It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) GIVEAWAY: Their Yuletide Healing (+ guest post)

today’s book: Their Yuletide Healing

Happy Wednesday! Even though Christmas is over, I still think it counts until New Year’s Day, so I am continuing our annual blog series spotlighting (over 60 this year) new and recently-released Christmas reads! So… snuggle in, grab your fave hot beverage and comfiest blanket, turn on some Christmas tunes if you aren’t sick of them yet and continue your bookish Christmas list! Oh… and did I mention there are GIVEAWAYS with EACH POST in this series??!! (Because authors are awesome!)

Today’s first featured book is another delightful visit to Bliss, Texas, and author Mindy Obenhaus shares about a Christmas fudge mystery!

THEIR YULETIDE HEALING by Mindy Obenhaus
SERIES: Bliss, Texas #4
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Love Inspired
RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2021
PAGES: 217

As her plans unravel,

can she give her children what they truly need?

Foster mom Rae Girard’s determined to make her children’s first Christmas with her the best they’ve ever had—and she’s shocked when the town scrooge, attorney Cole Heinsohn, offers to pitch in. Rae’s young charges have melted Cole’s heart, and he wants them to experience the special day he never had. But when disaster strikes, an imperfect holiday might bring them something better: a family…

From Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.

Bliss, Texas

Book 1: A Father’s Promise
Book 2: A Brother’s Promise
Book 3: A Future to Fight For
Book 4: Their Yuletide Healing

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The Christmas Fudge Mystery

by Mindy Obenhaus, author of Their Yuletide Healing

Thanks for having me, Carrie. You know, Christmas memories often revolve around food and, for me, that food would have to be fudge. My mom wasn’t a big baker, but every Christmas she made fudge and her go-to recipe was the one on the back of the Kraft Marshmallow Cream jar. So, naturally, that’s the same recipe I still use today. However, several years ago I began to notice that my fudge wasn’t turning out the same. It wasn’t as creamy and seemed rather grainy. I couldn’t figure it out. I bought the same marshmallow cream every year and used the recipe that was on the back just the way Mom had.

Then, when we were preparing for a big move back in 2017, I went through my mom’s recipe file and stumbled upon the yellowed recipe she’d cut off of the back of one of her jars of marshmallow cream. I compared it with the recipe on the back of a jar I had in the pantry and while it looked pretty much the same, I discovered one subtle change.

While both recipes called for a small can of evaporated milk, Mom’s old recipe said it was a 6 oz can, while my newer version referred to it as a 5 oz can. Somewhere along the way the manufacturers of evaporated milk changed the size of the small can from 6 to 5 ounces, yet the recipe remained the same. Who would have thought that one ounce could make so much difference? Obviously not the manufacturers of those products. But I grew up on Fantasy Fudge. I knew what it was supposed to taste like, how the texture should be. So, in case you’re wondering, here is the recipe for REAL Fantasy Fudge.

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 6 oz evaporated milk
• 1 – 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 – 7 oz jar marshmallow cream
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line a 9×13 baking pan with aluminum foil. This is so you can lift the fudge out of the pan after it’s cooled, for easier cutting. Spray foil with non-stick spray and set aside.

Melt butter or margarine over medium-high heat in a heavy saucepan at least 3 quarts in size. Add sugar and 6 ounces of evaporated milk.

Bring to a boil, stirring continuously, and cook for approximately 5-7 minutes, until mixture reaches soft ball stage on a candy thermometer.

What’s that, you don’t have a candy thermometer? Not to worry. We didn’t have one when I was growing up, so I learned to do it old school. Drizzle a small amount of the boiling mixture into a cup of cold water. If you can form the mixture into a soft ball, it’s ready. If not, keep cooking, testing every minute or so.

Once mixture reaches soft ball stage, remove pan from heat and add the chocolate chips. Stir until melted, then add the marshmallow cream and continue stirring until the mixture is nice and smooth. Stir in vanilla and nuts, if you’re using them.

Pour into prepared pan and set aside to cool. Do not refrigerate until completely cooled.

Once set, remove foil/fudge from pan and cut into squares.

Now that’s Fantasy Fudge done right. Creamy and delicious. And perfect for sharing with others.

Have you ever tried to duplicate a recipe from your childhood and found that it wasn’t quite right? If so, what did you do?

Mindy Obenhaus is offering a print copy of Their Yuletide Healing to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Their Yuletide Healing by Mindy Obenhaus? Have you ever tried to duplicate a recipe from your childhood and found that it wasn’t quite right? If so, what did you do?