No, my calendar isn’t screwed up. I’m talking about what happens, oh, a few days after Santa makes his rounds. Next Tuesday, one week from this very day...SUGAR RUSH finally hits the stands!! Wahoo!!

In the meantime…my fab publisher Kensington has a few stocking stuffer ideas…. (click on the image to see the covers up close!)

A nice Christmas quote came in from the Parkersburg News & Sentinel. In their Christmas Books For Adults roundup, they had this to say about UNWRAPPED: “This is a great collection of quick romance tales that will heat up your Christmas!” Thank you, Parkersburg!

A few fun things going on this week, too. USA Today is doing an interview with moi! More details to come!! And I promised a contest….and here you go! Want a chance to win a copy of THE LEGEND MACKINNON?

My first paranormal that just made its way to digital (and is still in print as well..) is the talk over at Romance @ Random. Drop by this week, leave a comment here, and you could be a winner!

Tags: Writing // Add Comment »

So…I’ve been in the kitchen baking cupcakes all morning. I realize this comes as a shock to absolutely no one.

I am baking for friends & family (and editors, agents…) and decided I needed something that was both super yummy and delicious….and would hold up well via various forms of transport and delivery. So, I went with my younger son’s favorite cupcake from this whole past year of cupcake blogging…

Martha’s Streusel Cupcakes!

Below is the original entry from my Cakes By the Cup Blog for this recipe, written way back on February 9. I’ve learned so much since then….

Enjoy! (And yes, the winner of the first ever Fan Page Contest is announced below, after the goodies!)

“The one where I wished I’d kept my grandmother’s pastry blender…..” February 9, 2011

Hello intrepid cupcake lovers!

I’m back with the latest in my journey to research all things cupcake! But first, Book Update!

As you may or may not know (but surely care….and care deeply) this blog is a result of all the hands on research I’ve been doing for my new Cakes by the Cup series, a trilogy of romantic comedies that will start appearing on the shelves the end of this year.

Book 1, SUGAR RUSH, is already in the hands of my publisher, in pre-production, and now, after a short break to finish up the Hot Scots trilogy with a novella that will appear in this fall’s UNWRAPPED Christmas anthology (yes, Shay’s story for all who have been asking!)…I am officially BACK in the kitchen, baking away!

I’ve started work on Book 2, SWEET STUFF, and we all know what that means. Cupcakes, cupcakes, and well…more cupcakes!

This week’s adventure comes from a bit earlier on in my research trials and tribulations. I’m titling it… “the one where I really wish I’d kept my grandma’s pastry blender” but could have also been called “the one where I should have read ALL of the instructions first.” Or, you know…both.

The good news is, despite any initial issues I had in perfecting this recipe (okay, okay, in just following the instructions which required no perfecting, just madd reading skillz and patience, one of which I lack. Sorely.) this cupcake has gone on to become a fast family and friends favorite and is one of the two I’ve made most often since.

Today, my friends, behold the Streusel Cupcake. Yes, the perfect combination of coffee cake and cake in a cup, full of rich, buttery, brown sugary crumbly topping goodness, all in a little paper cup. Or two. Or….okay, three. But three was my limit! (For breakfast.)

For this recipe, we dive back into my now favorite cookbook, Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes.

You’ll recall, not a huge Martha Fan here, but the woman knows her cupcakes. And what did I learn the last and first time I cooked a Martha Recipe? Right: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST. Did this lesson stick with me? Apparently not. I mean, it’s coffee cake in a cup. How complicated can that be?

Not very. If you, you know, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.

Streusel Cupcakes:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon coarse (Kosher) salt
½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp (which equals 1 ¼ sticks. Because nothing is easy with la Martha)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs (she doesn’t say room temp, but you totally know she means it.)
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups sour cream

So…those are the ingredients. At the end of that list, she just adds:
Streusel Topping (recipe follows)
Milk Glaze (recipe follows)

So….naturally, I think it’s safe to just go ahead and make the cupcake batter, THEN skip on down to the streusel instructions. WRONG, young padewan.

But, that’s what I do. The first time I made this, anyway. And, you’d think, given that I screwed up the READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST when dealing with Martha Rule the first time I used this cookbook, I’d be all over that. Sadly, no.

And, the Instructions for the cupcake batter are:
1. Preheat Oven to 350. Line muffin tins with 24 paper cups
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (I am a big fan of whisking. It’s much easier on the forearm than squeezing that sifter lever a million times. Not to mention positioning said sifter exactly over the mixing bowl and somehow still managing to get powder everywhere BUT in the bowl. Whisking? That I can manage.)
3. With electric mixer on medium-high, cream butter, sugar until pale and fluffy. (And, what did we learn? 2-3 minutes min, 4 min max. Set a timer.)
4. Add eggs, one at a time, until they are each assimilated, like the Borg. Scrape sides of the bowl as you wish. Make it so.
5. Stir in vanilla by hand. (Apparently it’s too gentle a flavor to withstand the electric beaters. I don’t know. But I can do this.)
6. Add flour mixture and sour cream. Stir until just combined. Again, use non-electric man power.
7. Do the math and divide this big honkin’ bowl o’ batter evenly into 24 cups. Good luck with that.

Now….now she tells you, blithely, to just “sprinkle half the topping over the cupcakes, gently pressing it into the batter, then sprinkle evenly with the rest of the topping. Meaning, I guess, that you’ve already MADE the topping. Except she SAID the recipe was to follow. And it does follow…it follows the above instructions. As in, printed below them. Not in the regular ingredient column. Which I took to mean, “Make after.”

Yeah. I would have been wrong. Why? Well, apparently, all this time you were making the batter? The streusel topping was supposed to be already made and being chilled in the refrigerator! I know!

So, now I have 24 cups full of marginally evenly divided batter (oh, who am I kidding? It’s not even close to even.) and I haven’t made the streusel, much less chilled it in the fridge!

I figure what the heck, just make it, sprinkle and press it, and be done with it. Which, I do.

Streusel Topping:
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon coarse (Kosher) salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

Instructions:
1. Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt. (Brown sugar doesn’t immediately whisk all that well, but keep at it. Or break it up with a fork first.)
2. Cut in the butter and use a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two table knives, until combined but still crumbly.

Is she kidding me with that? Me, use two knives? Simultaneously? I don’t care if they’re dull butter knives. That’s crazy talk. I can hurt myself with a potato peeler. So, since I didn’t bring home my grandmothers pastry blender (why? Why?) I am forced to do the fingertip method. Yeah. That was fun.

THEN! Martha just happens to mention that you’re supposed to pop this bowl of crumbly perfection in the fridge. For THIRTY MINUTES.

What, and leave the unevenly distributed cake batter to just soak through my muffin cups? I think not. So I sprinkle and press and re-sprinkle, and while it will all work out okay, it’s a lot harder to sprinkle soft streusel. And when you press it, it just kind of gloms into the batter.

Did it make the cupcakes inedible or anything? Not at all. In fact, they were heavenly. It was more a clean up situation. A lot of the topping did melt all over the muffin pan and ooze down between the paper lining and the pan and made for not-so-fun clean up. So, when I made this recipe the second time, I READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST, and refrigerated the topping while making the cupcake batter and it did go much, much more smoothly, they looked better, and the clean up was a cinch.

So, now you’ve topped your batter, pressed, and sprinkled. Next?
1. Bake, rotating the tins halfway through, until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. (By “tester” I assume she means “toothpick.) Approx 20 minutes. Mine cooked closer to 18.
2. Transfer tins to wire rack. Cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Milk Glaze:
1 ½ cups confectioners sugar. Sifted. (I know, because god forbid I have clean counters)
3 tablespoons milk

Whisk together ingredients and drizzle over cupcakes. Use immediately.

And do you know what else you’ll do? Eat them immediately. These are yummy with a capital Y. One of my favorites.

Don’t they look yummmmm to you?

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I do and they become family favorites in your house.

Now….the moment you’ve all been waiting for!! Thank you everyone for you enthusiasm for my brand spankin’ new Facebook Fan Page and for entering my first ever Fan Page Contest! Winner gets copies of both SUGAR RUSH & SWEET STUFF! (Now that’s a sweeeet prize!) !!

Lots of entries and comments this past week…but only one winner! Was it you? Well, head on over to My Fan Page and find out already!!

Hope everyone has a festive and frolicking weekend! See you back here next week with news, updates…and yes, a new contest!

Tags: Writing // 1 Comment »

….I have that right, don’t I? Well…that’s what I think it should be called.

Why can’t Santa leave this under my tree Christmas morning? Haven’t I been a good girl? Just sayin’, Santa!!! Santa??

And hey, if you haven’t already raced over to my new Fabulous Amazing Fan Page over on Facebook, well, there’s a contest going on over there you might be interested in! I’m giving away copies of BOTH of my Cupcake Club Romances, SUGAR RUSH & SWEET STUFF!!!

Alls ya gotta do is pop in over there, “Like” the page and leave a comment to one of my contest wall posts. In fact, if you can drag your eyes off of my Christmas present up there, glance for a moment over on the blog roll there to your right…and you can take care of contest business with a click and a hop! Winner will be announced Friday!

Then come back and go right back to drooling. Here, I’ll move over a little and make room for you in the shallow end of the pool. Pass the little umbrella drinks, would you? Ahhh…. I love Wednesdays….

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Well, I think it’s a cool contest, anyway!

As I announced here last week, my Official Big Time Author Fan Page has been launched over on Facebook. There was much hoopla, dancing about, mass cupcake consumption, and just a general damn good time. (And that was just me!)

So, imagine the fun YOU could have if you come on over and join me! And that’s what this week’s contest is all about.

To enter this week’s contest, there’s just a few simple steps….and you’re in!

First, head on over to my Fan Page and hit the “Like” button. (You Like me, you really, really Like me!/channeling Sally Field voice…) Then check out my wall post today, announcing the contest, and leave a comment. That’s it! (And, if you’ve already Liked me, Really Really Liked me…then you only have to do the comment-on-the-wall-post part!)

This coming Friday, I’ll pick a name from the pile of Likers/Commenters and what does that lucky Liker/Commenter win, Johnny? Well….a set of BOTH of the first two Cupcake Club Romances…SUGAR RUSH (avail to the rest of the hoards on 12/27) & SWEET STUFF (on sale 1/31/12)!

Seriously! I told you it was awesome!

So…go click links and buttons and comment, oh my….then head back on over here because we’re going to dish on last night’s tv offerings. Here’s my Morning After Commentary for Monday….

First, Amazing Race finale. So, I was bummed that Team NFL/Awesome Amani didn’t win. But they finished and were just so darn great about it, you couldn’t be upset. Of the other two remaining teams, I’m okay with the winners. Team Overachiever&Partner certainly did the prep work for the show and wanted it reallyreallybadly. And, frankly, they earned it. They were also good to each other as partners, so no matter how much the Overachiever part of the team annoyed the living daylights out of me…I have to give them a big ol well deserved golf clap on the finish. I think my only real big disappointment (and I imagine the producer’s as well) was not having all three teams dangling from the huge maps at the same time at the end. You kind of knew from the simulator onward what the final order was going to be. It wasn’t, perhaps, the most scintillating season, personality-wise, but I appreciated that there were no teams you loathed, and I think it was one of my favorites of all time in terms of destinations and tasks. So…I’ll be back for the next season!

Then….over on Good Wife. Wow, they just keep it coming. And I love that about them. Interesting case…and even more interesting developments on the whole investigation front. I’m liking (even though I want to hate it) how the writers are keeping the relationship between Peter and Alicia relevant and forward moving, even though it appears as if it should be over. Only…check the name of the show, folks. I think not. I was actually glad the Will thing ended and though I think Chris Noth plays a really great SleazyPete and want Alicia to run, run fast!….I won’t be entirely disappointed if they keep making the developments between them matter.

On The Next Iron Chef….so, I totally saw Chef Prissy Pants in the final. Sorry, but Jeffrey Zacharian seems like he’s perpetually sniffing something that’s just a little off. However, much as I don’t like the guy personally, I can’t deny he’s one hell of a chef. And he deserved the slot in the finals. I think Alex made it farther than she might otherwise have, given her often seat-of-her-pants, come from behind wins, so no surprise that she went out in the final four.

The nail biter, for me, was wanting, really badly, for Chef Faulkner to make the finals….and Chef Chiarello to head to the big kitchen Ponderosa that is NOT Kitchen Stadium. It looked touch and go there, and they both did a great job with the final showdown….but then victory was mine! Or, rather, Chef Faulkner’s. I love that she’s a trained pastry chef extraordinaire who came and played with the big boys and girls, and showed them what she was made of. Love her whimsy and think-outside-the-oven mentality. Alton summed it up best when, at the beginning of the final showdown he said that they all knew Chiarello would do something Italian. But they had no freaking clue what Faulkner would do. And clearly the judges were all pretty excited about that. That’s why I love her. Good on you, Elizabeth!

But…hands down, the highlight of the night was over on Once Upon A Time. Seriously such a guilty pleasure in all the ways it should be! I was a little thrown off by the suddenly zealous intent of the hot Sheriff Graham towards Emma. They could have led up to that a little more convincingly. (I mean, we knew it was coming eventually, but….) But I wasn’t at all surprised to find out he was the huntsman, it was what I suspected all along. But for all that he’s uber virile and hunky in the Enchanted Kingdom passages, they could have done with imbuing a bit more of that in him in the Storybrooke passages. I get that he’s a bit wild-eyed at the moment, but you can be wild-eyed and still manly.

Also, I’m glad that the writers have now said in numerous interviews that the mayor/evil queen knows that she’s in the alternate reality world that she created (because it would make no sense to me if she wasn’t…she wouldn’t have let herself get caught in her own web. Besides, it’s way more fun this way.) Loved the scene with her as loving Queen Mummy Step-dearest to Snow White in the Enchanted Kingdom scenes. Just gets more and more delicious, doesn’t it? What I’m not sure is…does Rumpelstiltskin know who he is in Storybrooke? It seems rather obvious that he does…but I’m enjoying the back and forth.

Mostly I wish they hadn’t spoiled that a main character would die…because you pretty much knew going in who it was going to be. But….it’s the Enchanted Kingdom after all. So whose to say how final that death really is… And just when the cracks between Storybrooke and the Enchanted Kingdom start to grow bigger….Now we have to go on Holiday Hiatus, along with a bunch of other shows! What? No fair! Poo, I say. Poo!

But hey….at least we get new NCIS tonight….. Yum!

So…what is your guilty tv pleasure this winter season? DISH!

Tags: Writing // 2 Comments »

So it’s Cupcake Friday again….and I decided that it was time to delve back into the world of chocolate. Haven’t done a good chocolate cake in a while. Been cheating with cocoa-based recipes, but today, I wanted that rich, dark, decadent chocolate. The kind that would make Ghirardelli drool. I found this recipe on Food.com and thought it sounded interesting. It combines the decadence of rich melted chocolate with whipped egg whites, so the resulting cake is lighter, like a sponge cake, yet still with that rich chocolatey goodness. The frosting is simple, but ohmygod good….just more melted chocolate and whipping cream. Seriously, does it get much better than that? I think not.

This is what will keep you warm on a cold winter’s day. Or…you know…any day.

There is a recipe at the end for how to make your own chocolate curls for garnishing the cupcakes. As you can see, I didn’t go the distance on that. I didn’t have a loaf pan (oh Santa….are you listening?) and none of my other containers seemed suitable…so I used chocolate jimmies instead. I know, cheating right? Except…no. In my defense, well, first off, I love jimmies. And how often do they really work into the daily menu? So I had to take advantage. Besides, it’s the holiday season, where you’re supposed to use sprinkles on stuff. It’s like, Clausian Law or something. The photo below is pre-jimmies. Because it just looks better.

I think this is now one of my favorite chocolate cake/frosting combos ever. Light, rich cake and melted fudge frosting…you really must try it!

So….here you go with Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes! Enjoy!

CUPCAKES
3/4 cup unsalted butter
6 ounces semisweet chocolate , chopped
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs , separated
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 325°F.
2. Grease 12-cup muffin pan or line with baking cups.
3. Place metal bowl over medium saucepan of barely simmering water or use double boiler.
4. Add butter and 6 oz chocolate. Let stand until melted; stir until smooth.
5. Cool to room temperature, then whisk in sugar and egg yolks.
6. Stir in flour and baking powder.
6. In large bowl, beat egg whites at medium speed until frothy.
7. Add cream of tartar.
8. Beat at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
9. Fold one-fourth of the whites into chocolate mixture.
10. Gently fold in remaining whites until mixed.
11.Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling two-thirds full. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes, remove from pan; cool completely.

FROSTING
6 ounces semisweet chocolate , coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions:
1. In medium saucepan, combine remaining 6 oz semisweet chocolate and whipping cream.
2. Heat over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring frequently.
3. Spread each cupcake with frosting
If garnishing with chocolate curls: Let cupcakes stand until frosting is cool but not sett, then garnish with chocolate curls.

Making Chocolate Curl Garnish:

Ingredients: 6 oz semi sweet chocolate

Directions:
1. line 4×2x2-inch mini loaf pan with plastic wrap.
2. Melt 6 oz of the chocolate in metal bowl set over pan of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water).
3. Pour into mini loaf pan; cool until firm.
4. Unmold chocolate; remove plastic wrap.
5. Using vegetable peeler, make curls.

Now that I have you in a chocolate haze of deliriousness…it’s time to announce the winner of this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest. Winner receives an advance copy of the first in my Cupcake Club Romance series…SUGAR RUSH! And the lucky winner is……Heather G!! Woo hoo, Heather!! Just send me your address to donna@donnakauffman.com and I will get the book in the mail!

Okay…so now on to the Big News! (What, chocolate wasn’t enough? Why no, no it was not. It’s the holidays, dammit, and we want more!) Well, I’m gonna give you more. With the urging of my wonderful publisher, Kensington Books, I now have a brand, spankin’ new Fan Page on Facebook. I know! It’s where all the cool blog babes hang out. So…come on over and hang out…and if you click the Like button…you’ll be in the running for my next contest, which will be announce Monday on the Fan Page. See you there!

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At the urging of my publisher and the imminent launch of the Cupcake Club Romance series…I now have a brand new fan page on Facebook! I started decorating the place last night and it’s slowly coming along. A total happening blog babe hang out. I’d love to see you there!

You can find me at Donna Kauffman.

I will still be keeping my personal page going, but for all the goings on book-wise, cupcake-wise, and for the occasional Facebook Fan Page-only contests and special promotions, you’ll need to head on over there and Like me. Really, really Like me. (Uh on, I’m channeling Sally Fields now! )

And while you’re clicking and liking and messaging…don’t forget to enter this week’s contest for a chance to win a copy of my first Cupcake Club Romance, SUGAR RUSH! See Monday’s blog post for all the details! Winner will be announced here tomorrow, along with the next cupcake recipe! I’m thinking something rich and chocolatey is the way to go this week. Any takers?

Good luck!

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Seriously. It’s raining, dark, dreary….and that middle-of-the-week slump. So, I figured I cheer things up a little, with….

National Ride A Cowboy Day!! (Okay, so I totally made that up. But it SHOULD be a holiday….just sayin’)

Don’t you feel better? I know I do.

Don’t forget to enter this week’s contest to win a free advance copy of SUGAR RUSH (on sale 12/27!) See Monday’s post for all the details!

Tags: Writing // 1 Comment »

No, not from Christmas, silly….from the SUGAR RUSH release! (What, everyone hasn’t made this the Go To date for December??) Well, you all can celebrate on the 25th…but December 27th is the Big Day of celebration here! Just consider it yet another present, slightly belated, in your stocking.

So, speaking of Go To days….since when did Sunday become the Must See night for television? And why didn’t the tv big wigs figure that out sooner? Nice way to end the weekend, curling up, unwinding, and watching a few of your favorite shows seems like the perfect way to get a little Me Time before gearing up for the new week ahead.

Okay, okay, so for me this comes after already enjoying some football, possibly some homemade chili and cornbread and…well, you get the picture. Winter Sunday’s are my favorites!

So here’s the MACdaddy Rant Roundup for Sunday!… (Morning After Commentary for you newcomer Blog Babes! And…welcome!)

Last night was a fun leg of Amazing Race as we got down to the final three teams. (SPOILER…don’t read if you don’t wanna know who made it…and who didn’t!) I didn’t really have a favorite in this season, just enjoyed all the teams, and mostly enjoyed the scenery. They went to fabulous new spots and the tasks were interesting. When it was a race to the final three, I was just wondering who else would make it in addition to Team Snowboarders (given they’d won 6 legs out of 12…) and I hoped Team NFL would make it. So, color me (and the three surviving teams) stunned when the Snowboarders took a major wrong turn and ended up out of the race!! Wow. Didn’t see that coming! (But,seriously….they had no idea who Charlie Chaplin was? Am I that old? Don’t answer that!)

So, I’m Team NFL all the way for the win, but I’ll be okay with either of the other two teams (who have no nicknames because….well, they’re not all that memorable, frankly!) I did enjoy how thrilled they all were to have made the finals, and that it was so close they all hit the mat virtually at the same time. There was unity in them conquering the dominant team…which will vanish next week as they all race the last leg for that million bucks. Fun season! Perhaps not the most memorable in terms of contestants, but enjoyable for the race itself. Well, and Host Phil Keoghan was super Philicious this season. Shirtless, even!

On to The Good Wife…which was oooooh good! I love how writers for this show just keep the suspense coming. The characters are all interestingly complex and don’t always act as you think they might. I like how Alicia Florick is coming into her own and the supporting cast remains intriguing as well. From the teasers, this week’s episode promises to be a good one….and is on my DVR rightthisverysecond for my future viewing. A nice reward for a weekday’s work done.

Then SyFy gets in on the Sunday night action with their take on how Peter Pan got his start with their mini series Neverland. That one is also still on my DVR, waiting to be watched!

But my true, true, truest two guilty pleasures are the shows I look forward to seeing all week…

The Next Iron Chef…which is crazy this season in that’s it being contested by all the super chefs you see with their own shows all over television. You know, the ones who usually judge those hapless other contestants on shows like Chopped… Now they’re the ones being judged, and the level of talent here is nothing short of amazing. It’s a knuckle biter every week. No, really. The way that last Sudden Death challenge goes down almost leaves you panting. And, well…drooling. The food they make…well, you should just have some leftovers you might need to be munching on while you watch because no way am I sitting there watching all that fabulous food without something from the kitchen calling my name. Last night had another evil twist where the winner of last week’s challenge got to throw one of the other chefs directly into the bottom two and force them into the dreaded Sudden Death round. The irony last night? The chef who had this advantage? Also ended up in the Bottom Two…and ultimately went home! I know! It was just too good. Except I liked Chef Burrell and hated to see her go. We’re down to four chefs remaining and I’m rooting for Chef Faulkner all the way. She’ll bring something totally different to the Iron Chef stadium if she wins this. Can’t wait to see how it all plays out. TWO go home next week. I better start stockpiling the snacks right now….

Which will have to wait while I watch…oh yeah…number uno guilty pleasure, Once Upon A Time! Are you loving this series as much as I am?? I’ve read several really good articles on the series including great interviews with the two exec producers and how they envision this series moving forward while giving us resolution to the various plots that keep a-hatching. They are SO not even started yet with all the things they want to do! (Expect visits from Beauty and the Beast’s Belle (along with the Beast, Gaston…), Aladdin…and more!) And for so many things to be explained…all while introducing new things for us to puzzle over. I love the lore of all this as they continue to create this dual world.

To dive into Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest….click Here and Here, and oh, Here, too! for interviews, episode reviews and all things Once.

As a storyteller by profession, this whole idea just amazes and surprises me. I have no idea how they’re keeping all the threads untangled — or tangled so deliciously! — but to have such a rich tapestry to play with boggles and entices my storytelling (and story loving) brain! Which storyline do you love best? What are you most anxious to see resolved?

And…winding back to that whole T-Minus 3 weeks and counting…I’m going to giveaway a copy of one of my own stories this week… Who wants to win an advance copy of SUGAR RUSH? Well, if you’re raising your hand and going Ooh,ooh, ooh and doing your best Horshack impression (look it up) then hurry up and send an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with “Give it to me, me, me!” in the subject line. I’ll draw one name and announce the winner here on Friday. Good luck!

And now…DISH!!

Tags: Writing // 4 Comments »

Somehow it got to be Friday already! And I’m still on my Wednesday To-Do list. Ah well, first thing on my Friday To-Do list is announce the winner of this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest. (And second is to bake cupcakes and share the recipe…see below!)

Thanks to everyone for the avalanche of entries this week!! One Blog Babe’s name has been pulled from the stack…and the lucky winner of an advance copy of SUGAR RUSH is…….Melissa S!!! (Had a few Melissa’s this time…but only one Melissa S!!)) To claim your prize, simply email me at donna@donnakauffman.com with your address. Congratulations!!

And now on to the baked goodies! Last week we had eggnog cupcakes, and I mentioned that I’d run across the red velvet/eggnog frosting combination, which sounded pretty yum, too. I wanted to keep the holiday spirit going this week, and decided on mmmmmm……Gingerbread Cupcakes!!

Typically, you see them paired with Cream Cheese Frosting, but I wasn’t completely happy with the Eggnog Frosting recipe from last week — too sweet and the cream cheese richness was a little lost — so decided to tweak it a little (less confectioners sugar, more butter and eggnog!) and try again with these. However, they are awesome with just a bit of powdered sugar sifted on top. Or you can try the Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting on the recipe site. (Click the blog link above the recipe!)

No matter what version you try…they are yummy! (And your house will smell sooooo good!)

From Gastronomyblog.com

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
3.Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla.
4.In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and baking soda until dissolved.
5.Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
6.Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. 7.Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
8.Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes.

Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting (my recipe):

Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons egg nog, to taste
1 tablespoon Rum, to taste (This is optional. I didn’t add to mine. If you don’t use rum, increase eggnog by 1 tablespoon.)

Steps:
1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add vanilla, blend.
2. Add confectioners sugar and nutmeg, then gradually add eggnog (and/or rum.) Add more sugar for consistency if needed (or cut back amount of eggnog to keep the flavor of the cream cheese from being diluted by too much sugar.)

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. And do. And will again!

Have a great weekend everyone!! New Contest on Monday….see the blog for all the details.

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So…no Castle last night…no Hawaii 5-0….what’s a girl to do? Oh, right…read a good book! I started Addison Fox’s BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE. Cute story! Enjoying so far… What are you reading?

I know what the critics are reading…and that’s my upcoming December 27 release, SUGAR RUSH! We’ve been working so hard this full last year, getting ready to launch the back-to-back releases of the first two books in the Cupcake Club Romance series (SWEET STUFF comes out late January!) And it’s exciting that the first book is finding it’s way into hands other than mine, my editor’s, and my mom. It’s also scary, since those first hands usually belong to the book reviewers and critics!

So far, the reaction has been pretty, well….sweet! First the starred review, Pick-of-the-Week from Publisher’s Weekly, then the call from USA Today to do an interview about the series, and yesterday this popped up from RT Book Reviews:

“Fans of cupcakes and TV chefs will like this first installment of the back-to-back Cupcake Club series that comes with recipes. For those looking for more, not to worry — this isn’t a light, spun sugar tale. It has more substance, like a rich, chocolate ganache. The supporting cast of characters are delightful, and one hopes they will appear in future books.” 4 Stars!…Joyce Morgan, RT Book Reviews

Mostly I can’t wait for it to get into the hands I want most to have it…YOURS! I’m already writing book three (BABYCAKES, October 2012) and want you all to meet my Sugarberry Island peeps!

Want to join the critics and have an advance copy of SUGAR RUSH righthisverysecond? (Well, or as fast as your mailman can bring it to you?) Enter this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest! See Monday’s post for all the details!!

And while you’re entering contests, don’t forget to check out Kensington’s contest, which runs till the end of December. You can win $50 certificate Crumbs Cupcakes. (Best. Ever! I’ve had them!!) Click on the photo below to get an upclose look at entry details!

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