This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a Lord Of Druemarwin, Kindle copy, US only.

Frosted Holiday Bread (aka Stollen) for the Bread Maker

My family has strong German roots, and a traditional holiday treat for us incorporates the candied, mixed fruit associated with dark, heavy fruit cake into a sweet, light, frosted yeast bread. What my family calls “Stollen” has many European variations, some much heavier than ours. We enjoy our version of this bread at breakfast, sliced and eaten plain, although some extended family members prefer to spread it with butter. We also enjoy slices as a midday snack. After years of making “Stollen” the traditional way, kneading by hand, I converted the recipe to work with my ever-so-helpful bread maker. If you are looking for something different to accompany your holiday breakfasts, and you have a bread maker, this recipe makes something traditional easy to provide.

Dough:

¾ cup milk, warmed

2 large eggs, beaten

¼ cup sugar

¼ lb. butter (1 stick) shredded

3 cups flour, sifted

Pinch of salt

1 ½ teaspoon yeast

1 cup candied, mixed chopped fruit for fruit cake

½ cup golden raisins

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Put bread ingredients into the breadmaker in the order listed. Set on Dough and press start. When Dough cycle is finished, remove dough from breadmaker. If dough is too sticky to handle, add up to 1 cup flour and knead lightly by hand. Divide dough in half. Shape into oblong loaves and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with oil. Place in a warm, draft –free place and let rise for an hour. Bake one at a time at 350 F for 25 min. Move to cooling rack, brush with butter, and frost immediately.

Vanilla Glaze Frosting: 

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 teaspoons milk

Colorful sprinkles

Blend with a spoon. Frosting will be thick. Spread over hot bread. Immediately dust with sprinkles before frosting sets. Optional: Add any other topping decorations desired using frosting to set in place. Cool completely.

Slice and enjoy.

Lady Raell can fight, ride, and argue politics as well as her brothers. Only being mistress of her father’s household keeps her in skirts. In Naed, the new Lord of Druemarwin, she has found devotion, a kindred spirit, and a marriage promise. But when a forgotten and unwanted betrothal comes to light, she has no choice but to run.
Amidst sweeping revolution, Naed must rally his people, fend off assassination attempts, and fight against claims he’s a traitor. Then he discovers everything about his lineage and family is a lie. And his beloved belongs to another.
With lives and a kingdom at stake, Raell and Naed must find a way to protect the innocent and save their love.

Helen C. Johannes writes award-winning fantasy romance inspired by the fairy tales she grew up reading and the amazing historical places she’s visited in England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. She writes tales of adventure and romance in fully realized worlds sprung from pure imagination and a lifelong interest in history, culture, and literature. Warriors on horseback, women who refuse to sit idly at home, and passion that cannot be denied or outrun—that’s what readers will find in her books.

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This post is part of Long and Short’s Review Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a Kindle copy of BLOODSTONE..

Winter will soon arrive in our neck of the woods. Last year it arrived on Christmas Eve, just in time for the traditional White Christmas, with about an inch of pretty white fluff. About seven inches of snow came down just before the New Year.
It was the picture-perfect snowfall, thick flakes coming down with no wind, making the trees in my yard look like something out of a fairy tale (the Dancing Princesses, maybe?). I went outside that night and was instantly transported back to my childhood.

My friends and I used to walk to the movie theater, escorted by one or more of our parents, and I recall quite vividly a magical snowy night when we walked home after the feature. The air was completely still. A couple of inches of snow had freshly fallen. Trees and bushes were decoratively draped in it. Our boots crunched and squeaked in the silent air. The temperature must have been near 30 because I don’t remember being cold at all as I breathed in that uniquely fresh air that’s present only after a snowfall. All around us, in the light of the streetlamps, the snow sparkled and twinkled. It looked as though a rainbow had frozen and sprinkled the snow with colorful crystals. I fancied they were jewels, scattered by a giant’s hand for us to enjoy. (I was about eight or nine then and already a great fan of fairy tales.)

Now, every winter I look forward to a night like that one—a magical, still night with freshly fallen snow sparkling with a multitude of colors. The air always smells fresh, uniquely clean. My boots always crunch and squeak. And I always have to stand for a moment enjoying the fantastical spread of jewels and remembering.

What if looking at the face of the man you loved meant death?

Years ago, warrior Durren Drakkonwehr was cursed by a mage. Now feared and reviled as the Shadow Man, he keeps to himself, only going to town to trade rare bloodstones–petrified dragon’s blood–for supplies. Though he hides his face, he can’t hide his heart from the woman who haunts his dreams…
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Needing bloodstones for a jewelry commission, Mirianna and her father journey across the dreaded Wehrland where the beast-men roam. When their party is attacked, only the Shadow Man can save them. Strangely drawn to him, Mirianna offers herself in return for her father’s rescue.

Living in the ruined fortress with the Shadow Man, Mirianna slowly realizes that a flesh-and-blood man–not a fiend–hides there in hoods and darkness. But are love and courage enough to lift the curse and restore the man?

About the Author:Helen C. Johannes lives in the Midwest with her husband and grown children. Growing up, she read fairy tales, Tolkien, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Agatha Christie, Shakespeare, and Ayn Rand, an unusual mix that undoubtedly explains why the themes, characters, and locales in her writing play out in tales of love and adventure. A member of Romance Writers of America, she credits the friends she has made and the critiques she’s received from her chapter members for encouraging her to achieve her dream of publication. When not working on her next writing project, she reads all kinds of fiction, enjoys walks, and travels as often as possible.

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