The Candy Cane Caper (Cozy Culinary Mystery Book 13) by Josi S. Kilpack {Review}

The Candy Cane Caper (Cozy Culinary Mystery Book 13) by Josi S. Kilpack

Paperback, 320 pages

Published October 1st 2019 by Shadow Mountain 

Source: I received a complimentary copy through the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own and were voluntarily given.

 

    

 

This Christmas, Sadie Hoffmiller Cunningham is making a list and checking it twice. For the first time since she and Pete married five years ago, their combined families are gathering for the holidays in Fort Collins, Colorado, for a party that would make Santa and Mrs. Claus proud.

She just has to bake the famous Cunningham Candy Cane Cake, make sure the looming snowstorm doesn't derail everyone's travel plans, and oh, yes, solve one teensy-tiny mystery before the big day.

At ninety-four and nearly blind, Mary, Sadie's friend and neighbor, knows this will be her last Christmas. When Sadie learns that someone has stolen antique Christmas ornaments from Mary's tree, she vows to find the thief, no matter what. The ornaments had been appraised at more than $40,000, but they were worth even more to Mary, who had intended to bequeath them to her great-granddaughter, Joy, as a final gift.

With Pete in Arizona wrapping up a case of his own, it's up to Sadie to question the residents of Nicholas House, where Mary lives, and deduce who had the means and the motive to steal heirloom ornaments during what should be the most wonderful time of the year.

When stories of other thefts surface, Sadie feels like she's creating a "naughty" list that could rival Santa's. Identifying the thief, recovering the ornaments, and restoring them to Mary's tree in time will take a Christmas miracle—and maybe a few extra-special cookies.

 

My Review: 5 Stars

 

Oh, Sadie Hoffmiller--how I've missed you! This is a series that does better read in order, since Sadie's relationships gradually build over time, but it's not essential. This installment is awhile after the last one ended and was a true delight!

 

Sadie is a typical busybody housewife, who finds herself in over her head time and again when she sticks her nose too far into someone else's business. But I absolutely adore her! Her heart is pure and her intent to help others is good, but she has a knack for finding herself in the most precarious situations ever. I'm left cringing, blushing, and internally dying, yet I find myself cheering her on. 

 

Helping her friend, Mary, have the best last Christmas ever, Sadie once again finds herself smack in the middle of a mystery. Her newish husband, Pete, is out of town and she's also trying to prepare to host their blended families for the holidays and what better way to do so than through the kitchen? I absolutely love Sadie's recipes that are shared in the books and I can't wait to try some of the Christmas foods included in this book.

Sadie's character is like wrapping up in a soft, comfy security blanket, but she's also entertaining with her unique experiences and I loved her comeback.

Content: mild mystery/danger/peril

Sweets & Treats with Six Sisters' Stuff {Review}

Sweets & Treats with Six Sisters' Stuff

Paperback, 176 pages

Published September 29th 2015 by Shadow Mountain 

Source: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Description:

Six Sisters' Stuff is one of the most widely followed cooking and lifestyle blogs with 6.7 million page views per month and their most popular features are their fantastic dessert recipes. Whether quick-and-easy, imaginative show-stoppers, special occasion, holiday-themed or adorably cute and kid-friendly, this new Six Sisters' Stuff cookbook features 110 scrumptious homemade dessert recipes, covering every sweet tooth craving. Step-by-step instructions make it easy to create delicious and imaginative confections using pantry staples including: Mississippi Mud Brownies, Homemade Twix Bars, Nutella Cheesecake, Key Lime Cupcakes, Samoas Popcorn and includes a chapter on super-fast no-bake treats like Mini Peanut Butter Cup Trifles.  Sweets & Treats with Six Sisters' Stuff  also features imaginative ways to share and showcase your homemade confections including: Ways to Package Treats, Dessert Traditions, Desserts Kids Can Make, and Companion Dessert Craft Projects.

My Review:

For the last little while, I've been trying to eat healthier, but I just can't give up desserts. Whether I have them once a week or every day, my sweet tooth can't be curbed, so when a chance to review this book came up, I jumped on it! 

I've been following the Six Sisters' blog for a couple of years now and I love how their recipes are simple, yet satisfying. There are many comfort foods, as well as new recipes, and their desserts are some of my favorites.

In the mood for cupcakes? This book has got you covered. Bars or brownies? It's got both of them, too. I love how most of the basic dessert categories are covered with a good variety of recipes. From bars, to cookies, to cakes, to ice cream, to cheesecakes, to candies/treats and more, this book is sure to have something to fit your mood or the season. I also loved how tips to share and show your treats are included. 

I decided to try a few different recipes and was pleased with the results. In fact, my husband wants to ban me from making treats for awhile because they're all oh-so-good. I tried the Nutella Brownies and the recipe was easy to follow. They turned out great and we couldn't get enough! I also made the Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies and they were a hit. The pictures for each recipe are well done and I also enjoy how each recipe gives a serving amount and a prep time, cook time, and total time. My 9-year-old daughter helped me make the Mini Pumpkin Pies and had so much fun with them. They're the perfect serving size for a person. She asked if she could help me make more recipes in this book and went through and found a bunch that she wants to try. There are many, many more that we're all looking forward to making, including the Slow Cooker Nut Clusters, Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream, and Snickers Cupcakes, to name a few. This is a great book with a lot of possibilities.

Buy Links:

 

 

 Interview:

I was fortunate enough to get an interview. Enjoy!

1. How do you come up with all of your recipes? I know a lot are family favorites, but don't you ever run out?

Our mom would cook dinner for us every single night growing up, so a lot of the recipes we share are recipes we grew up loving and eating together. She has a huge collection of really old cookbooks, so we get a lot of them out those. We also love remaking recipes we have at restaurants, and trying things we see on Pinterest, adding our own twist to it. We haven't had any problems running out yet, or even duplicating with the other sisters!

2. I've followed your blog for years and I know there are six sisters. Do all of you do the cooking and photographing? Are some better at it than others?

We all do our own cooking and photographing. There are a few sisters who seem to have more of a magic touch with the photography, but we have all taken food photography classes and have loved learning how to capture the food just perfectly. We all have our own styles of cooking, some sisters focus on desserts, we have one sister who likes to cook healthy meals and another sister who is an expert with the slow cooker. It all evens out and offers our readers a good variety.

3. Have any of you ever tried to make up a recipe on your own, without tweaking a recipe already written? If so, how did it turn out?

Like mentioned before, we love going to our favorite restaurants and remaking the recipes we love at home. It always takes a few tries to get it just right, and sometimes we just can't figure it out, but it's always fun to try! One of our favorites is our homemade Chili's Salsa copycat. That ended up tasting almost better than the restaurant version!

4. How did you go from having a blog to publishing cookbooks and making tv appearances? Were you approached or did you send out queries? 

This kind of just happened to us by coincidence. We had a few sisters attend a blogging conference a few years ago. During one of the dinners they ended up sitting by a man who worked for Deseret Book. They started talking and exchanged information and it just went on from there. We now have 4 cookbooks and are currently working on our 5th. We had a lot of local channels and radio shows reaching out to us to do some cooking demos after our first book, and we have just kind of done it ever since. We love sharing with others the things we are so passionate about.

5. I know you've also branched out into a fashion blog. Are there other areas any of you would like to branch out on?

Growing up with 6 girls in the family we had to learn how to find good deals when it came to fashion. We share our favorite deals at our favorite stores on our fashion site so that people who are living on realistic budgets like we are, can find affordable and stylish clothing. The nice thing about our site is that the title "Six Sisters' Stuff" doesn't really limit us, we can blog about just about anything and it will still fit under the category of "stuff." We love writing about traveling, have a few DIY posts, home decor, and crafting.

6. Do you ever have recipe fails or do they always turn out? If you do have a fail, do you ever attempt it again? If so, what's the highest number of attempts it's taken to get a recipe right?

Oh we certainly have our fair share of recipe fails! We have a sister group text message that we keep going throughout most of the day as we all work. It's full of funny pictures of bread not rising, cookies baking together, cheese sticks burning on the pan, and so much more. We always claim to not be professional, and our fails would definitely prove that! If we are determined to get the recipe right we usually try until we can get it perfected. You know if a recipe is on our site that it has been tried and tested, usually a few times, by at least one sister. It once took me 5 attempts at some pudding cookies until I could make them not turn out looking like hockey pucks. It's all party of the experience as a blogger though, and it sure does make for a good laugh!

About the Sisters:

The Six Sisters—Camille, Kristen, Elyse, Stephanie, Lauren, and Kendra—grew up in Utah, but a few of them have lived in other parts of the country since moving out of the house. Between them there are five nieces and three nephews, and all of the sisters love playing "aunt." The sisters started the blog in February 2011 to keep in touch while they were apart, but it has since gained popularity, garnering more than 9 million viewers per month and more than 307,000 followers on Pinterest. 

Website  ||  Twitter  ||  Pinterest  ||  Facebook

 

Review: Cupcakery by Toni Miller

Tour Schedule

Cupcakery: Party-perfect Cupcakes in a Flash by Toni Miller
239 pages, Published June 9th 2015 by Cedar Fort, Inc.
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Source: I received a copy in exchange for an honest review 
 

About the Book: 
There is nothing quite like a row of pretty little cupcakes lined up in a bakery display case. Who can resist so many fun flavors and adorable sprinkles?

Now you can skip the trip and the cost of bakery-style cupcakes and learn how to make them right in your own home, starting from a cake mix! Anybody can follow these easy recipes and create these adorable designs. And with so many unique flavors, you’ll want to try them all.

Blueberry-Stuffed French Toast
Monster Cookie Dough
Root Beer Float
Chocolate Caramel Irish Cream
Blue Velvet Coconut
Mocha Peppermint Crunch

Popular blogger Toni Miller’s baking has been featured online by Better Homes & Gardens, The Cooking Channel, Yahoo!, Mashable, and Good Housekeeping. And she’s won four national contests with her adorable cupcakes.

Tasty and tempting, these treats are simply irresistible. Perfect for all of life’s celebrations!

My Review: 
Cupcakes. Who can resist cupcakes? I sure can't! I really enjoyed the way this book broke it down. I'm not a creative person and I once tried to do pretty frosting and it ended up a disaster! This book starts out with explaining different methods of baking, frosting, and decorating. Even I could do this! Then came the good stuff--recipes. Lots and lots of different recipes. Each section is separated into similar types of cupcakes. Such as, kiddie flavors, traditional flavors, seasonal flavors, breakfast flavors. I never would have thought to make a Cotton Candy Cupcake. And Neapolitan? Yum! There were so many different kinds--I'm going to be baking for awhile yet to come.

Out of the ones I tried, my favorite was the S'mores Cupcakes. Ooh, so good! This cupcake is made with a yellow cake mix and graham cracker crumbs are added to the batter. A chocolate fudgy ganache tops it with a creamy, fluffy marshmallow cream frosting. Seriously divine!

The instructions are easy to follow and the explanations of technique were very helpful. Using a cake mix is so very simple, but I would have love to see a basic batter recipe. I'm trying to eat healthier and although cupcakes are nowhere near healthy, at least a mix from scratch doesn't have the preservatives and added things in it. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to bake a better, more professional looking, and delicious tasting cupcake.

Buy Links:

 

1. 9in Milkglass Cake Stand - provided by Country SweetArt Kitchen
2. 4 Piece Wilton Tip Set – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
3. Mama & Madison Custom Apron – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
4. Paper Straw Party Combo – Provided By Sweets & Treats
5. Sprinkle Prize Pack (assortment picked by sponso r) – Provided By Country SweetArt Kitchen
6. $50.00 Credit to Sweets & Treats – Provided By Sweets & Treats
7. AmeriColor Gel Color 12 Pack – Provided By Country SweetArt Kitchen
8. 12 Ct. 12in Disposable Decorating Bags – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
9. KitchenAid Measuring Cups – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
10. Kitchen Aid 4.5 Qt Stand Mixer Winners Choice o f Color – Provided by Make Bake Celebrate 11. 2 Pk. Pink Mini Spatulas – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
12. Wilton 24 Cavity Cupcake Pan – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
13. Wilton Filling Tip & Cupcake Corer – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Giveaway is open to US entries only. Proof of purc hased or entry validation may need to be provided by winner upon winning. Winner will be chosen at random on J uly 08, 2015. Make Bake Celebrate, and all particip ating bloggers have the right to display winner name(s) on all electronic publicatio ns including but not limited to; blog posts, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinte rest. If for any reason a prize is unavailable Make Bake Celebrate has the right to re place said prize for another similar item of equal value.

About the Author:
Toni’s sweet adventure began with her love for parties and creative knack. What started as a hobby of self-taught home cake baking and decorating quickly grew into a successful baking blog and a love for all things adorable sweet. Her work can be found on many websites and publications around the world, including Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Today, Yahoo!, and more.

*Images are provided by the author*

Book Review: For What It's Worth by Karey White

This is my favorite type of book--baking yummy things, clean romance, recipes included, love. *sigh*

Abby has a dream of owning a wedding cake shop and when her aunt passes away and leaves her the means to do so, she jumps on it. Little did she know how big it would be.

Dane is the man hired to remodel the house into the bakery and Abby is quite interested. He's such a great guy!!

I've always thought it would be fun to decorate wedding cakes, but I'm not so sure. I LOVED the details of the cakes Abby did and the recipes that were included. But it sounds like too much work for me. :)

Kind of predictable, but I loved every minute of it.

Content: a very few references to the LDS church (not preachy at all).

*****--5 stars.