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

GINGER SNAPPED TO DEATH

Book 8 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries

by Catherine Bruns

From USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns comes a hilarious holiday whodunit!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Unless you’re Sally Muccio.

The full-time baker and sometime sleuth is ready to burst into song. She and her husband are expecting a bundle of joy, her sister’s wedding is just around the corner, and it’s Christmas, her favorite time of year. But when Sal’s the victim of a carjacking by Santa himself and a forgotten item links her to a murder, she doesn’t feel like ho-ho-hoing anymore.

Damian Ruger was a drug user, womanizer and first-class jerk. And unfortunately for Sal, she once had a connection to him in high school. The dough really hits the fan when her bakery's gingerbread cookies are found next to his dead body, and Sal's cake server is used as a murder weapon. Someone is trying to frame the expectant mother, but why? Sal has no choice but to try to clear her name...before she and the baby are singing Christmas carols in prison!

*Recipes Included!*

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

CHOCOLATE-FILLED COOKIE CUPS

Photo property of Chocolatemoosey.com

Ingredients: 

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

Photo property of SugarSpunRun.com

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease mini muffin pans that have 12 or more cups each or use mini paper baking cups. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large mixing bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and creamy, about 2–3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (roughly 1 tablespoon each) and add to each cup in the muffin pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies fill the cup, are done in the middle, and golden brown.

Using a round teaspoon (or something similar), immediately press down into the center of each cookie cup, making an indentation deep enough to fill later. Cool completely before removing from the pans. 

For the filling: 

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

¾ cup sweetened condensed milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions:

In a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water), or double boiler, melt together the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Immediately fill a piping bag, or a sandwich bag with the tip cut off, and fill each cookie cup. The fudge will harden quickly, so reheat the mixture if needed. Let the chocolate harden before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes about 30 cups.  

Photo property of SugarSpunRun.com

📗📖📕📖📗📖📕

Please keep reading to check out my 

installments of 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

and

The Friday 56

Both the BB and 56 are from

GINGER SNAPPED TO DEATH

📗📖📕📖📗📖📕

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

Josie beamed as she handed me an oblong gift-wrapped box. "It's just a little something, Sal." 

"But I thought we weren't exchanging Christmas gifts this year." Guilt consumed me as I tore off the green paper decorated with miniature Santas and the words Ho ho ho coming out of his mouth in a bubble. "Besides, you've already done so much—the baby shower, the gorgeous cake, and the car seat." 

Josie's blue eyes softened as she placed the dirty mixing bowl in the three-bowl sink. We were standing in the back room, or kitchen area, of my bakery, Sally's Samples. As head baker, Josie Sullivan's unique talent was the sole reason I still had a business after three and a half years. We'd been best friends since the age of eight, and she'd never once let me down.  

My 56

 " . . . Guess he finally learned his lesson." 

Now she had my attention. "Really? What happened?"

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by submitting your email in 

upper right hand corner of this page. (on the side bar).

Reading from your phone? Scroll to the bottom of your page and click"View web version". Then follow the above directions.