This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one ecopy of my first holiday erotic romance, SECRET SANTA.
A Cookie Recipe and a Giveaway!
December is such a hectic time of year for me. As a professional hair stylist and nail tech, my day job is twice the workload as usual. So I don’t do the whole Christmas cookie extravaganza. I don’t even get as fancy cookie making as Daniel and Clay do in my latest book WELCOME HOME, SOLDIER. Thanksgiving is more my jam, I host it every year and pick up a lot of stragglers who don’t have family plans. I leave Christmas to the friends with kids.
But one thing I always do is make is my great-grandmother’s Scotch shortbread. Have you ever had shortbread? It’s kind of like a snowball but creamier. Probably because of the powdered sugar. I’m not much of a baker so I won’t pretend to know the science of why these cookies melt in your mouth, but they do. And this recipe is crazy easy! So from my home to yours, here is the recipe:
Scotch Shortbread
- Cream 1 cup butter and ¾ cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy
- Stir in 2 ½ cup flour
- Press into 8×8 pan
- Bake 300 for 25-30 min
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut warm
I hope you try this recipe. Perhaps my family’s shortbread can become a holiday tradition for your family too. Enjoy this excerpt from WELCOME HOME, SOLDIER, one of the thirty holiday romances in the Dreamspinner Holiday Advent collection.
Clay and Daniel fell in love as enlisted men during Desert Shield, but Don’t Ask Don’t Tell meant they had to keep it secret. After Clay’s convoy was ambushed, PTSD changed him, and their relationship ended in a horrible fight on Christmas Eve.
Twenty-five years later, they’ve reconnected on Facebook, and Clay finds out Daniel will be alone on Christmas Eve. Impulsively, he sets out for Daniel’s hometown of Gilead, Ohio—where Daniel is now the mayor—to surprise him with a visit. But a blizzard strikes and Clay wrecks his car. All hope of seeing Daniel is lost—until a mysterious old man named Nick offers Clay a ride. The weight of past wounds and the scars of war might make their reunion awkward, but Clay is willing to take the risk to win back his lost love. Despite a lifetime of disappointing holidays, Clay hopes that this soldier is finally coming home for Christmas
EXCERPT
“Want some coffee?” Daniel said to avoid blurting, Damn the years treated you well!
“Sure, I’m freezing.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t know about the storm. It’s been all over the news.”
Clay grinned. “You know me. I never think things through first.”
He chuckled. “Since you’re here for the evening, do you want to help me make cookies? It’s sort of a cliché Christmas thing to do, but….”
“Sure.” The grin splitting Clay’s face was electric, and Daniel’s belly fluttered.
Daniel had not forgotten Clay’s toothy grin and those dimples. Back during Desert Shield, the dusting of a youthful beard had hidden his dimples, much to Daniel’s chagrin. But now Clay was clean-shaven, his cheeks a little pink from the elements. The long lean line of his throat, his solid Adam’s apple that bobbed when he talked—all exposed for Daniel’s viewing pleasure. He’d always had a thing for Clay’s neck. Weird, but he couldn’t help it. Clay had stayed in great shape too, unlike the twenty pounds Daniel needed to lose.
Making cookies isn’t helping that! And you were probably going to eat them all yourself!
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And here Clay was, looking like some sort of body-building Daddy.
Once Daniel got Clay a mug of coffee to warm up, he busied himself placing the fresh cookies on a cooling rack.
“What? No cutouts?” Clay said, startling Daniel with how close he stood.
He hadn’t realized Clay had come up beside him. Swallowing hard, he glanced over his shoulder and up. Clay was bigger, wider than he used to be. And damn, the gray hair looked good on him.
Daniel managed to sound calm, though Clay’s nearness made his heart race and his skin warm. “Nah, a cookie’s a cookie.”
“But it’s Christmas, Danny. Shouldn’t we make Santa or candy-cane cookies?”
“I just wanted cookies.” Call me Danny again, please! “No need for theatrics.”
“Theatrics? C’mon, you gotta have cookie cutters around here somewhere.” The hopeful glint in his expression tugged at Daniel’s heart.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Come on, Danny.”
And then, just like old times, Clay took over, tossing Daniel’s practical plan out the window and making everything more complicated.
But definitely more fun.
With a mismatched collection of cookie cutters, and Clay armed with the rolling pin and leaving a flour mess all over the counters and floor—which George happily licked up—soon they had a tray of hearts, moons, and trees ready to go into the oven. Clay insisted Daniel add food coloring to the frosting, one bowl of green and another of red, which turned out pink. Though he didn’t think it necessary, it was impossible to say no to Clay.
Especially with those dimples and that sexy throat, and the way Clay called him Danny with his now-rougher voice.
You’re hopeless!
Thanks for hosting me and if you share a comment (or better yet a cookie recipe of your own) then you will be entered to win my first Christmas story: SECRET SANTA—Just who was it that came down Adam’s chimney? Find out in this superhot holiday story!
Clay and Daniel fell in love as enlisted men during Desert Shield, but Don’t Ask Don’t Tell meant they had to keep it secret. After Clay’s convoy was ambushed, PTSD changed him, and their relationship ended in a horrible fight on Christmas Eve.
Twenty-five years later, they’ve reconnected on Facebook, and Clay finds out Daniel will be alone on Christmas Eve. Impulsively, he sets out for Daniel’s hometown of Gilead, Ohio—where Daniel is now the mayor—to surprise him with a visit. But a blizzard strikes and Clay wrecks his car. All hope of seeing Daniel is lost—until a mysterious old man named Nick offers Clay a ride. The weight of past wounds and the scars of war might make their reunion awkward, but Clay is willing to take the risk to win back his lost love. Despite a lifetime of disappointing holidays, Clay hopes that this soldier is finally coming home for Christmas.
About the Author: Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and a couple adorable cocker spaniels. She has been spinning tales and penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010. She has served multiple board positions at her local RWA chapter and is the current President-elect 2017 for Rainbow Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. She loves music and dancing, and can often be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the interworkings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.
Buy the book at Dreamspinner Press.
Scotch Shortbread sounds very rich and delicious. Yum!
Ooh, this sounds like a recipe I MIGHT be able to make without managing to mess it up. Thanks so much and Happy Holidays!
nice excerpt