Pamela DuMond - Annie Graceland 04 - Cupcakes, Paws, and Bad Santa Claus

by Pamela DuMond

  “I’m sorry. I know what that feels like.”

  “But then I spotted the very magical Mrs. Claus and I was smitten.”

  “Really. What did Mrs. Claus look like?”

  “She looked exactly like you in that outfit you wore tonight. When I quickly realized I couldn’t have that Mrs. Claus—except for my imagination—I asked Santa if I could one day have Mrs. Claus for real. And now I have you.”

  “Oh,” she said.

  “You’re kind. You’re sweet. You’re funny. And you’re sexy as sin. And tonight, my Christmas wish isn’t to sit on Santa’s lap, but for Mrs. Claus to sit on mine. What do you think?” He smiled at her as his chocolate eyes twinkled.

  “Barring a miracle of some sort, there’s nothing more that I could possibly want for Christmas.”

  He pulled her to him and kissed her full on the mouth. Trailed kisses down her neck.

  “Oh,” she said.

  When there was a loud knock on her door.

  “Go away,” Annie said.

  “I can’t. I need your signature,” a guy said.

  “Whatever it is I can sign in couple of days.”

  “Look lady, it’s Christmas Eve. My grandkids are waiting for me at my daughter’s house. She made a huge turkey dinner with all the fixings. It’s a family thing. I love my family. Please, have a little holiday spirit, give me a signature and we’ll call it a day.”

  Annie sighed. “Fine, hold on.”

  Raphael slipped on his boxers and walked into her bathroom.

  She grabbed a sheet and wrapped it around her. Theodore ran from the kitchen and jumped up on her bed. She unbolted her door and opened it a crack.

  The middle-aged man held out a clipboard and a pen toward her. “Sign here.” He pointed to a line. She did and he handed her an envelope. “Thank you!” He saluted her. “It’s practically a Christmas miracle. I finally get to go home to my family and relax with a nice glass of single malt scotch. Merry Christmas.” He turned and left.

  Annie shut the door and stared at the envelope. Larry Little, Esquire of Little, Little and Steinfeld, P.C. was stamped in the upper left-hand corner. “What now?” She asked as she ripped it open, pulled out the documents and scanned them.

  Dear Mrs. Piccolino:

  Mr. Michael Piccolino has graciously waived his demand for joint custody of your property, heretofore known as the cat, Theodore von Pumpernickel. Please find enclosed final divorce documents to sign, date and notarize and return to our firm.

  Sincerely,

  Larry Little, Esq.

  Little, Little and Steinfeld, P.C.

  1822 Beverly Drive

  Beverly Hills, California 90210

  “Oh my God!” She said and fell back on the bed. “Oh my God!” She grabbed Teddy and hugged him. He meowed loudly.

  Raphael ran out of the bathroom. “What is it? What is it?”

  She burst out laughing and thrust the papers in the air. “It’s a freaking Christmas miracle!”

  The End

  Cupcakes, Paws, and Bad Santa Claus Recipes

  Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  (Courtesy of Laura DeVries of Cupcakes-A-Go-Go in Madison, Wisconsin)

  Prep Time: Around 25 minutes

  Baking Time: 18 – 22 minutes

  Yield: 18 cupcakes

  INGREDIENTS:

  1.5 cups stout beer

  1 tsp. baking soda

  1 small box vanilla instant pudding mix

  1 cup sour cream

  1/3 cup dark molasses

  1.5 cup light brown sugar

  .5 cup granulated sugar

  3 cups all purpose flour

  3 tbsp. ground ginger

  1 tsp. baking powder

  1 tsp salt

  .5 tsp. ground cinnamon

  .5 tsp. finely ground black pepper

  4 eggs

  2/3 cup vegetable oil

  2 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger

  DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place baking cups into cupcake pans.

  2. Bring the stout to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda (mixture will foam up). When foaming subsides, stir in molasses, brown sugar and granulated sugar until dissolved; set aside.

  3. Whisk flour, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pepper and pudding mix together in a large bowl. Set aside.

  4. Transfer the stout mixture to a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, oil, sour cream and grated ginger until combined. Whisk the wet mixture into the flour mixture in thirds, stirring until completely smooth after each addition.

  5. Fill baking cups 2/3 full and bake 18 – 22 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

  6. When cupcakes are completely cooled, top with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

  Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  INGREDIENTS:

  1 package 8 oz cream cheese, softened.

  4 tbsp. butter softened

  1tsp. pure vanilla extract

  1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar

  1- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

  DIRECTIONS:

  Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy.

  Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies

  Prep time: 20 minutes

  Baking time: 8 minutes

  Makes: Approximately 4 dozen cookies

  INGREDIENTS:

  Cookies:

  1 cup butter

  ½ cup sugar

  1 egg, beaten

  1 tsp vanilla

  2 ½ cups sifted flour

  ½ tsp salt

  1 cup rolled oats

  1/3 peppermint crushed candies

  Frosting:

  4 cups powdered sugar

  4 to 8 tablespoons light cream

  Dash of salt

  1 tsp peppermint extract

  Natural Red Extract:

  Combine ¼ tsp red beet powder with 1 tsp cold water. Mix the powder and cold water. More beet powder makes the mixture redder. Less will make it pinker. Use a little cheesecloth to strain the red beet mixture. Gently squeeze out the red liquid into a different cup. Add to frosting to color it red naturally – no icky preservatives.

  DIRECTIONS:

  Cookies:

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and add sugar to it. Blend in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt to mixture. Stir. Add oats and candy. Stir. Chill for a bit in fridge.

  Roll out about 1/8 inch on board lightly dusted with a mixture of powdered sugar and flour. (You can use a festive-shaped holiday cookie cutter.) Place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on racks.

  Frosting:

  Mix sugar and cream so it is not too thin, but not too thick to spread on the cookies. Add salt and extract. Add natural food coloring. Stir. Apply gently to cooled cookies.

  Easy-Peasy Holiday Eggnog

  Prep Time: 25 minutes to prepare. Add at least another hour to chill before serving.

  Serves: 8

  INGREDIENTS:

  12 large eggs, separated

  1 pint whipping cream

  1 ¾ cups sugar

  Pinch of cinnamon

  1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (the real stuff – not the fake stuff.)

  ½ teaspoon of nutmeg

  2 Tbsp of bourbon.

  2 Tbsp of either rum or brandy

  (Skip the booze if kids will be imbibing.)

  DIRECTIONS:

  Whisk or beat egg whites until they are slightly firm. Mix sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg together in a separate bowl. Add sugar and spice concoction and vanilla to whites and continue whisking until the mixture is fluffy. Whip the cream in a separate bowl. In a larger bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are light in color and slowly add the booze and stir it in. Add the cream to the yolk mixture. Then a
dd the egg whites.

  Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I’m so tickled to publish another Cupcakes novella. The Cupcakes novels take me a bit longer to write, so I hope these mini-cakes keep you entertained while I finish the next Annie Graceland novel, Cupcakes, Bars, and Rock Stars.

  Thanks to my usual suspects: Michael James Canales for creating another fab book cover and Chase Heiland for editing. Thanks to Terri Billingsley Dunn, Kristin Warren, Carole Sauer, An’gel Ducote Molpus, Melissa Black Ford, Monica Mason, Cheyenne Mason, Karen Rontowski, Joe Wilson, Bob Bernstein, Melanie Abed, Shelly Fredman, Rita Kempley and Joan Brady for being such awesome cheerleaders.

  Thanks to my Audible narrator partners: Aurora de Blas, Kelly Self and Elizabeth Semida. A huge thanks to Mike Snyder from The Trailer Guys who created the book trailer for Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys.

  Thanks Sassy Girls FB Book Club and the big kahuna of cupcakes blogs —Cupcakes Take the Cake.

  Special thanks to Cupcakes-A-Go-Go and owner, Laura Devries, for her amazing Gingerbread Cupcakes recipe. Cupcakes-A-Go-Go is located at 6642 Mineral Point Rd, Madison, Wi 53705. Ph: 608/836-3400

  A shout out to my Entertainment Manager Jeffrey Thal at Ensemble Entertainment who encourages me while he shops my works for film and TV. You’re awesome!

  Thanks to my family, the DuMonds and Stallters, the Timmels, Priebes and Trabbics. Thanks to writer and reader and blogger friends and my writer’s group POV.

  And a huge special thanks to all you readers who like Annie, her adventures and encourage me to write more stories. You rock!

  xo

  Pamela DuMond

  In Loving Memory of Theodore von Pumpernickel

  (the real one)

  Thanks for blessing my life with your gigantic, furry self. We didn’t have enough time. I will love you forever.

  About the Author

  Pamela DuMond is the writer who discovered Erin Brockovich’s life story, thought it would make a great movie and pitched it to ‘Hollywood’.

  She’s addicted to The Voice. The movies Love Actually and The Bourne trilogy (with Matt Damon — not that other actor guy,) make her cry every time she watches them. (Like — a thousand.) She likes her cabernet hearty, her chocolate dark and she lives for a good giggle.

  When she’s not writing Pamela’s also a chiropractor and cat wrangler. She loves reading, the beach, yoga, movies, animals, her family and friends. She lives in Venice, California with her furballs. If she ever gets her act together, she might even blog more often.

  You can find her website at http://www.pameladumond.com

  Links

  Hey there Readers and Writers:

  Here are links I’ve compiled for you. I hope this helps.

  Book Cover Designer:

  Michael James Canales

  http://www.mjcimageworks.com

  Book Editing:

  Chase Heiland

  http://www.chaseheiland.com

  Pamela DuMond’s Books:

  Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys

  http://www.amazon.com/Cupcakes-Annie-Graceland-Mystery-ebook/dp/B008PIDYJI/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

  Cupcakes, Sales, and Cocktails - A Novella

  http://www.amazon.com/Cupcakes-Cocktails-Graceland-Mystery-ebook/dp/B006PU7RU0/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

  Cupcakes, Pies, and Hot Guys

  http://www.amazon.com/Cupcakes-Annie-Graceland-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0096WCVT6/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

  The Messenger (Mortal Beloved, Book One)

  http://www.amazon.com/Messenger-Mortal-Beloved-Romance-ebook/dp/B007T07YU8

  The Story of You and me: a love story

  http://www.amazon.com/The-Story-You-Me-story/dp/1492789186

  The Girlfriend’s Guidebook to Staying Young

  http://www.amazon.com/Girlfriends-Guidebook-Staying-Young-ebook/dp/B00D2K5DT8

  Book Trailer for Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0BK3FDI_ck

  The Trailer Guys (Book Trailer Company)

  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Trailer-Guys/145765325471118?fref=ts

  Pamela DuMond’s Website:

  http://www.pameladumond.com

  Pamela DuMond’s email:

  Pamela.DuMond@gmail.com

  Pamela DuMond’s Goodreads page:

  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4430293.Pamela_DuMond