I'm so excited to be a stop on the 

blog tour for author 

Karoline Barrett

and her new book

RAISIN THE DEAD

Book 2 in the Bread & Batter Mysteries

The author of Bun for Your Life returns to Destiny, New York, where bakery owners and amateur sleuths Molly Tyler and Olivia Williams never crumble under pressure...
 
While the rest of Destiny is focused on the arrival of an upper crust perfume mogul, Molly is more concerned about what’s on the front page of the newspaper: her mother. Library director Anne Tyler was photographed at the most romantic restaurant in town having a cozy dinner with library advisory board member Philip Baldelli. But there’s more for Molly to worry about after Philip is found dead a few days later.
 
When Detective Sean Corsino zeroes in on Anne as a person of interest in the case, it turns down the heat on his budding romance with Molly. But after he’s injured during the course of his investigation, Molly and Olivia must step in to sift through the clues and clear Anne’s name.

Now a word from Olivia Williams

Owner of the Bread & Batter Bakery 

Hi, everyone! Thanks for joining me today. I’m Olivia Williams, and I own Bread and Batter Bakery with Molly Tyler. She’s my best friend as well as my business partner. If there are three things people seem to love in their cozy mysteries, it’s dogs, cats, and recipes. We’ve got two dogs, Beau and Noelle, so we’re good on that front, but we seem to be short on recipes. By “short,” I mean we have none in the Bread and Batter series. I’m hoping that will change. I mean, really, what’s the use of tempting readers with all manner of cupcakes, if you aren’t going to share the recipe? I think, dear reader, you agree. One of my very favorite mystery authors, published recipes all through one of her books, and I made every single one of them. They were delicious!

Oh, and the reason I’m here instead of Molly, is that unlike Molly, so far I’ve managed to distance myself from murder solving here in our small town of Destiny, N.Y. So, while she’s busy chasing bad people, which I think she’s doing right now, I’m here to share a special new recipe of hers for white Russian cupcakes with vodka buttercream icing. Now if that doesn’t sound decadent, delightful, and delicious, then I don’t know what does. You are going to love, love, love these. I promise! Molly made them for a bachelorette party and they were a huge hit.  

White Russian Cupcakes with Vodka Buttercream Icing

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  45 mins

Serves: 24

Ingredients

·         1¾ cups (14 oz) sugar

·         1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, good quality at room temperature (Molly and I love Kerrygold!)

·         3 cups (16 oz) flour, good quality

·         ½ cup (4 oz) buttermilk, room temperature

·         ¼ cup (2 oz) vodka (good quality, please!)

·         ¼ cup (2 oz) Kahlua or coffee liqueur

·         1 tbsp baking powder

·         1 tsp vanilla powder or 2 tsp vanilla extract

·         ½ tsp salt

·         4 large eggs, room temperature (we uses eggs from Happy Hens Farm, from free-range chickens!)

·         Icing

·         4 oz butter, good quality, at room temperature

·         4 cups (about a pound) confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

·         ¼ cup (2 oz) good quality vodka

·         ½ tsp vanilla extract

·         a little milk to make a smoother consistency, if too stiff

Instructions

1.      Prepare cupcake tins with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350º F  

2.      Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl; set aside.

3.      In a large bowl (preferably in a stand mixer), cream the butter and sugar, slowly for 2 minutes. Increase to high and beat for another 8 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the 2 of the eggs, one at a time, clearing after each addition, then add half of the flour mixture, scraping the sides with a spatula if needed.

4.      Add half of the buttermilk and mix well, then add another egg. Continue to mix; then add the remaining milk, egg, vanilla, vodka, Kahlua, and flour. Mix on high for 2 minutes, scraping sides with a spatula at least once.

5.      Fill the cupcake liners half full with the batter and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when placed in the center of a cupcake. Place on cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

      Meanwhile, make the icing, by beating all the ingredients until smooth. When the cupcakes are cool, cut the tops off if they are too tall. (Optional: sprinkle a little Kahlua over each cupcake for an added kick!) You can pipe the icing on the cupcakes or just spread it on, way tastes just as delicious!

Enjoy and thanks for stopping by! Please share, readers, what you love to see in your cozy mysteries. Other than the mystery itself, of course! 

MY REVIEW

Even more delicious than the first book in the series!

My second visit to Destiny was just as tasty, and wonderful as I knew it would be. It was fun being back with Molly, Olivia, and friends!

Author Karoline Barrett brought the same mystery, fun, romance, and excellent storytelling that she gave us in book one, BUN FOR YOUR LIFE. I I was hooked from page one, and read the entire story straight through to the exciting end!

Get your copy of RAISIN THE DEAD, set some time aside, and be prepared to be extremely entertained!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karoline writes the Bread and Batter cozy mystery series for Penguin/InterMix. 

She lives in a small Connecticut town with her husband. When she's not writing, she's either reading, spending time by the water, taking pictures, traveling, indulging in social media, accompanying above-mentioned husband to New York Yankees games, or doing anything that does not involve math!

Karoline love hearing from you! Please visit her at 

karolinebarrett.com, 

www.facebook.com/KarolineBarrettBooks,

 twitter.com/KarolineBarrett

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