by Kathi Daley
Rum Bundt Cake—submitted by Vivian Shane
Peanut Butter Christmas Mice—submitted by Robin Coxon
Peanut Bunches
Submitted by Taryn Lee
Good for cookie exchanges.
1 cup sugar
⅓ cup evaporated milk
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
¼ cup crunchy peanut butter
½ tsp. vanilla
2 cups quick-cooking oats
½ cup peanuts
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix sugar, milk, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Take off heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until blended. Mix in remaining ingredients. Drop tablespoon-size mixture onto cookie sheet. If your mixture becomes too stiff add in another couple of drops of milk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
Makes about 2 dozen bunches.
Mama’s Fruitcake
Submitted by Nina Banks
This always made the house smell so good, but was a long time making. This recipe was handed down to me by my grandmother, who got it from her mother.
Combine:
1 cup dates
1 cup raisins
⅔ cup butter
1¼ cups brown sugar
¼ cup dark molasses
1½ cups hot water
Boil gently for 3 minutes. Cool in large mixing bowl.
Beat in 2 eggs.
Add:
2 cups canned fruit (fruitcake mix)
1 cup chopped walnuts
Sift together:
3 cups flour
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
Add to fruitcake mix, beat well, and pour in 9-inch tube pan, lined with greased wax paper.
Bake at 275 degrees for 2½ hours. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan.
Cool thoroughly, dip a piece of clean cloth in rum, etc., and place in center of fruitcake, dip another piece into rum and place on top, wrap in foil, and store in cool place. Once a week, repeat above for 3 to 4 weeks to age. Will store up to 6 weeks.
Christmas Jam Cake
Submitted by Jeannie Daniel
This is a family recipe we use a lot at the holidays, using my daughter’s homemade blackberry jam.
2 cups sugar
1½ cups margarine or unsalted butter
1 cup blackberry jam
1 cup strawberry jam
1⅓ cups buttermilk
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tbs. allspice
1 tbs. cinnamon
6 egg whites
1 cup raisins
Cream sugar and margarine in bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the jams and buttermilk. Mix flour, baking soda, allspice, and cinnamon; once mixed, add to creamed mixture. Fold in unbeaten egg whites and raisins. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9-inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until it tests done. Frost with favorite icing.
Snowballs
Submitted by Pamela Curran
These came from a former student’s mother one Christmas.
¼ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg yolk
½ cup crushed pineapple, drained well
½ cup chopped nuts
66 vanilla wafers (1 box)
2 cups whipping cream
Coconut
Mix first 5 ingredients. Put down one vanilla wafer, top with pineapple mixture, a wafer, more pineapple mixture, and a third wafer. Repeat until all wafers are used. Refrigerate layered wafers overnight. Whip the cream until thick, sweeten with some sugar. Frost the wafers with the cream and sprinkle with coconut. Serve chilled. Keep unused snowballs refrigerated.
Makes 22 snowballs.
Rum Bundt Cake
Submitted by Vivian Shane
Cake:
1 cup chopped pecans
18½-oz. pkg. yellow cake mix with pudding
3 eggs
½ cup cold water
⅓ cup vegetable oil
½ cup dark rum
Glaze:
1 stick butter
¼ cup water
1 cup sugar
⅓ cup dark rum
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour Bundt pan. Sprinkle the nuts in the bottom of the pan. Mix cake ingredients together and pour over nuts. Bake for an hour. Cool and invert onto a serving plate.
For glaze, melt butter in saucepan, stir in sugar and water. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum.
Prick the top of the cake with a fork and spoon/brush glaze evenly over top and sides. Allow the cake to absorb the glaze, then repeat until glaze is used up.
Peanut Butter Christmas Mice
Submitted by Robin Coxon
½ cup butter, room temperature
2 cups creamy peanut butter
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. baking soda
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup peanut halves
¼ cup green candy sprinkles
60 3-inch pieces red shoestring licorice
In a large bowl, combine butter and peanut butter; beat until creamy. Add brown and white sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and baking soda until well blended. With mixer on low, mix in flour just until blended. Cover and chill for 1 hour, or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shape 1 level tablespoon dough into 1-inch balls. Taper each ball at one end into a teardrop shape. Press the sides of the dough in to raise the “backs” of the mice, as dough will spread slightly during baking.
Gently push 2 peanut halves in each shape to resemble “mouse ears” and 2 pieces of green candy for eyes. With a toothpick, make a hole ½-inch deep in the tail ends.
Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until firm.
Transfer to a cooling rack and insert licorice pieces as tails.
Books by Kathi Daley
Come for the murder, stay for the romance.
Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:
Halloween Hijinks
The Trouble With Turkeys
Christmas Crazy
Cupid’s Curse
Big Bunny Bump-off
Beach Blanket Barbie
Maui Madness
Derby Divas
Haunted Hamlet
Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies
Christmas Cozy
Alaskan Alliance
Matrimony Meltdown
Soul Surrender
Heavenly Honeymoon
Hopscotch Homicide
Ghostly Graveyard
Santa Sleuth
Shamrock Shenanigans
Kitten Kaboodle
Costume Catastrophe
Candy Cane Caper
Holiday Hangover
Easter Escapade
Camp Carter
Trick or Treason
Reindeer Roundup – December 2017
Zimmerman Academy The New Normal
Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook
Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries by Henery Press:
Pumpkins in Paradise
Snowmen in Paradise
Bikinis in Paradise
Christmas in Paradise
Puppies in Paradise
Halloween in Paradise
Treasure in Paradise
Fireworks in Paradise
Beaches in Paradise – June 2018
Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:
Romeow and Juliet
The Mad Catter
Grimm’s Furry Tail
Much Ado About Felines
Legend of Tabby Hollow
Cat of Christmas Past
A Tale of Two Tabbies
The Great Catsby
Count Catula
A Winter’s Tail
The Taming of the Tabby
Frankencat
The Cat of Christmas Future
The Cat of New Orleans – February 2018
Seacliff High Mystery:
The Secret
The Curse
The Relic
The Conspiracy
The Grudge
The Shadow
The Haunting
Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery:
Murder at Dolphin Bay
Murder at Sunrise Beach
Murder at the Witching Hour
Murder at Christmas
Murder at Turtle Cove
Murder at Water’s Edge
Murder at Midnight
Writers’ Retreat Southern Seashore Mystery:
First Case
Second Look
Third Strike
Fourth Victim
Fifth Night – January 2018
Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mystery:
Finding Justice
A Tess and Tilly Mystery:
The Christmas Letter – December 2017
Road to Christmas Romance:
Road to Christmas Past
USA Today best-selling author, Kathi Daley lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband Ken. When she isn’t writing, she likes spending time hiking the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home. She has authored more than seventy-five books in eight series including: Zoe Donovan Cozy Mysteries, Whales and Tails Island Mysteries, Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries, Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Series, Writers’ Retreat Southern Seashore Mysteries, Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mysteries, and Seacliff High Teen Mysteries. Find out more about her books at www.kathidaley.com
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