Mistletoe Madness Blog Hop

Hey all! When one hop ends, another begins. (Though if you're reading this on Friday the 14th, the Evernight Publishing holiday blog hop is still open, so you should hit my last post and enter that one too!) 

Here are all the links for the participating blogs. Make sure you hit them all! 

And here is where you enter to win the grand prize: 

a brand new Kindle Fire with books from our sponsor authors (including moi!)

With the business end of things done... hi! And happy holidays!

I was going to do this really informational post about the history and mythology of mistletoe. Then I realized no one really cares about that sort of thing. You know what people DO care about? 

Cookies.

And booze. 

So instead of boring you with what people know of how druids harvested and blessed mistletoe, I'm going to feed your need for the good stuff. Oh, people also like sex, so while you're enjoying your cookies and martini, don't forget to pick up a copy of the holiday anthology, Vanilla-Free Christmas, and get your kink on this holiday season. But first up, cookies!

Nut Butter Cookies (I'll explain the name in a bit) 

The Nutella is the spread out one.

1 c. margarine (my sister uses butter, but mine always turn out softer, so I recommend margarine)

1 c. nut butter (I use this recipe with either peanut butter or Nutella, but I would guess any nut butter would work)

2 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 c. flour

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1 t salt

Mix the margarine, nut butter, and brown sugar until well blended (it doesn't get smooth, per se, but it should be pretty creamy)

Add the eggs and beat well.

Mix the dry ingredients together then add slowly to the butter mixture. 

If using peanut butter, roll into balls, place on greased baking sheet and flatten slightly with a fork. (I recommend chilling the dough for an hour or two as it makes it easier to work with.)

If using Nutella, the dough will NOT hold a shape, so don't bother trying to roll it. Just scoop up about a teaspoon full and spoon it onto the tray.

Bake at 350 (Fahrenheit) for 10-12 minutes, but check them at 8. 

The peanut butter cookies should hold their shape if very lightly touched. (Alternatively, the crosshatches of the fork marks should be a little browner than the rest.) 

The Nutella cookies will spread out, and if left in the oven too long will start to look NOT done in patches. When those start showing, take the cookies out--they're done. (I know it seems counter-intuitive, but it's true.)

You'll have to experiment with other nut butters for both shaping and how to tell when they are done. 

Teaspoon size cookies work out to about 55 calories each. 

And now, some booze-y goodness. I just invented this one for the blog. Don't you all feel special?

Hit the Slopes Martini

4 oz chocolate milk (I Nes-quicked some regular milk)

1 oz vodka

1 oz peppermint schnapps

crushed candy cane to rim your glass

Shake the milk, vodka, schnapps, and ice in a martini shaker. Pour into candy-cane rimmed martini glass and enjoy!

Lastly, there's one more thing! You already know how to enter to win the Kindle Fire, but I'm giving away a prize too! 

These are mine & I know you don't want my
cooties, so you get a different color :P

I know how cold my hands get during the winter, but I need my fingers free for typing or I never get anything done. Enter the wonder of fingerless mittens! And I'm making a pair right now to give away on the hop (this is US only, sorry. However, if you enter to win and are international, we'll work something else out, okay?) This is the pattern I'm using, but they won't be this color (since I don't have anymore of the yarn left). They will be wool, but it's a soft wool (I promise. I can't deal with scratchy stuff, so I don't buy it). So it'll be a bit of a surprise in your mailbox if you win. To make entering easy (and give you opportunities to increase your chance of winning, I give you the Rafflecopterinator. (Sorry, we were listening to the Phineas & Ferb Christmas album today.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway