Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with STEPHANIE AYERS!
Welcome to my Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**!! Today, in lieu of one of my own recipes, I’m going to introduce you to a new author who will share one of her favorite recipes. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll get a chance to check out some wonderful authors. Introducing author, STEPHANIE AYERS, and her favorite recipe for SPIKED MINT MILANOS!
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WINTER WONDERLAND
A Santa’s Workshop Series
Portal to Madness Novella
BY STEPHANIE AYERS
Blurb
When a frantic White Rabbit appears on Alice’s doorstep in the middle of a snowstorm five days before Christmas, she has no choice but to follow him. When they arrive, she quickly realizes it is not the Wonderland she remembers. Winter’s fallen, the hatter has gone madder, and the White Queen’s dying of a broken heart. Her heart must be mended before the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve or Wonderland will remain frozen forever.
Can Alice save Wonderland before the clock runs out?
A Santa’s Workshop Series
Portal to Madness Novella
BY STEPHANIE AYERS
Excerpt
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Wonderland.”
“No, Timeonious, this isn’t Wonderland. It’s cold and dark, not vibrant and colorful as it should be.”
“Yes. White Queen did it. She froze the land. Come, we must hurry. We are already late.” He pushed her forward, but she balked.
“Late for what?”
“The assembly. She refuses to talk to anyone but you. Hurry, hurry.”
“Me? Why not Absolem? Surely he can fix it.”
“No. Only you. She insisted. Now hurry. Hurry!”
The White Rabbit led her down the path, and she fully expected the Cheshire Cat to make an appearance. But when they passed the field where Hatta and his party mates hung out, the long table was full of snow covered dishes, half eaten cake, and empty chairs. It was as if everyone in Wonderland had disappeared. Alice stopped at the table, brushed snow from one of the chairs, and sat down.
“Timeonious, where is everyone?”
The rabbit sighed. “Hatta took them all away. Took them all away in his hat. Chessy, Absolem…all. They went in his hat and never came back.”
Alice blinked. This was getting more curious by the moment. Hatta never told her his hat was magical. She wanted to be angry that he could have sent her home anytime she wanted to go, and he didn’t even offer. It was hard to be mad at Hatta though, with his nonsensical smile and chipper attitude. He always made her laugh.
“In his hat, you say? Is this why the White Queen is angry?”
The white rabbit tugged on Alice’s sleeve. “No time to explain. We’re already late. We must hurry, hurry.”
He rushed ahead, stopped, and turned, his eyes pleading with Alice to hurry.
“Okay, fine. I’m coming. A tea party isn’t any fun without the Mad Hatter anyway.”
Alice pushed herself out of the chair and caught up with the rabbit. When the path came to a fork, he led her down the left path instead of the right one. Alice stopped, puzzled.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” She pointed to the other path where the sign said “Right Way,” and another sign above it pointed down their path and stated “Wrong Way.”
The rabbit stopped and tapped his foot on the ground. “That sign wasn’t there before.” He pointed down the Right Way. “That leads to the Queen of Hearts. She’ll have your head if you go that way. She’s taken an extra liking to collecting heads since the Jabberwocky went away.” He shuddered. “That path leads to darkness. This way leads to the White Queen’s castle.” He pulled out his time piece and clicked his tongue. “Oooh, Aliiice. We’re late, we’re late!”
“Is that why Hatta took everyone away?” Alice asked as she fell in step beside Timeonious.
“The White Queen will explain it all IF we hurry. Time runs faster in Wonderland now, and the White Queen is short of patience.”
“So curious. What could anger the White Queen so much she turns Wonderland into a popsicle and speeds up time?”
The rabbit paused and pulled Alice close. He looked around before he whispered into her ear.
“A broken heart.”
About Author Stephanie Ayers…
A creative ninja with a dark mind and a quirky nature, Stephanie Ayers writes all the words and spins twisted tales filled with horror, fantasy, suspense, and anything in between. With a trunk full of tricks thanks to a checkered past, she haunts Irish castles and snowy mountaintops in her dreams, while living the unicorn life in Ohio disguised as a human. When she isn’t listening to the voices in her head, she spends her days as a mom, Gigi, cat lover, and Netflix binger, while avoiding housework at all costs.
Since signing with Crazy Ink Publishing, Stephanie has managed to somehow meet (most of) her deadlines and produce over a dozen solo works (with no ending in sight). With ink in her blood, an absence of fear, and a passion for telling stories, she isn’t afraid to dip her pen in the inkwell of many genres, and even has two successful series in her name—the stand-alone horror volumes of The 13 Series and her epic five book fantasy series, Destiny Defined.
When she isn’t lost in her overactive imagination or entertaining her mini-unicorns, you can find her stalking her weekly Dear Stabby column at Gothic Bite Magazine© and weaving words for Ladies of Horror fiction.
You can find Stephanie all over social media and find a full listing of her works on her Amazon author page. Her favorite wandering place is her readers’ group on Facebook. Join the herd now!
Stay up to date with everything unicorn by subscribing to her monthly newsletter and get a free read as a thank you!
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Links to Stephanie’s website, blog, books, #ad etc.:
Amazon: mybook.to/winterportal
Social Media and Contact Info:
ONE CLICK: https://linktr.ee/stephanieayers
Email: theauthorSAM@gmail.com
Website
https://stephanieayersauthor.wordpress.com
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieayersauthor
Newsletter https://www.subscribepage.com/o6e0l9
Amazon https://amazon.com/author/sayers/
Bookbub
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/stephanie-ayers
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/theauthorSAM
Facebook Author Page
https://www.facebook.com/theauthorSAM
Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/ayersstreetteam
Twitter https://twitter.com/theauthorSAM
Instagram https://instagram.com/theauthorSAM
MeWe https://mewe.com/i/stephanieayers
I hope you enjoy the recipe Stephanie is sharing today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy Eating!
Karen
P.S. We’re at 559 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right-hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.
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SPIKED MINT MILANOS
[Makes 40 Milanos]
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
- 1&1/2 cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups AP flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Baileys with a hint of mint chocolate
- 6 ounces chocolate – I use semisweet
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
- Add egg and egg yolk.
- Mix in vanilla extract.
- Alternate adding in dries with Baileys till combined.
- Wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate a few hours to over night.
- Roll out dough & cut out cookies using holiday cookie cutters
- Chill cookies at least 30 minutes before baking to keep their shape.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes rotating once halfway through. Start checking them after 10 minutes. As soon as they get a little blonde on the edges, they’re done.
- Bring heavy cream up to a scald.
- Pour over chopped chocolate and mix to combine.
- Stir in peppermint extract.
- Set ganache aside so it can set, stirring every so often.
- Once ganache has thickened, fill cookies and refrigerate.
- At this point you can leave the cookies as they are, or you can dip them in chocolate & sprinkles.
Notes
If you want to make the ganache ahead of time, just refrigerate it. Take it out about an hour before you’ll need it to take the chill off. You can always microwave it for 10-15 second increments to get it to piping consistency.
You can just spoon the ganache on the cookies or use a small spatula, but I prefer using a piping bag. It makes life easier.
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Thanks, Stephanie, for sharing your story with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
I love this twist on Alice in Wonderland… Unique.
First time I’ve seen such a recipe for this delicious cookie, too.
Thanks, Karen and Stephanie.
Hello! And thank you. I had a blast writing this story, and I can’t wait to make these cookies again!
Good morning, Stephanie, and welcome back to Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. What a fun book and recipe combination! I’m intrigued by the idea of traveling back with Alice to Wonderland. Can’t wait to read this story. Thanks for the cookie recipe, too. Creative. Sounds delish!
Hello! Thanks for having me again. Let me know what you think of the cookies!
This book sounds so good, and the Spiked Mint Milanos do too!