A PEACH OF A
MURDER
A Fresh Baked Mystery
(A Fresh-Baked Mystery)
Signet, October 2006
272 pages ISBN: 0451219740
Paperback
$6.99
A PEACH OF A MURDER introduces Phyllis Newsom and her friends, a group of retired
teachers, as they become involved in a series of murders centered around the annual Peach
Festival in the
PHYLLIS’S SPICY PEACH COBBLER
1 tablespoon
cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoon minced candied ginger
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
4 cups sliced peaches
Preheat oven to 375º. Combine cornstarch, minced candied ginger, brown sugar, and water in saucepan. Cook until thickened and then add peaches. Cook until peaches are hot, about 5 minutes. Pour into buttered 9” pan making sure the ginger is evenly contributed.
Basic Pie Crust for 1 (9-inch) pie crust.
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon granulated or turbinado (raw) sugar
Mix flour and salt in chilled bowl, then cut shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter, until mixture resembles the texture of tiny split peas. When the mixture is the right texture, add the ice water and combine with a fork. Quickly gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a 4-inch-wide disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Remove dough disk from refrigerator. If stiff and very cold, let stand until dough is cool but malleable. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough disk on a lightly floured surface until it’s bigger than the pan. Transfer dough by carefully rolling it around the rolling pin, lift and unroll dough, centering it over the fruit. Vent crust, and sprinkle granulated or turbinado (raw) sugar on top to give a delightful sparkling appearance.
Bake cobbler for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
The candied ginger gives this dessert a warm zesty taste.
Murder By The
Slice
A Fresh Baked Mystery
(Second book in series)
Signet, October 2007
272 pages ISBN: 0451222504
Paperback
$6.99
When October rolls around each year, many of the elementary schools in Texas put on carnivals run by their Parent-Teacher Organizations. And as retired teachers, Phyllis Newsom and her friends take a keen interest in everything that goes on involving the local schools. In fact, Carolyn Wilbarger, who is friends with one of the members of the PTO board for Oliver Loving Elementary School comes up with an idea for a baking contest to be held in conjunction with the school carnival. In addition to competing herself, Carolyn recruits several of her friends to enter the baking contest and talks Phyllis into entering, too. Of course, things don’t go smoothly . . .
PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA COOKIES
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup applesauce
1 medium banana mashed
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In large bowl, combine sugar, brown
sugar, margarine and egg: beat well. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt;
mix well. Stir in oats, peanut butter, applesauce, and mashed banana. Drop
dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets covered with parchment
paper, or lightly greased.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until
light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely.
The Christmas Cookie Killer
A Fresh Baked Mystery
(Third book in series)
Nal Trade, September 30, 2009
304 pages ISBN: 9780451225344
Trade Paperback
$14.00
Christmas comes to Weatherford, Texas, in this delicious new entry in
the national bestselling series.
Yuletide is here—and retired teacher cum amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom looks forward
to finishing up this unlucky year. But she won’t be hanging up her apron just
yet—because this year’s Christmas bake-off is going to be cutthroat.
Phyllis would like to think she’s entering the Christmas cookie contest for the fun
of it—but that’s not exactly true. She can’t imagine anyone beating her
snowflake-shaped lime sugar cookies. Then, during her annual Christmas cookie exchange,
Phyllis heads over to the elderly Mrs. Simmons’s home and finds her dead, in a pile
of lime sugar cookies. But with a number of names on Santa’s naughty list, this case
may be a hard cookie to crumble.