It's

Cozy Food Friday

That means it's time to share a recipe from 

another great cozy mystery!

Today I'm featuring a recipe from

Book 3 in the Cookies and Chance Mysteries

BURNED TO A CRISP

by

Catherine Bruns

Just when things appear to be going well for baker and sometime sleuth, Sally Muccio, life turns up the heat again.

It’s summertime, and the living is easy for the Muccio clan. Sal’s wedding to her beloved fiancé is rapidly approaching, Mom’s won a beauty contest, and sister Gianna is now a licensed public defender. But when the bakery Sal’s worked so hard for goes up in smoke—along with her dreams!—she’s not sure how much more she can stand. Even worse, the man found dead in the bakery’s back room is none other than Gianna’s latest client, Bernardo Napoli. 

The dough really hits the fan for Sal and Josie when they’re forced to temporarily relocate their bakery to the crazy Muccio home. Trouble is quickly stirred up as the best friend team must now contend with Sal’s father and his new mortuary business “undertakings,” a middle aged mother parading around customers in bikinis, and an Italian family hell bent on revenge. For Sal, several questions demand answers. Where has Gianna disappeared to? What role did she play in Bernardo’s death? What secret is Sal’s fiancé hiding from her? Sal is determined to find answers...before she gets burned once again! 

**Recipes Included!**

About Catherine

Catherine is the USA Today best selling author of the Cookies & Chance mysteries. She lives in New York with her very patient husband, three sons, and assorted cats and dogs. Catherine has a B.A. in English and is a former newspaper reporter and press release writer. She also writes the Cindy York mysteries and coming next January, the Aloha Lagoon (Carrie Jorgenson) mysteries. 

To find out more about future releases and giveaways, you can sign up for Catherine's newsletter at catherinebruns.net/Newsletter/newsletter.html 

Please feel free to connect with her on social media as well:

facebook.com/Catherine-Bruns-Books-218522341685434

twitter.com/CatherineBruns3

MY REVIEW

This tasty installment of the Cookies & Chance Mysteries had my stomach growing, and my inner sleuth working overtime!

Having read the first two books in this delightful series, I had no doubt I would enjoy BURNED TO A CRISP. Well, I liked it about as much as Sal’s costumers like her cookies. If you’ve read this series, you’ll know that means a liked it a lot! Haven’t read the series? You’ll see what I mean when you do. And you do need to read the Cookies & Chance Mysteries!

One thing is for certain, author Catherine Bruns knows how to write a story that draws emotions out of her readers. She burned down her lead character’s business! I was broken hearted for Sally when she came upon the scene of her bakery up in flames. Sally was devastated, and so was I! Then a man’s body is found in the backroom of the bakery, and Sally’s sister is missing. All in the first few chapters!

Everything I found enjoyable about the author’s writing in the first two books, and more, was present in BURNED TO A CRISP. Ms. Bruns has raised the bar in her story telling, and baked up a tale that is the best of the batch so far.

Don’t forget to check out the yummy cookie recipes in the back of the book!

Check after the recipe for a great 

*****!!!GIVEAWAY!!!*****

ON TO THE RECIPE!

SALLY'S SHORTBREAD

Note: These can be made as simple shortbread bars

 or as slice-and-bake refrigerator cookies.

Ingredients

1 pound butter (4 sticks)

1 cup sugar, plus additional ¼ cup for sprinkling

4 cups flour

To make simple shortbread bars:

1) Place butter in a large microwaveable bowl, and microwave on low power (20%) for 2-3 minutes until very soft and creamy but not melted.

2) Add the cup of sugar to the softened butter, and stir with a spoon until fully blended.

3) Add the flour to the butter and sugar mixture, and mix gently with your hands until it comes together into a heavy dough. 

4) Do not over mix. The dough will be very sticky. 

Place dough in an ungreased 13 x 9-inch pan, patting it down evenly and into the corners with your fingers until the surface is smooth and even.

Prick dough all over, down to the bottom of the pan, with a fork. 

Sprinkle a few tablespoons of sugar evenly over the top.

Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. 

Bake shortbread for 5 minutes, and then without opening the oven, reduce heat to 300° and continue baking for another 50 minutes or so, until shortbread is a light golden color. 

Cut immediately into 32 bars and place on cooling rack for 15 minutes. 

Remove bars from pan, and continue to cool. Once completely cooled, place in tins or airtight containers. 

Makes approximately 32 bars.  

To make slice-and-bake refrigerator cookies:

Follow steps 1 - 4 above

After mixing the dough, separate it into 4 equal portions and place each onto a separate sheet of waxed paper. 

Shape and roll each portion of dough into an 8-inch log in the waxed paper, and fold ends closed. 

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat over to 375°

Unwrap from the waxed paper, and slice each long into 8 rounds. 

Lightly dip the top side of each cookie into the sugar, place several inches apart on two baking sheets, and prick each cookie through a couple of times with a fork. 

Bake cookies for 2 minutes then, without opening the oven, reduce heat to 300° and continue baking for another 20 minutes or so, until shortbread is a light golden color. 

Place pan on cooling rack for 5 minutes.

Remove cookies from pan, and continue to cool. 

Once completely cooled, put in tins or airtight containers.

*****!!!GIVEAWAY!!!*****

I can't think of a better way to try out that shortbread recipe than to read it with a great book, and having a tasty drink!

Catherine Bruns is giving one lucky winner a 

Kindle copy of

BURNED TO A CRISP

and a 

$5.00 Starbucks Gift Card!

Use the Rafflecopter form 

at the end of this post 

for your chance to win!

~*~*~

Please keep reading and check out my 

installments of 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

and

The Friday 56

~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Book Beginnings and Friday 56

 for this week are also from 

BURNED TO A CRISP

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader

Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading

My Book Beginnings

I sat down on the front steps of my cookie shop, Sally's Samples, and took a rare moment to enjoy the warm June sunshine on my face. The sky was a perfect blue, with nary a cloud to be seen. A gentle breeze flapped around my apron and my curly, shoulder-length, black hair. I kicked off my sneakers and wiggled my toes, enjoying the feel of the overgrown blades of grass between them. Content, I closed my eyes and leaned back, thinking about my life. 

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice

Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's okay.) *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you. *Post it.

My Friday 56

Josie and I spent the rest of the day making and freezing doughs and attempting to get things into some sort of  semblance of order for the bakery's grand reopening tomorrow. Since we were limited for space, there were some types of cookies we would not be able to make, unless people special ordered them. The smaller display case held less than half of what the other one in my shop had housed. I kept telling myself that working here was only a temporary situation, like having the flu or some other type of illness. 

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 

clicking on the link in the 

upper right hand corner of this page.