Going Out with a Poof! by Paty Jager

December is a month of anticipation. To see what if Santa thought you were a good girl or boy and you receive a good present, and it is the last month of the year. which brings on the anticipation of what the new year will hold.

For me, the new year will bring me hopefully a respite from one thing that the past year has crept up on me and I felt I didn't give it enough of my time. That is my every other month post to this blog. And for that reason, this is the last time I will be posting on this blog. 

My writing life has moved from romance to murder mysteries. And while they are set in the west and my characters live rural, they don't really fit into the romance category or the term "Cowboy Kisses." Because of that and I can never think of anything to write here, I am bowing out to pursue more time for my own blogs, Writing into the Sunset and Ladies of Mystery.

 My 8th book in the Gabriel Hawke police procedural series, Churlish Badger, published last month. This is what a reviewer had to say:

I loved her comparing my character's struggles in unraveling the truth to a tangle of yarn. It seemed fitting this time of year. 

Speaking of this time of year. I do a lot of baking and one of my favorite things to make is gingerbread cookies. This year I decided to switch things up and instead of decorating the cookies to look like family members, I'm going to turn the cookies upside down and make them into reindeer.  I saw a photo on Facebook and knew I had to do that this year. 

Here is my Gingerbread Cookie Recipe:

These are the same recipe. Just not gingerbread men. 

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground allspice

½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

2 TBSP orange zest

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup molasses

2 eggs

Place flour cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking soda, allspice, crystallized ginger, and orange zest in a bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside, Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and eggs until well blended. Beat in flour mixture at low-speed until well blended. Divide dough into 3 equal portions; cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease large cookie sheets; set aside. Wo4rking with 1 portion at a time, roll out dough on lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out dough with 3-inch cookie cutters. (my gingerbread cutters are more like 4 inches) Place cookie on prepared cookie sheets, leaving room for expansion. Bake 10 minutes or until bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Let stand on cookie sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks and cool completely. Once they are cool, you can frost and decorate them.

If you like to listen to audiobooks, for the month of December I have Yuletide Slayings, book 6 in the Shandra Higheable mystery series on sale for half price at Authors Direct. At this sight you'll also find other holiday audiobooks on sale and some are free: https://shop.authors-direct.com/collections/holiday-2021

I wish you all the merriest of Christmases and a Happy Healthy New Year. See you around social media!