Ginger Snap cookies, which are best served soft, are a wonderful addition to the holidays. So is a mystery that involves both a cooking contest and two murders. Sisters Libby and Bernie not only compete in the contest, but they are also driven to solve the mystery.
A Catered Christmas is book #3 in Isis Crawford’s A Mystery with Recipes Book series. This cozy mystery revolves around two sisters who are different in every way except for their love for baking and solving mysteries. If you have a sister, this series is for you.
A Catered Christmas by Isis Crawford
Cozy Mystery Novel with Recipes
Book Review
Murder Mystery Books🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪
Book Review Outline and Tone:
Baking and cooking contests make for great television, especially for those of us who like to create in the kitchen. The shows need a clever hook like surprise ingredients or limited time to draw in viewers. But, the shows also need a good host; a likable person who can manage the contestants and bring out their personalities.
In A Catered Christmas, the host is popular with at home viewers, but not with the people she works with. The suspect list is a mile high when the host is murdered. It seems as though every suspect has a likely reason to want the host dead. A similarly un-liked local, a snobbish real estate agent, wants the killer to be brought to justice, so she hires Libby, Bernie, and their dad, Sean, to investigate.
The investigation takes the reader to many locations in New York during Christmas. Not only does this novel offer some tasty recipes and a good mystery, but it will also make you want to travel to New York during the holidays. A Christmas time New York trip has been added to my bucket list.
The author:
Isis Crawford is the pen name for Barbara Block. Isis’s family were in the diplomatic corps which means she traveled as a child. She was born in Egypt and her family moved back to the US when she was five. Barbara has been around food service all her life as her mom opened a restaurant when Barbara was young. Ms. Crawford has a great interactive website that showcases her books and her recipes. She also has a Facebook page that highlights her books.
What is not to like?:
Libby’s boyfriend, Marvin is a bit of a mess and because of this her dad, Sean, does not care for him. Libby seems to like Marvin and he does seem sincere about his feelings toward Libby, so at some point, Sean will have to come around.
The verdict:
If you like to watch cooking shows but just wish that once there would be a murder in the production, then this is the book for you. Well maybe I should say if you want more drama in a cooking show. 🙂
Book Club Recommendation: 4/5 Books 📚📚📚📚
Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).
Christmas Ginger Snap Cookies
Assemble the Ingredients
Easy to make dessert: 4.5/5 on the Easy as Pie scale 🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧
Dessert Recipe 📖📖📖📖📖
Mix together the shortening and the sugar. This recipe comes together easily with a hand mixer, a stand mixer would work too but is not required. Just be sure to use bowl that have a nonslip grip on the bottom.
Once they are mixed add the dark molasses and an egg. A quick tip for sticky liquids like molasses is to spray some nonstick cooking spray into the measuring cup first. Then sticky liquids like molasses and honey will slide right out. Tip number two is to use these . With 7 different sizes there is always the right size that you need.
Use the hand mixer to incorporate these ingredients.
Sift together the baking soda, flour, cloves, ground ginger, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the shortening mixture. Mix until just blended. At this point, do not use the hand mixer but a sturdy silicone spatula like .
Good Grips, no slip when mixing. Each bowl has a spout for easy pouring. Dishwasher safe.
Chill for at least one hour. I chilled the dough overnight and that worked great too. When you take the dough out of the refrigerator knead it to form a compact ball so you can easily scoop 1-inch balls. Roll in white sugar and if you would like, some sprinkles.
Place on a baking sheet with 2 inches between each. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Do not overbake-they’re best when they’re soft.
Taste: 5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Will I make it again?: Absolutely Yes! 😋😋😋😋😋
Christmas Ginger Snap Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup soft shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup dark molasses
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp cloves
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix together shortening and sugar
- Add molasses and egg
- Sift together baking soda, flour, cloves, ground ginger, and salt
- Add dry ingredients to the shortening mixture.
- Mix until just blended.
- Chill for 1 hour or up to 24 hours
- Form 1-inch balls and roll in white sugar and sprinkles
- Place on a baking sheet with 2 inches between each
- Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes
- Do not overbake-they're best when they're soft
What would I do differently next time?
Easy. I would double the batch. These are fantastic!
These cookies and novels are also worth trying.
Cocoa Snaps from Strawberry Shortcake Murder
and
Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies from Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
