Monday’s Mystery Recipe Episode 1: Crunch Time Cookies

[donotprint]Since we are at the beginning of a new year and my blog is still pretty new, I thought I’d add a new twist to what I’m posting.  Everyone who knows me, knows that reading was never something I was really into as a kid.  I was more content to run around down at the pond catching tadpoles and bullfrogs to be bothered with sitting still to read a good book.  And those same sentiments have held true through adulthood, for the most part.

Being a teacher, I have always known and understood the importance of reading and I do read, but until a few months ago, it consisted mostly of cookbooks, magazines, or news articles.  So, while taking a master’s class a few years ago, I was searching for a book that would hold my interest and I was introduced to an author who wrote murder mystery novels.  Big deal, right? There are thousands of murder mystery authors out there.  Well, that’s what I thought until I found out these books were also food related. Cha-ching!  The main character in the books just happened to own a cookie shop! (For those who don’t know me well, it has always been a life-long dream of mine to own a cookie shop, so this book definitely peaked my interest!)

So, the author’s name was Joanne Fluke and the book was Strawberry Shortcake Murder.  I read the book and even made one of the recipes to take to my teacher and classmates during my master’s class….hey, I know food is always a good bribe!  And thus began my interest in the food related murder mystery novels.

Recently, my brain started itching for some new stories to read before bedtime and I decided to read the first book by Joanne Fluke, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder.  The only problem was, I had loaned the book to my mom and it was checked out at the local library.  So, I spoke with the library and found another author who also writes food related mystery books, Diane Mott Davidson.  I read Crunch Time, her newest novel, and was completely hooked.  That reading is what gave me the idea to start the Monday’s Mystery Recipe series.  You see, each novel includes recipes that the main character, Goldy, a caterer, makes during her catering events.  Some are sweet and some are savory and I’m excited to begin trying them out in my own kitchen!

Starting today, and each Monday hereafter, I’m going to post a recipe from the novel I’m currently reading.  I will try to include any adjustments I make to the recipes, but for the most part, will post the original recipes.  I will not be posting each and every recipe from the books.  I don’t think the author would appreciate that much and neither would I.  I do hope that this series inspires you to pick up a good book a engage yourself in a little more reading.  After all, it’s fun to get lost in someone else’s world every now and then.

The first recipe I’m going to share in my Monday’s Mystery Recipe is Crunch Time Cookies from the book, Crunch Time, by Diane Mott Davidson .[/donotprint]

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