozy mystery, Daryl Wood Gerber, giveaway, mystery/suspense / 57 Comments

Christmas is coming (YAY!) and that means cookie baking and homemade gifts! Daryl Wood Gerber is sharing a recipe with us today to celebrate the release of her new cozy mystery, Wreath Between The Lines.

SERIES: Cookbook Nook Mystery #7
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Beyond the Page
RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2018
PAGES:221

The Agatha Award–winning author of Pressing the Issue returns to the Cookbook Nook, where Jenna Hart is busy decking the halls and ducking a killer . . .

The holidays are Jenna Hart’s favorite time of year, but just as she’s decorating the Cookbook Nook for all the festive events, her imperious older sister makes a surprise visit, anxious that her husband’s been more naughty than nice. To make matters worse, her father’s good friend Jake shows up on her doorstep with a frantic report that his friend has been murdered—trussed with Christmas lights and impaled with a tree star.

Worried that Jake was the intended victim, Jenna makes a list of suspects and checks it twice. Swapping her Santa’s hat for a sleuthing cap, she gets busy investigating Jake’s long-lost sister, his Grinch of a neighbor, and a stamp collector who covets Jake’s most treasured piece. When Jake himself is poisoned and nearly dies, Jenna knows she’ll have to do whatever it takes to corner the culprit before it’s lights out for Jake . . .

Includes tantalizing holiday recipes!

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WREATH BETWEEN THE LINES, the 7th in the Cookbook Nook Mysteries is out! You can read more about the book below.  As most fans know, I include recipes in the book. For fun, I thought I’d share a few recipes on this blog tour.

Some fans ask, do I cook? Yes. I have since I was little. At that time, I was partial to baking. Especially during the holidays.

This particular recipe is NOT in the book, but I made it for the themed boxes I gave away on Facebook, and it was a hit. So easy to make and perfect for a holiday giveaway, if you’re so inclined. Hint: it will not ship well because all the ingredients will mix up, but if you do, don’t worry. The mix will still work.

FYI, this cookie mix comes just short of reaching the top of a 1-quart mason jar. I decorated the top of the jar with fabric, cut into about a 6-7” circle. It covers the inch of open space.  I also added a wad of parchment paper so the mixture wouldn’t move around too much. If you want, increase the M&Ms to fill the top. Extras will be needed to adorn after the baking process. *Note about using regular flour at end of post.

Mint M&M Gluten-free Cookie Mix in a Jar

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour (I used sweet rice flour and tapioca starch)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 /2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon whey powder
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/3 cup light brown sugar, as packed as you can
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup M&M’s or chocolate chips + more for decorating
1-quart mason jar
felt
ribbon

Assemble in the jar

Layer in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, whey powder, and xanthan gum. Top with brown sugar, then granulated sugar. Do your best to make layers and don’t let them mix.  Top with the M&Ms or if you prefer chocolate chips.  If there’s room, top with either parchment paper or saran wrap to keep mixture in place. (It will be hidden by the felt.)

Seal with the lid and decorate with felt and ribbon.

Recipe to include with the jar:

Pour the contents of the jar into a large bowl – reserving about 1/3 of the M&Ms for decorating after baking.

Add 1/2 cup barely melted (and not hot) unsalted butter, 1 beaten egg, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. (If making gluten-free, make sure the extract is gluten-free.) Stir until combined.  Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove mixture from refrigerator and form into golf ball-sized portions. Place the balls onto parchment lined baking sheets.  (They do spread.)  Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookies are lightly brown and set.  If desired, press extra M&Ms on top of each cookie as the M&Ms inside will have melted. YIELD: 20-24 large cookies

This mixture can be frozen. After forming into balls, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and set in a freezer-style bag. When ready, pull the amount desired from the freezer, let thaw at room temperature, and then bake as above.

*IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THESE USING REGULAR FLOUR, THEN SWAP OUT THE GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR AND OMIT THE WHEY POWDER AND XANTHAN GUM.

ENJOY!

DARYL WOOD GERBER writes the nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mystery series featuring a cookbook store owner who is an avid reader and admitted foodie, set on the coast of California.  As AVERY AAMES, she pens the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling Cheese Shop Mystery series featuring a cheese shop owner amateur sleuth, set in the fictional town of Providence, Ohio. Daryl’s short stories have been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, and other awards. Fun tidbit: as an actress, Daryl has appeared in “Murder, She Wrote” and more.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is hosted by Great Escapes, not RimSP
Follow along with the tour HERE

BONUS GIVEAWAY: Daryl Wood Gerber is also giving away the winner’s choice of any (1) of her books to one of my readers specifically on RimSP. This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter by commenting on this post. Giveaway ends at 11:59pm November 19, 2018.

What about you? What’s your favorite Christmas cookie?

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57 responses to “Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Daryl Wood Gerber & Wreath Between the Lines”

  1. Linda Moffitt

    ALL of the Cookies ? LOL
    Probably the peanut butter with a hershey kiss on it
    Thank you for the chance ???? and Thanks for sharing this book with us
    It looks really fun and good as do the rest in the series

    Reply
  3. Kay Garrett

    Thank you for being part of the book tour for Daryl Wood Gerber’s fabulous new book “Wreath Between the Lines”. Love this author’s book and can’t wait for the opportunity to read this one.

    No better way to share the Christmas season with loved ones than through food. The recipe for Mint M&M Gluten-free Cookie Mix in a Jar sounds like a wonderful way to do that too. Good to have a recipe that you can give to your gluten-free friends and switch over for the others too.

    Reply
  4. Kay Garrett

    Here is the recipe 🙂
    Ozark Honey Oatmeal Cookies

    Ingredients
    1/2 cup Shortening
    1 ¼ cup Sugar
    2 Eggs
    1/3 cup Honey
    1 tsp. Salt
    1 tsp. Soda
    1 ¾ cup Flour, sifted
    2 cups Quick Oats
    1 cup Coconut
    1 cup Pecans, finely chopped or ground
    Directions
    Heat oven to 375 degrees
    Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, honey, soda and salt thoroughly
    Stir in flour, oats, coconut and pecans
    Shape dough into rounded teaspoon sized balls
    Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet
    Flatten with bottom of a glass dipped into sugar
    Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
    Immediately remove from baking sheet
    Yields: 5 dozen cookies
    Variations:
    Honey-Raisin Cookies: Omit coconut and substitute 1 cup raisins

    Reply
  9. Autumn Trapani

    Looks like a fun recipe..and I love Daryl’s books! Thanks for participating in the tour and for the extra giveaway! My favorite Christmas cookie is Pffernuesse.

    Reply
  14. Mary Duffer

    It’s a toss-up between chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies.

    This sounds like a great book. Can’t wait to read it!

    Reply
  18. Di Richards

    My favorite cookie is ALL of them! I stole that from above!
    I’m a sucker for chocolate chips and a good ginger snap.
    Thanks for this opportunity!

    Reply
  20. Janet Estridge

    I’m not crazy about Fruit Cake but my sister makes Fruit Cake Cookies.
    After you mix the ingredients, roll it out into the shape of a log, and keep it in the refrigerator.
    Then slice and eat. I bet you can’t eat just one.

    Reply
  21. Lual Krautter

    Some of my favorite cookies are molasses, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, to name a few! Thanks for the opportunity to enter a giveaway! Would love to win a print copy!

    Reply
  22. Laura Reeves

    My Mother’s walnut sandies will forever be my favorite Christmas Cookie. I have the recipe but its not the same as when she made them every holiday season with love . She also made the most flavor full amazing sugar cookies with a secret ingredient that will forever be missed by her family.

    Reply
  28. Janice Moore

    Thank you both so much for the cookies in a jar recipe! I think that will be my favored gift to give this year!!!
    If there was a recipe for peppermint bark cookies, that would be my favorite!
    Oh, wait! I just looked it up and there is such a thing! The pictures are mouth-watering!

    Reply

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