Instead of my usual Too Yummy Tuesday posts, I’ll be featuring yummy recipes and delicious blurbs from some fellow romance authors throughout the holidays!
Today’s recipe comes from Whitley Cox, author of Love, Passion, and Power.
CRANBERRY BLISS BARS
For years I would make it a sinful habit to treat myself at least
once a week to a cranberry bliss bar and a chai tea latte with egg nog, because
they’re only around for a short time, so the belly needs to stock up. But then
I decided to try and make my own, that way I could eat a whole pan if I wanted
to, and in the comfort of my own home (in the dark in a corner with crumbs all
over my face…you get the picture). And voila, I found the perfect recipe that
mimics the original, if not improves upon it. Now I just have to figure out how
to copy their chai lattes with egg nog and I never have to leave my house
again!
Ingredients
BARS
1cup
butter (2 sticks, very soft)
1cup brown
sugar (some cooks reduce this to 2/3 cup)
1⁄3cup
granulated sugar
3large
eggs
2teaspoons
orange extract or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2cups
flour
1
1⁄2teaspoons baking powder
1teaspoon
ground ginger
3⁄4cup
craisins (dried cranberries)
3⁄4cup
white chocolate chips
FROSTING
3ounces
cream cheese, softened
2tablespoons
butter, softened
3cups
confectioners' sugar
1teaspoon
orange extract (or vanilla)
TOPPING
1⁄3cup
craisins, chopped
1
-2tablespoon grated orange rind
1⁄3cup
white chocolate chips
1⁄2teaspoon
canola oil
Directions
1.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for a glass or dark pan). Prepare a
10x15 by lining it with parchment paper or use a non-stick spray.
2.
BARS: With an electric mixer, beat together softened butter and sugars
3-5 minutes until light; gently blend in eggs and orange extract (don't
overbeat eggs). Add the flour, baking powder, and ginger and beat briefly. Add
the cranberries and chips, stirring just until incorporated.
3.
Spread thick batter in prepared 10x15 pan. Bake 350 for 20-24 minutes
until light brown AT EDGES and a skewer tests clean. Don't overbake or your
bars will be dry. Let it cool completely. NOTE: If you use a 9x13 pan, the bars
will be thicker and will take 26-28 minutes.
4.
FROSTING: Blend cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add orange extract
and confectioners sugar and beat until frosting is fluffy and spreadable
(adding 1 t. milk if needed). Spread evenly over COOLED bars.
5.
GARNISH: Use a zester to remove rind from an orange; sprinkle zest over
frosted bars. Chop 1/3 cup Craisins coarsely; sprinkle over frosted bars.
6.
DRIZZLE: Mix white chocolate and oil in a glass measuring cup. Microwave
1 minute; stirring every 15 seconds until melted. Use a fork or whisk to
drizzle the white chocolate diagonally across the bars.
7.
Allow one hour for the white chocolate to set before cutting.
**To make
signature Starbuck triangles, cut into 20 large squares (5 cuts by 4 cuts with
the knife). Then cut each square in half diagonally to create triangles.
*~*~*~*~*~*
(The Dark and Damaged Hearts series)
by Whitley Cox
He was her new
beginning; she was his undoing.
When personal trainer Kendra Black saw
millionaire Justin Williams walk through her door all she saw was money and a
practiced swagger. A man who's used to getting what he wants, especially when
it comes to women. But Kendra is startled to realize that there is more to
Justin than meets the eye, he’s kind and funny and brilliant, and she wants
him, desperately. Unable to resist Kendra or her fiery spirit and zest for
life, right from the start, Justin pursues her, only her troubled childhood
holds her back. She’s been running from love for so long, she doesn’t know how
to stop and let it catch up.
Elated when Kendra finally gives into
their attraction, Justin jumps in with both feet, only his hectic and demanding
life continues to interfere, and Kendra’s past comes creeping back and the two
are tested. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionate and physical
adventure, Justin discovers Kendra’s secrets and fears while exploring and
uncovering his own wild and dark desires.
Excerpt:
I turned my head around as I continued up the path and his smile was adorably cocky, shit-eating and amused beyond words. So I quickly spun back around to face the path, wondering if I should give him the satisfaction of playing into his comment and questioning it or if I should play my own game and ignore him, let him sweat -I’m not one for head games!
“What
the hell did that mean!?” I asked, stopping in my tracks and facing him.
“Relax,”
he said. Smile not leaving his eyes or his lips as he gently placed his hands
on my shoulders to ground me, “I’m not asking you to marry me right now. But I KNOW for a fact that I am
going to marry you. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted and I’ll wait until
you’re ready and feel the same, but I WILL make you my wife, Kendra Black.” He
shrugged again and smiled that adorable triumphant grin that made my heart melt
and leap and spin and dance.
A
small smile crept its way on to my face no matter how hard I tried to fight it,
damn he was handsome. “Now get moving and stop fretting. I can see by that
wrinkle between your brows that you’re worrying. Please don’t.” He turned me
around by my shoulders and smacked my butt again until I started hiking. My
mind reeling and going in all directions about what he’d just said. And maybe,
just maybe, if I’m being 100% honest, thinking of bridal gowns, honeymoon
destinations and flowers.
Buy Links:
Born and raised on the West Coast of
Canada and married to her high school sweetheart, with a spirited toddler and a
fluffy dog. Whitley spends her days making food that gets thrown on the floor,
vacuuming Cheerios out from under the couch and making sure that the dog food
doesn't end up in the air conditioner. But when nap time comes and it's not
quite wine o'clock, Whitley sits down, avoids the pile of laundry on the couch,
and writes.
A lover of all things decadent; wine,
cheese, chocolate and spicy erotic romance, Whitley brings the humorous side of
sex, the ridiculous side of relationships and the suspense of every day life
into her stories. With mommy wars, body issues, threesomes and role playing,
these books have everything we need to satisfy the curious kink in all of us.
