The Christmas Bargain (37 page)

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

dash of lemon juice

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups flour

Frosting

Cream together butter and sugars. Add in eggs, vanilla and lemon juice. Mix dry ingredients together and gradually add into creamed mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Generously flour a flat surface and your rolling pin. Scoop out half the dough and roll until about 1/4 inch thick. You want to work fairly quickly at this point because the warmer the dough gets the stickier it becomes and you don’t want to add more flour. Cut into shapes and bake about 6-8 minutes or until cookies are just set. You do not want them to get brown at all. Cool in the pan for a minute or two. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Frost and decorate, then watch them disappear.

Cream Pie

More than a hundred years old, I’m sure Filly would have used a similar recipe for making Luke a luscious cream pie.

This pie filling is really simple to make and always well received. You can serve it plain, top it with fruit and whipped cream, give it a fluffy meringue topping or even alter the basic recipe by withholding the lemon and adding a little cocoa powder for a chocolate filling.

Cream Pie

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. lemon

2 tbsp. corn starch

pinch of salt

Prepared Pie Shell

In a heavy saucepan, beat eggs, just until broken up, then add milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick. (If you don’t have a heavy saucepan, use a double boiler).

When it starts to thicken you need to stir constantly. (
This is not the time to start daydreaming about the hunky hero in the novel you’re reading or the hunky hero who will soon be home, ready to eat the pie. Not that this ever happens to me.)
Pay close attention so you don’t scorch the pudding. When it starts to get a glossy sheen and is nice and thick, remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and pour into prepared pie shell.

Cool completely.

Top with whipped topping and a fruit garnish, serve, and bask in the compliments that come your way!

Coming Spring 2013!

The Cowboy’s New Heart -
Years after her husband suddenly died, Denni Thompson can’t bear to think of giving her heart to anyone else.

With three newly married sons, a grandchild on the way, and a busy life, Denni doesn’t give a thought to romance until she meets the handsome new owner of Grass Valley’s gas station.

Former bull-rider Hart Hammond spent the last twenty years building up a business empire while successfully avoiding love. He buried his heart the same day he made his last bull ride and has vowed to never make the mistake of loving a woman again. Then he meets Denni Thompson, the beautiful mother of the fun-loving Thompson tribe.

Can a broken-hearted widow and a heartless cowboy find love? Find out in Spring 2013 in the fifth installment of the Grass Valley Cowboys series!

Grass Valley Cowboys Series

Meet the Thompson family of the Triple T Ranch in Grass Valley, Oregon!

Three handsome brothers, their rowdy friends, and the women who fall for them are at the heart of this contemporary western romance series.

The Women of Tenacity Series

Welcome to Tenacity!

Tenacious, sassy women tangle with the wild, rugged men who love them in this contemporary romance series.

The short story introduction,
A Prelude
, is followed by three full-length novels set in the fictional town of Tenacity, Oregon.

Savvy Entertaining Series

Get seasonal ideas for decorating, entertaining, party themes, home décor, recipes and more from Savvy Entertaining’s blogger!

The Coffee Girl
-
Almost thirty, Brenna Smith isn’t sure how much more off-track her life could be. She certainly never pictured herself living at home with her parents, working in a job she dislikes for a loathsome boss. The only bright spot in her mundane existence is the cute guy she runs into every morning as she stops for coffee.

Brock McCrae has worked hard to be able to manage his own construction company. Handsome, successful and full of life, he finds his world turned upside down as he falls for a woman he knows only as The Coffee Girl. Is there something more than a shared love of coffee brewing between these two?

The QR Code Killer
- Murder. Mayhem. Suspense. Romance.

Zeus is a crazed killer who uses QR Codes to taunt the cop hot on his trail.

Mad Dog Weber, a tough-as-nails member of the Seattle police force, is willing to do whatever it takes to bring Zeus down. Despite her best intentions, Maddie (Mad Dog) falls in love with her dad's hired hand, putting them both in danger.

Erik Moore is running from his past and trying to avoid the future when he finds himself falling in love with his boss' daughter. Unknowingly, he puts himself right in the path of the QR Code Killer as he struggles to keep Maddie safe.

From the waterfront of Seattle to the rolling hills of wheat and vineyards of the Walla Walla Valley, suspense and romance fly around every twist and turn.