The Christmas season is here, and Harlequin has gathered twelve of their lovely authors to celebrate the season with some recipes and guest posts! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway at the bottom, but more importantly, visit the other blogs to check out the other fantastic holiday recipes the authors are sharing with you–along with their great new books!
Snowball Cookies
A recipe guest post by author Maureen Child
I love this time of year! My husband and I were both born and raised in Southern California—then a few years ago, we moved to the mountains of Utah. It’s been an adventure for both of us and one we’re really enjoying.
Having four seasons is so much fun. Fall has become my favorite season, with winter a close second. Growing up with eighty degree Christmases has made me really appreciate being able to sit beside a fireplace, while snowflakes fall outside. And it’s the perfect place to read and enjoy my favorite kinds of romances—holiday themed. There’s just something about a Christmas book that brings magic to life.
There’s a lot of baking that goes on right about now, too. Thankfully there are no calories in holiday baking! My kitchen becomes a cookie factory and I have a lot of fun packing up boxes of goodies for the neighbors and mailing a lot of them back home to the family we miss so much.
And a particular favorite in my house is the Snowball Cookie—according to my husband, it’s just not Christmas without these.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup finely chopped Pecans (I just used Pecan cookie chips so I didn’t have to do any chopping, just poured them in right from the bag).
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, for coating
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter on medium speed until creamy, about 20 seconds. Blend in 2/3 cup powdered sugar and salt. Mix in vanilla. Sprinkle cornstarch over mixture (just so it doesn’t blend into one area) then with mixer set on low speed slowly add in flour and mix just until combined. Stir in Pecans. Scoop dough out 1 Tbsp at a time and roll into a ball, then place balls on Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake in preheated oven for 16 – 18 minutes, until bottom edges are lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes then while cookies are still warm, pour 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar into a bowl and roll cookies in powdered sugar. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, then once cookies are cool, roll in powdered sugar once more, this time generously coating them (I pressed it into the powdered sugar to give it a thick coating). Store cookies in an airtight container.
Maid Under the Mistletoe by Maureen Child
Series: Harlequin Desire
Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Desire (December 6, 2016)
An upstairs-downstairs affair for Christmas…only from USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen Child!
Single mom Joy Curran needs this temporary holiday housekeeping job working for a reclusive billionaire. But her sexy, aloof boss pulls at Joy’s heartstrings—and her long-denied desires—in unexpected ways…
Sam Henry never got over the loss of his wife and son, and he’s shut himself off from happiness, love…and the holidays. But Joy and her sweet daughter bring laughter into his life. And living with his new maid ignites a passion he can’t ignore. After one glorious night in Joy’s arms, will this beauty be the Christmas miracle that changes the beast forever?
Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble
Maureen Child is the author of more than 130 romance novels and novellas that routinely appear on bestseller lists and have won numerous awards, including the National Reader’s Choice Award. A seven-time nominee for the prestigious RITA award from Romance Writers of America, one of her books was made into a CBS-TV movie called THE SOUL COLLECTOR. Maureen recently moved from California to the mountains of Utah and is trying to get used to snow.
Connect with Maureen
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Giveaway
Enter the Rafflecopter widget for your chance to win this Baking Inspired Prize Pack!
TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for Winter Holiday Recipes (+ reads!) from Harlequin:
Friday, December 2nd: From the TBR Pile – Anna Del Mar guest post
Monday, December 5th: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen – RaeAnne Thayne guest po
st
Wednesday, December 7th: Bewitched Bookworms – Maureen Child guest post
Friday, December 9th: – Reading Is My SuperPower – Marta Perry guest post
Monday, December 12th: Read Love Blog – Belle Calhoune guest post
Wednesday, December 14th: Reading Reality – Maisey Yates guest post
Friday, December 16th: Books and Spoons – Cathy Gilen Thacker guest post
Monday, December 19th: The Romance Dish – B. J. Daniels guest post
Wednesday, December 21st: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – Sarah Morgan guest post
Friday, December 23rd: Books a la Mode – Tiffany Reisz guest post
Monday, December 26th:Romantic Reads and Such – Geri Krowtow guest post
Wednesday, December 28th: – The Sassy Bookster – Valerie Hansen & Lenora Worth guest post
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Thanks for featuring Maureen for the tour!
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