Friday, June 24, 2022

A Hint of Mischief - A Guest Post, Recipe, Review, & Giveaway

I'm happy to welcome Daryl Wood Gerber back to Cozy Up With Kathy. Among other things, Daryl writes the Fairy Garden Mystery series. A HINT OF MISCHIEF is the third book in the series and will be released next week.

Chocolate Crinkles
By Daryl Wood Gerber

In the Fairy Garden Mysteries, at Open Your Imagination, the fairy garden store owned by Courtney Kelly, they serve tea on the weekends. At some of the teas they have book clubs. At all of them they offer soothing live music and tasty treats. It’s the perfect environment to sup and then shop for fairy garden items, plants, and pots. It’s also the ideal place to search for Fiona, the fairy sidekick who assists Courtney when she’s sleuthing. If you didn’t know, Open Your Imagination offers fairy garden workshops and private classes, and its main showroom sells fun items like windchimes, teacups, books about fairies, and more. It’s becoming a destination stop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, a beautiful resort town on the coast, about two hours south of San Francisco.

Yvanna, a friend of Courtney’s who works at Sweet Treats, another shop in the courtyard where Open Your Imagination is located, comes on Saturdays to help with the teas. She is a marvelous baker and will often provide baked goods that can be enjoyed by those who need to eat gluten-free. She’s allowed me to share both recipes with you today, regular and gluten-free.

Yvanna believes that all tea parties should include chocolate crinkles. Not only are they easy to make, but the fudgy texture is always a winner. You can make these large or small. It truly depends on the size of the ball you form.

When you look at the ingredients, don’t roll your eyes. Yes, there is a LOT of sugar, but you don’t eat sweets hoping to avoid sugar do you? Yvanna will tell you, “Sugar, in moderation, warms the soul.”

Enjoy.



CHOCOLATE CRINKLES

(Yield: 4 dozen)


8 ounces melted butter

4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup extra granulated sugar, for rolling

1/2 cup powdered sugar


Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix butter, chocolate, granulated sugar, brown sugar. Blend in the eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add mixture to the sugar mixture and stir well.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, about 1 tablespoon. You might need to moisten your fingers.

Pour extra granulated sugar into a pie tin. Pour powdered sugar into a separate pie tin. Coat each ball with granulated sugar and then with powdered sugar. Place balls about 2 inches apart on the parchment paper. Bake 10 – 12 minutes. These will look slightly gooey in the “cracks” when removed from the oven. That’s fine. Do not overbake. 

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CHOCOLATE CRINKLES
GLUTEN-FREE VERSION

(Yield: 4 dozen)

8 ounces melted butter

4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups gluten-free flour

1 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon whey powder

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup extra granulated sugar, for rolling

1/2 cup powdered sugar


Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix butter, chocolate, granulated sugar, brown sugar. Blend in the eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, whey powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Add mixture to the sugar mixture and stir well.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, about 1 tablespoon. You might need to moisten your fingers.

Pour extra granulated sugar into a pie tin. Pour powdered sugar into a separate pie tin. Coat each ball with granulated sugar and then with powdered sugar. Place balls about 2 inches apart on the parchment paper. Bake 10 – 12 minutes. These will look slightly gooey in the “cracks” when removed from the oven. That’s fine. Do not overbake. 
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Review
 

 A HINT OF MISCHIEF by Daryl Wood Gerber
The Third Fairy Garden Mystery

Life is never dull for shop owner and fairy garden designer Courtney Kelly. A thief is plaguing Carmel-by-the-Sea with brazen daylight heists, someone is placing fairy doors around town, and Courtney has been tasked with planning an adult fairy party. With not much notice, socialite Misty Dawn wants Courtney to go all out for the birthday party she's throwing for her friend. Sorority sisters, including the famous actress Farrah Lawson, will be in attendance and money is no object. There's tension among these old friends however, and Farrah's nasty side soon makes itself known. When Farrah's found poisoned, Courtney can't help but get involved. With her fairy friend Fiona to help her, the two will look for clues in order to save a friend and help the police. 
 
The Fairy Garden Mystery series makes me want to play in the dirt! I want to grab tiny plants, cute figurines, and create my own fairy garden.
 
A HINT OF MISCHIEF compelled me to keep turning the pages making this a fast read. It grabbed my attention, kept me curious, and didn't let go. The combination of mysteries kept me intrigued as did conflicting information from various characters regarding the murder mystery. Several suspicious characters were also behaving badly adding to the puzzle of who was guilty.
 
I love the relationship between Courtney and Fiona. Fiona is growing too. While still full of fun and play, she's also maturing, taking things seriously when needed. I also love how Courtney and Brady's relationship is developing. The two are supportive and caring with genuine interest in each other.

A HINT OF MISCHIEF is a fairy good mystery. It will put a smile on your face, a spring in your step, and have you looking in the greenery for fairies.
 
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Bio:
 

Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling Fairy Garden Mysteries, Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, fairy garden, and read. She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. And she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane and hitch-hike around Ireland alone. You can learn more on her website: httsp://darylwoodgerber.com

All my social links:

WEBSITE: https://darylwoodgerber.com

FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/darylwoodgerber

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/darylwoodgerber

BOOKBUB: https://bookbub.com/authors/daryl-wood-gerber

YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/woodgerb1

INSTAGRAM: https//instagram.com/darylwoodgerber

PINTEREST: https://pinterest.com/darylwoodgerber

GOODREADS: https://goodreads.com/darylwoodgerber

AMAZON: amazon: https://bit.ly/Daryl_Wood_Gerber_page

NEWSLETTER: https://darylwoodgerber.com/contact-media/


Have you signed up to receive my newsletter? I send one out every month and with a new release. In the monthly, there is always a GIVEAWAY to one (or more) subscribers. Check it out here and make the call. There's always a recipe, a bit about Sparky, what I'm reading, etc. https://darylwoodgerber.com/contact-media/
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 A Hint of Mischief (A Fairy Garden Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber

About A Hint of Mischief 

A Hint of Mischief (A Fairy Garden Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series
Setting - California
Kensington Cozies(June 28, 2022)
Paperback: ‎ 368 pages

The proprietor of a fairy garden and tea shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Courtney Kelly has an occasional side gig as a sleuth—with a sprinkling of magical assistance. . . .

Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties—for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister’s fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there’s nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business’s profile.

Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conjure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day—which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder . . .

About Daryl Wood Gerber

Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling Fairy Garden Mysteries, Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, fairy garden, and read. She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. And she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane and hitch-hike around Ireland alone. You can learn more on her website: httsp://darylwoodgerber.com

Author Links:  

WEBSITE: https://darylwoodgerber.com 

FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/darylwoodgerber 

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/darylwoodgerber  

BOOKBUB: https://bookbub.com/authors/daryl-wood-gerber  

YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/woodgerb1  

INSTAGRAM: https//instagram.com/darylwoodgerber  

PINTEREST: https://pinterest.com/darylwoodgerber  

GOODREADS: https://goodreads.com/darylwoodgerber  

GOODREADS BOOK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59120614-a-hint-of-mischief  

AMAZON: https://bit.ly/Daryl_Wood_Gerber_page  

NEWSLETTER: https://darylwoodgerber.com/contact-media/  

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Bookshop - Murder by Book - Mysterious Galaxy 

- a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for having me on the blog so I could share one of my all-time favorite recipes. And thanks for the lovely review. I'll come play in the dirt with you ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for stopping by. You bring the cookies, I'll bring the dirt!

      Delete
  2. Sounds like a great book.
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your books and so glad that you are on tour with this fairy book! peggy clayton

    ReplyDelete