Pretty Sassy Cool All Things Pretty, Sassy, and Cool.
All month long, we’re featuring some of our favorite authors, along with a quick Q&A and some of their favorite recipes. We’ve got daily giveaways with chances to win some amazing (and steamy!) reads plus a month-long Recipes for Romance Grand Prize Giveaway for a box filled with books and more!
Today Kimberly Kincaid stopped by with a recipe for Pete Mancuso’s Blondies!
**Q&A with Kimberly Kincaid**
Our family has a lot, but I think one of my favorites is snuggling in with blankets and hot chocolate to watch the original “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”. There isn’t a single year that goes by that we don’t watch it, and all three of my kids know the words by heart.
This one is a doozy! Twelve years ago over the holidays, I was four weeks from having my first baby, but my water broke at 4 AM Christmas morning. I called the doctor to ask him what to do. He said, “Ah, go to the hospital. Your baby is going to be born today.” To which I replied, “No she’s not! It’s Christmas!” (naïve me!) Of course, she was born twelve hours later.
Any time I can sneak under there with Mr. Kincaid, it’s a win, hehe.
Aside from the above-mentioned Grinch, our family loves The Polar Express. And I am equal opportunity on holiday music. I love it all!
The sexiest things, I think, are the ones that really mean something. Mr. K knows I love the kitchen, so the year he bought me the gorgeous high-end cookware set I’d been eyeballing for years, I was over the moon. It’s all in the connotation of deep-down love. That is sexy!
Peppermint!
Cider, all the way.
Our tree is the biggest hodge podge ever!
Oooh, tough. I’ll go with bulbs, but it’s close.
I’m a foodie and a romance writer. We’re all about sharing the love with others!
**About Kimberly Kincaid**
Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she’s not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as “The Pleather Bomber”, she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. Her digital “line” series is all about the hot cops and sexy chefs of Brentsville, New York. She is also thrilled to have collaborated on a Christmas anthology with Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell, titled The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, to kick off her Pine Mountain foodie series with Kensington books, to be followed by her first full-length print novel, Turn Up the Heat. Kimberly resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.
We can’t wait to try out Kimberly’s delicious recipe for:
**Pete Mancuso’s Blondies**
Message from Kimberly:
This is the recipe from my holiday novella in The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap. The hero, Pete, is a cocky pastry chef competing for the top prize in a Christmas cookie bake-off. But things heat up when he must go against a beautiful caterer who’s as determined as he is to win it all.
| Desserts | Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus ten for cooling (minimum), for the crust. At least 30 minutes of chill time for topping to set. Active time, 20 minutes. Inactive time, up to 2 hours, or even overnight. | Serves: Approximately 3 dozen bars |
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1-½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups light brown sugar (packed)
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (okay to eyeball this) store bought caramel topping
- 1 ½ cups thin twisty pretzels, broken into pieces
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 9×13 inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper and spraying with cooking spray, leaving some overhang on either side. Set pan aside. Spread pecans in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake until just fragrant, about 4-5 minutes (this releases lots of flavor—don’t be tempted to skip this step!) Remove and cool. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into a small bowl and set aside. Using a mixer, combine melted butter and brown sugar until it resembles wet sand (I promise it will taste better than that). Making sure the mixture has cooled from melting the butter, slowly incorporate eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture in small increments, scraping down sides as needed. This mixture will be thick. Your mixer may protest a little. That’s okay!
- Stir in pecans by hand and spread mixture in prepared pan with an offset spatula (or you can put a little cooking spray on your hands and press it into place) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown. A cake tester should come up essentially clean, with maybe a crumb or two. These are meant to be slightly gooey in the middle. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for ten minutes. Lift out of pan to cool completely. Remove and discard parchment.
- Once cool, carefully slide the blondie sheet back into the 9×13 pan. Top with caramel topping and refrigerate 30 minutes, until set. Just before serving, top with pretzel bits. Slice into bars and serve to the one you love! Yield depends on how big you like your blondies. Approximately 3 dozen bars.
Want more Desserts? Get recipes for Desserts and lots of other delectable holiday dishes from your favorite authors all month long right here on Steamy Guys After Dark!
**About Sugar And Spice**
Sugar And Spice by Kimberly Kincaid
Published by Kensington on September 24, 2013
Pages: 320
When caterer Lily Callahan goes up against hotshot pastry chef Pete Mancuso in the bake-off of the season, the stakes are high – and scandalously passionate. Will the gorgeous gourmand steal Lily’s heart – and the top prize in the Christmas cookie competition?
Other Books by Kimberly Kincaid:
***GIVEAWAY***
Don’t forget to enter our month-long Recipes for Romance Grand Prize Giveaway for a box filled with books and more!
Happy Holidays!
xo-
The Steam Team
Good heavens! That recipe sounds fabulous!!!!
We will definitely be making this.
Thanks! And Merry Christmas!
Kathie recently posted…Under These Restless Skies by Lissa Bryan Cover Reveal
I only eat Chex Mix during the Christmas season…. homemade is just too addictive!
apple pie recipe
double oatmeal cookies with dried fruit and nuts
My favorite recipe to make during the holidays is Kahlua/Pecan/Brown Sugar Baked Brie (see http://www.pinterest.com/pin/25543922857792583/). Thanks for offering this great giveaway — and happy holidays!