By Alexis Morgan
I think
for most of us, all it takes is one breath of the rich scent of cloves,
cinnamon, and ginger to put us all in the spirit of the holidays. I know for
certain that if I failed to bake my family's three favorite types of cookies,
I'd never hear the end of it. Our celebration just wouldn't be the same without
cream cheese spritz cookies, no-bake peanut butter and chocolate cookies, and
Russian teacakes. As we eat them, they always evoke memories of Christmases
past even while we build new memories together.
Of those
cookies, it's the cream cheese spritz that means the most to me because my mom
and I used to make them together, starting back when I was a little girl. Every
time I get down my old-fashioned Mirro Cookie Press and start cranking out
those cookies, I think of her.
I think
that's why when it came time to write a novella set during the Christmas
season, I knew immediately that I wanted to center the story around Something's
Brewing, the new coffee shop and bakery in my fictional town of SnowberryCreek.
For
Bridey Roke, the owner of the shop, this will be her first Christmas back in
her hometown. She's been experimenting with new recipes that she hopes to
feature over the holidays. Her attempts to perfect her gingerbread cupcakes and
pumpkin spice lattes perfume the air in her shop. It's no wonder that her
customers tend to linger a little longer at this special time of year. And if
she's especially happy to see a certain handsome man spending a lot of his free
time in her shop, well, that's her secret.
 |
| Coming January 2014 |
I'd love
to hear about what types of pastries and cookies are part of your family's
traditions. You know the kind I mean—the ones where a single taste reminds you
of all the people in your life that you love.
Alexis 
