Author Stella May's Delicious Treats and her latest Time Travel Romance Read are on the Menu this Easter...

I've got fellow time travel author and friend, Stella May in my virtual kitchen today, baking up some of her delicious Almond Meringue Cookies just in time for Easter. Perfect to serve at your family gatherings, or tuck into your children's Easter baskets, these sweet treats won't disappoint, but will disappear! So, without further ado, I'm handing off the spatula. Take it away, Stella...

This recipe for a classic meringue dessert is easy to prepare and wonderful to eat. My family loves these cookies as a sweet after a good dinner. If you choose to use vanilla extract, you’ll have a classic méringue desert called La Bise (kiss in French). Bon appetite! 

Almond Meringue Cookies

4 egg whites, cold eggs right from the fridge

Pinch of salt

¾ or 1 cup of white sugar (I use organic raw cane sugar)

1 tbsp. almond or vanilla extract

12 whole almonds

Preheat oven to 200° F.

You need a hand or standing mixer. Mix egg whites and salt on high-speed to the consistency of dense foam.

Add sugar by small portions, mixing well. Try not to stop your mixer while adding sugar. Add almond extract.

Cover cookie sheet with parchment. Spoon mixture into 12 cookies. You can use an ice-cream scoop.  Place one whole almond on top of each cookie.

Bake for 1 hour. Lightly touch the cookie. It will have a firm crust and a soft center. That’s ideal. Turn off the oven and leave the cookies inside the oven for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven to cool completely. Enjoy!

Here's a little to intrigue you on Stell May's latest time travel romance.

After months of working like a woman possessed, Nika Morris kept her promise. Coleman House is finished. It’s gorgeous. Spectacular. Brilliant.

It’s breaking her heart.

Because once the new owners move in, she’ll be cut off from the time portal to 1909, where she met and fell in love with Eli Coleman. Now stranded in her own time, she’s waited months for the key to reappear in its hiding place. Only it hasn’t. Which means Eli must have believed the terrible things she was accused of.

Back in 1909, Eli is stunned at his best friend’s deathbed confession of a shocking betrayal. Nika—his Daisy, his time-traveling wonder—was innocent. Once he finds the key, he wastes no time stepping through the portal, determined to make things right.

But the moment Eli stumbles into her shiny, noisy, confusing future, he realizes reconciliation won’t be simple. There is more than one emotional bridge to rebuild before he and Nika can return to the time their love was born—and live their destiny out to the fullest.

Amazon Buy Link

Talented author Stella May is the penname for Marina Sardarova who has a fascinating history you should read on her website. 

Stella writes fantasy romance as well as time travel romance. She is the author of 'Till Time Do Us Part, Book 1 in her Upon a Time series, and the stand-alone book Rhapsody in Dreams. Love and family are two cornerstones of her stories and life. Stella’s books are available in e-book and paperback through all major vendors.

When not writing, Stella enjoys classical music, reading, and long walks along the ocean. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Leo of 35 years and their son George. They are her two best friends and are all partners in their family business.

Follow Stella on her website and blog Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Surviving Easter with YA authors HL Carpenter...

Stumped at what to do with those leftover Easter Eggs? Fear not! YA authors HL Carpenter suggests you try their easy spicy recipe for deviled eggs. BTW - Do you know why they’re called deviled eggs? You get to eat two if you know the answer.*

Deviled Eggs with Curry

Eggs (week-old or just-ready-to-expire eggs peel more easily)
1 tsp. salad dressing for each egg
Dash of curry powder
Dash of paprika

Hard-boil eggs using an egg cooker or a pot of cold water (cover eggs with water, bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and let stand 10-12 minutes). Drain; then place eggs in ice water until cool. Peel cooled eggs and cut in half lengthwise.

Slide egg yolks onto a plate and mash with a fork.

Stir in salad dressing until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Spoon yolk mixture back into egg whites, or use a disposable plastic baggie and an icing tip if you want ooh-la-la fancy deviled eggs.

Sprinkle with curry powder to taste. Dust with paprika for more color.

Arrange on a platter and serve warm or cold.

If you’re traveling to the potluck, carry this dish in an insulated cooler with ice.

*According to the Oxford Companion to Food, by Alan Davidson (1999), pp. 247-248, “devil” is a culinary term which first appeared as a noun in the 18th century, and then in the early 19th century as a verb meaning to cook something with fiery hot spices or condiments. The term was presumably adopted because of the connection between the devil and the excessive heat where the devil dwells.

***

A brief into for the top selling fantasy book by HL Carpenter.

Fourteen year old Tovi thinks finding a flying horse is fabulous luck—until a mysterious stranger says finders aren’t always keepers.

When fourteen year old Tovi Taggert moves to Honeysuckle Hollow to take care of her grandmother, she has a hard time fitting in. For one thing, she’s been tagged with the hated nickname Too-Tall Tovi. For another, everyone at Honeysuckle Hollow High believes Tovi played the Choking Game with someone else’s boyfriend and made out with him besides.

As if she doesn’t have enough problems, after the latest stand-off in the school hallway, Tovi finds a gorgeous speckled egg nestled in a feather lined nest.

She takes the egg home. Mysterious visitors begin appearing almost immediately. Even more worrisome, whatever is inside the egg starts chipping its way out.

When the egg hatches, revealing a winged horse, Tovi’s troubles multiply.

As she struggles to return the horse to the magical land where he belongs, Tovi must make a courageous decision—and accept what that decision will cost her.

To read more of The SkyHorse, please click a vendor's name Amazon - Amazon UK - Smashwords


HL Carpenter writes sweet, clean fiction suitable for your entire family. Visit their website for gift reads and the latest Carpenter Country news. 

Stay connected on Pinterest, Linkedin, Google+, and their Amazon Author Page.

Here comes Peter Cotton-tail...

I've coerced my author friend and fellow Wench of Words Marci Boudreaux to devulge her secret recipe she  loves to serve over the Easter holiday. Actually it wasn't that hard. Turns out she works for carrots -- 24 'carrot' gold that is. Cheers and Happy Easter! Take it away, Marci... 

Easter has always been a time in my family for big meals and family gatherings. Now that I live far from where I grew up, our family consists of two ever-growing girls, my husband, and me. Big feasts don’t go over well with just four people. I still like to make a ham and way more side dishes and desserts than we will ever eat, but with four of us, the tradition has gone out the window and our holiday meals tend to go more toward the fun side.

This year, we’ve added Easter Bunny Butt to the menu.

Yes, you read that right. We’re eating the Easter Bunny’s Butt. Why? Because it’s so darn cute!

I actually found this recipe on the Box Tops for Education website (yes, I’m that mom). When it came time to offer up a holiday recipe to the girls, I just knew they’d love making this and they did.

It was relatively easy (although we used carrot cake and I don’t recommend that, it crumbled like crazy! I had to freeze it before frosting) and the girls, ages 7 and 11, did most of the work.

It was delicious too!

So, if you are still looking for the perfect dessert to take to your Easter gathering. Consider taking a little slice of Easter Bunny Butt heaven.

Easter Bunny Butt Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 container vanilla frosting
Red food coloring
3-4 cups shredded coconut
Green food coloring

Pre-heat oven to 325°F.

Grease 1 ½ quart ovenproof bowl with shortening (do not use cooking spray) then dust with flour. Lightly grease 3 muffin cups in regular-size muffin pan. Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour cake batter in 3 muffin cups, filling two-thirds full. Pour remaining batter into pre-greased bowl. Bake cupcakes 15 to 20 minutes, bowl 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool enough to handle. Remove cakes from muffin cups and bowl. Place pieces on cooling racks. Cool completely—about 1 hour. Cut off rounded tops of cakes. Cut two cupcakes into triangle shapes for the feet. Place bowl cake on tray cut side down and cover with 1/3 cup frosting over cake. Use toothpicks to adhere cupcakes to bowl cake for feet and bunny tail. Spread thin layer of frosting over side and top of cake to seal in crumbs. Freeze cake 30 to 45 minutes to set frosting. Spread remaining frosting over cake. Sprinkle with coconut; press gently to adhere. Mix 1 cup coconut and 3 drops green food color until evenly tinted. Surround bunny with tinted coconut. Mix a small amount of red food coloring and icing. Add to the bottom of the bunny feet.

Here's a little from Unforgettable You for your reading pleasure while you wait for the Easter Bunny Butt Cake to cool.

Is their love strong enough to survive their real lives?

Desperate to keep her ailing mother-in-law Doreen in the family home, Carrie Gable agrees to board a few of Hollywood’s elite actors. Despite her resentment of their demands, she can’t stop her attraction to actor Will Walker.

Will, out to save his failing career, agrees to a project that bores him. The more time he spends with his egotistical co-stars, the more drawn he is to their hostess. Long nights talking with Carrie make him realize he wants a simpler life, but his ties to L.A. refuse to let him go.

The temptation to regain stardom pulls Will in one direction while the obligation to family tugs Carrie in another. Against all odds, the couple struggles for a solution to save their new found happiness.

To read an excerpt from Unforgettable You, please click HERE.

Check out the trailer for Unforgettable You HERE.

Learn more about Marci Boudreaux on her website.

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