It's

Cozy Food Friday!

That means it's time to share a recipe from 

another great cozy mystery!

This week's recipe is from

SOUTHERN SASS 

AND KILLER CRAVINGS

Book 1 in the Marygene Brown Mysteries

by Kate Young

Life has always been sweet on Georgia’s Peach Cove Island, but a case of murder has Marygene Brown down in the pits . . .
 
For generations, the women of the Brown family on Peach Cove Island have been known for their Southern sass and sweet homemade desserts at their beloved Peach Diner. Since their mother's passing two years ago, Marygene has been stuck in Atlanta while her sister Jena Lynn has been running the family business. Now Marygene has left her husband and returned to her hometown, where she can almost feel Mama's presence.
 
But all is not peachy back home. Marygene has barely tied on an apron when a diner regular drops dead at the counter. When it turns out the old man's been poisoned, Jena Lynn is led away in handcuffs and the family eatery is closed. Now, to save her sister and the diner, Marygene must find the real killer. With some startling assistance from her Mama's spirit, Marygene will be serving up a special order of just desserts . . .
 
Includes Seven Recipes from Marygene’s Kitchen!

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MARYGENE'S BERRY CRUMB BARS

photo property of iowagirleats.com

Ingredients

For the dough

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and diced 

Zest of 1 lemon

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling

5 cups berries, (strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries)

1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

photo property of wifemommafoodie.com

   Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

   In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the  flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter until in resembles cornmeal. Then add the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling. 

   In a bowl, mix gently together berries, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla extract. In a large Ziploc bag or bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour over the berries and fold gently. 

   Spread the berry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the top. 

   Bake in the preheated over for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. 

photo property of fortheloveofcooking.com

What a wonderful summer dessert!

Is this something you'd try?

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Please keep reading to check out my 

installments of 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

and

The Friday 56

Both the BB and 56 are from

SOUTHERN SASS AND KILLER CRAVINGS

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

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

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 Book Beginnings

My phone rang for the umpteenth time this morning. After a brief glance at my cell, I hit the speaker button on the steering wheel. "Hey, I didn't get cold feet. I'm doing this." My lips creased in a grin, proud my tone sounded confident, even to my own ears.

My 56

Like me, she had a curious personality. I moved my head closer to hers.

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