Category Archives: Recipe

Delicious recipes straight from the kitchens of your favorite Tule authors.

Author C.R. Grissom shares the perfect cocktail for Christmas morning!

Tule author, C.R. Grissom, shares that her favorite holiday cocktail is a traditional Irish Coffee! She says it’s one of her “favorite things to make Christmas morning after all the presents have been opened.”

Author of Tule’s Gladiators of the Gridiron series, C.R. Grissom lives in San Jose, California working for a high-tech company by day, and writing contemporary romances with heart by night.

C.R. Grissom’s Perfect Irish Coffee

Ingredients:
1oz Irish Whiskey
1 sugar cube
2 TBS fresh whipped cream
6oz of coffee

Directions:

  1. Place the sugar cube into a glass mug
  2. Fill the mug halfway with coffee. Stir until sugar cube dissolves. Add whiskey.
  3. Add more coffee to fill the mug to an inch below the top of the glass.
  4. Spoon fresh whipped cream over the top.
  5. Enjoy!

 


Time for Something Sweet! Check out Denise Wheatley’s Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe!

Happy holidays! My name is Denise N. Wheatley, and I am here to share with you one of my favorite dessert recipes—Denise’s Darling Christmas Sugar Cookies. But before I do that, here’s a bit about me:

I love the art of storytelling and happily ever afters, and published my first romance novel in 2004. Since then I have written (and ghostwritten) over twenty books. I signed with Tule Publishing in 2019 and wrote A Fearless Fairytale series, along with two holiday novels, Christmas in Full Bloom and Love at the Icicle Café

The Christmas season is by far my favorite time of the year as I love spending it with family. We gather together to share fond memories while preparing delicious recipes. For me, that’s my beloved sugar cookies. 

My joy of baking inspired Love at the Icicle Café. The book centers around a cozy café known for its savory dishes and delicious desserts. I grew up with a mother who also loved to bake, so writing a story filled with vivid descriptions of yummy treats was an absolute pleasure.

Denise’s Darling Buttercream Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies

Today I’ll be sharing details on how to prepare these buttercream frosted lemon sugar cookies, topped with red and green sparkling sugar. For this recipe, you’ll need:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature 
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon extract
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
  • 3 cups of flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • Sparkling red and green sugar

How to prepare:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Stir to combine.
  3. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until combined.
  4. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour
  5. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick, cut with holiday-shaped cookie cutters
  6. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet, then place cookies on top
  7. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned

While the cookies are baking, prepare the frosting. Below are the ingredients and instructions:

  • 2 cups of confectionery sugar
  • 1/2 stick of salted butter, room temperature 
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons of milk
  1. Mix the ingredients together with a beater until light and fluffy 
  2. Ready to use!

Once your cookies have cooled, ice them, sprinkle the sugar on top, and enjoy!

– Denise

I do hope that you’ll try this recipe during the holiday season and enjoy spending time with your loved ones. If you would like to stay connected with me, here’s how:

Tule Publishing Author Page  |  TikTok  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  My Blog


Discover 10 Delicious Tule Recipes for the Holidays as Part of our #Tule10 Anniversary!

Tule Publishing has hit a milestone 10 years and we’re celebrating by showcasing some of our first 10’s! Learn more about our first 10 authors, meet our first 10 cowboys and cowgirls, watch our first 10 films, and maybe find yourself wrapped up dreaming of the holidays with our first 10 Christmas stories!

We are so thankful for each of you for continuing to put your faith in us to continue bringing you amazing reads. You are a crucial part to our success and we couldn’t have made it to our 10th anniversary without you! We hope you stick around all month for more celebratory blogs and are looking forward to another 10 years – cheers!

Get inspired in the kitchen with 10 of Tule’s favorite recipes from our authors and team members, just in time for the holidays!

  1. Delicious Southern Shrimp or Crawfish Pasta from author Susan Sands
  2. Quick Microwave Fudge from author Laurie Beach
  3. Darling Buttercream-Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies from author Denise Wheatley
  4. Seven-Layer Cookies from author Nancy Robards Thompson
  5. Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes from author Jessica Gilmore
  6. Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies from author Lara Van Hulzen
  7. Cinnamon Rolls from Tule’s Managing Editor, Meghan Farrel
  8. Chocolate Carrot Cake with Pineapple from author Kaz Delaney
  9. Sweet Gingery Molasses Cookies from author Kris Bock
  10. Mouthwatering Beef Brisket from author Audrey Wick

. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks for stopping by to check out 10 of our delicious recipes from Tule Publishing! Here’s to a great year of #Tule10!


“Celebrate” the Holidays with Tule Author, Jane Hartley’s Special Celebration Cake Recipe!

Enjoy Jane Hartley’s family favourite “Celebration Cake” made for special occasions.

Cherry Coconut Celebration Cake

Cake Ingredients:

150 grams butter
135 grams Coconut
225 grams castor sugar
3 eggs beaten
180 ml milk
1 packet of glace cherries, chopped
Red food colouring

Directions:

1. Measure all dry ingredients and mix together.

2. Stir in cherries (this helps the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Add a dash of red food colouring.

3. Melt butter in a small saucepan, then remove from heat. Set aside.

4. Add milk to the butter mixture. Then add the dry ingredients and the eggs (if you put the eggs straight into the butter they start to cook).

5. Mix together add to prepared pans.

If you do the separate tins, they cook really quickly because they are so thin. They are ready when they leave the side of the tin. Maybe 10 minutes. Or one 20cm cake tin moderate oven for around an hour.

WARNING: This mix will appear runny. Don’t be tempted to add more dry ingredients. The Coconut soaks up the moisture while cooking.

Gnash

Ingredients:
400 grams of cooking chocolate
200ml of cream

Directions:
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate but watch it closely as the chocolate will keep melting after you take it out. Stir it every 5 to 10 minutes to prevent lumps while it’s thickening.

We also like to use cherry jam for layering with some of the gnash.

Then put what you want on the top!

ENJOY!
– Jane Hartley

Be sure to check out Jane Hartley’s “The Untold Story of Carol Bingley” which is book #5 in the “85th Copper Mountain Rodeo” series.


Tule Author Kate Hewitt Shares Her Thoughts on Traditional Christmas Pudding!

When I moved to the UK twelve years ago, I was a bit taken aback by a lot of things, but nothing quite left me as flummoxed as Christmas pudding, that unique and ubiquitous festive dessert! Brits have an unusual thing about celebratory desserts—traditionally any celebration requires a fruit cake, made with raisins, sultanas, currants, and candied peel. Add a very thick, hard layer of marzipan icing, and you’ve got what people bring out for birthdays, baptisms, anniversaries, you name it! I think, as Great Britain becomes inevitably more Americanized, the tradition of this kind of cake is fading a bit, and the classic vanilla or chocolate sponge is coming more into vogue—but Christmas pudding is still brought out on December 25th!

If you don’t like dried fruit, it’s probably not your thing, but there is something truly magnificent and Dickensian about the Christmas pudding, brought out perfectly molded on a platter and then doused in brandy or rum and set alight—yes, really! My husband has a special silver spoon he heats over a candle until the brandy bursts into blue flame, which he thens pours over the pudding. It’s quite a sight to see. As for eating… well, anything tastes delicious with lashings of brandy butter or cream.

Below I am sharing Mary Berry, the undisputed Queen of British Baking’s recipe for Christmas pudding. I make mine at the end of November, and feed it a tablespoon of rum per week until Christmas. On the day, you boil it for a couple of hours, upend it on a dish, and then, yes, set it on fire! Truly an experience for the senses. 

Ingredients

For the pudding

For the brandy butter

To serve

Recipe tips  |  How-to-videos

Method

  1. Measure the sultanas, raisins, apricots and apple into a bowl with the orange juice. Add the measured brandy (rum or sherry), stir and leave to marinate for about one hour.
  2. Put the measured butter, sugar and grated orange rind into a large bowl and cream together with a wooden spoon or a hand-held whisk until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the measured flour if the mixture starts to curdle.
  3. Sift together the flour and mixed spice, then fold into the creamed mixture with the breadcrumbs and the nuts. Add the soaked dried fruits with their soaking liquid and stir well.
  4. Generously butter a 1.4 litre/2½ pint pudding basin. Cut a small disc of foil or baking parchment and press into the base of the basin.
  5. Spoon into the prepared pudding basin and press the mixture down with the back of a spoon. Cover the pudding with a layer of baking parchment paper and foil, both pleated across the middle to allow for expansion. Tie securely with string and trim off excess paper and foil with scissors.
  6. To steam, put the pudding in the top of a steamer filled with simmering water, cover with a lid and steam for eight hours, topping up the water as necessary.
  7. To boil the pudding, put a metal jam jar lid, or metal pan lid, into the base of a large pan to act as a trivet. Place a long, doubled strip of foil in the pan, between the trivet and the pudding basin, ensuring the ends of the strip reach up and hang over the edges of the pan. This will help you to lift the heavy pudding basin out of the pan of hot water when it has finished cooking.
  8. Lower the pudding onto the trivet and pour in enough boiling water to come half way up the side of the bowl. Cover with a lid, bring the water back to the boil, then simmer for about seven hours, until the pudding is a glorious deep brown colour, topping up the water as necessary.
  9. For the brandy butter, place the butter into a mixing bowl and cream with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy – or for speed use an electric hand-held mixer. Beat in the sieved icing sugar until smooth, then add brandy, rum or cognac, to taste. Spoon into a serving dish, cover and set aside in the fridge.
  10. When cooked through, remove the pudding from the pan and cool completely. Discard the paper and foil and replace with fresh. Store in a cool, dry place.
  11. To serve, on Christmas Day, steam or boil the pudding for about two hours to reheat. Turn the pudding onto a serving plate. To flame, warm the brandy or rum in a small pan, pour it over the hot pudding and set light to it. Serve with brandy butter.

Enjoy! And Happy Holidays!
Kate Hewitt

About the Author.

Kate Hewitt wrote her first story at the age of five, simply because her older brother had written one and she thought she could do it too. That story was one sentence long—fortunately, they have become a bit more detailed as she’s grown older.

She studied drama in college and shortly after graduation moved to New York City to pursue a career in theatre. This was derailed by something far better—meeting the man of her dreams who happened also to be her older brother’s childhood friend.

Ten days after their wedding they moved to England, where Kate worked a variety of different jobs—drama teacher, editorial assistant, church youth worker, secretary, and finally mother.

When her oldest daughter was one year old, she sold her first short story to a British magazine, The People’s Friend. Since then she has written many stories and serials as well as novels. In 2007 she received ‘The Call’ from Mills & Boon for her first Harlequin Presents novel, The Italian’s Chosen Wife. Since then she has written over 25 books for Harlequin, and also writes women’s fiction for Carina UK and Lion Hudson Press. She loves writing stories that both tackle tough issues and celebrate the redeeming power of love.

Besides writing, she enjoys reading, traveling, and learning to knit—it’s an ongoing process and she’s made a lot of scarves.

Kate lives in a tiny village on the northwest coast of England with her husband, five young children, and an overly affectionate Golden Retriever.

 


Mouthwatering and Flavorful Beef Brisket from “Texas BBQ Brothers” Author, Audrey Wick!

Happy December, Tuligans!
There are a handful of delicious, original recipes in the back of my two BBQ Brothers books: On the Market and Off the Market and I thought a fun BBQ dish might be fun to share around the holidays.
In particular, this mouthwatering beef brisket might be something unique and an alternative to other meat dishes that may be expected around the holidays . . .

Beef Brisket

This isn’t quite as good as what The Hut makes using post oak wood, but it’s still a delicious version to serve at home. 

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized brisket, market trimmed

3 T. Worcestershire sauce

3 T. soy sauce

1 T. liquid smoke

½ t. seasoned salt

½ t. onion salt

½ t. garlic salt

½ t. black pepper 

Directions:
Put brisket on large piece of foil. Mix all other ingredients together. Pour over the brisket. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Then, bake at 250 degrees for approximately 5 hours. Slice and serve with The Hut’s barbeque sauce on the side. 

Want some rich and flavorful, homemade BBQ sauce to go with this brisket? Check out Audrey Wick’s BBQ-themed On the Market (Book 1 in her Texas BBQ Brothers series) for an original recipe! This and more are part of the back of the book, so happy reading…and happy eating!


Enjoy Some Yummy “No Fail” Holiday Fudge from Author, Robyn Neeley!

A family staple in our home is my mom’s “No Fail” holiday fudge!

My mom makes this fudge every year, and it’s amazing! Things in this recipe happen fast, so I find that preparing and measuring all the ingredients before getting started is key. Enjoy!

“No Fail” Holiday Fudge

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 Cup of Evaporated Milk
  • 2 Cups of Sugar
  • 1 Square Baking Chocolate
  • 1 Stick of Butter
  • 4 Hershey Bars (broken up)
  • 1/2 Cup of chopped nuts (optional) and crushed nuts for topping (optional)
  • 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

Directions:

Step 1: Get your drink! If you’re like me and like to have something to sip nearby, you’ll want to get it ready now. Trust me on this tip.

Step 2: Butter an 8 x 8 pan

Step 3: Combine 2/3 cup of evaporated milk, 2 cups of sugar and 1 square of baking chocolate

Step 4: Bring it to a boil for three minutes. Stir, (Sip), Stir!

Step 5: After coming to a rapid boil, add 1 stick of butter. Keep on stirring!

Step 6: Take from heat and add 4 Hershey full size bars (Break a part in advance. Sure, go ahead and sneak a broken piece or two. I do!)

Step 7: Here you can add in ½ cup of chopped nuts if you like. Stir, baby, stir.

Step 8: Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and give it a final stir.

Step 9: Pour into your 8×8 buttered pan and cool in refrigerator. Sprinkle crushed nuts on top (if you’d like)

Step 10: When cold cut into squares. While you wait for it to cool, finish your drink!

Happy Holidays!
– Robyn Neeley

*Be sure you check out Robyn’s “Brooks Bend” series on the Tule website!


Sarah Vance-Tompkins Shares Her Favorite Appetizer and Dessert In Time for the Holidays!

Hello Tuligans!

I have two delicious recipes I am excited to share with you. One is an appetizer – easily one of the easiest things to make! And the other is the recipe to the greatest brownies. Both can be kept in the freezer and enjoyed when company comes over at the holidays. The appetizer recipe is so simple it’s ridiculous. But they are always gobbled down and the first to disappear during a gathering. And the Katharine Hepburn brownies are so good that rumors in the New York Times recipe section claim they’ve been used for seduction. Just saying!

Enjoy!
xoxo – Sarah Vance-Tompkins

 

Ha’ Penny Appetizer

Ingredients:

1   cup  flour

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup grated sharp cheese (1 regular-sized bag)

1    envelope Campbell’s onion soup mix.

 

Directions:

1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together in a bowl.

3. Form dough into log/rolls that are an inch to 3/4 inch in diameter.

4. Wrap in sheets of foil and freeze.

5. When ready to use, slice 3/8 inch thick and place the coins on a cookie sheet.

6. Bake 10-12 minutes. Serve warm (with a glass of red wine!).

 

Katharine Hepburn Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2  cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup  sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp.  vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat over to 325 degrees.

2. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Add the cocoa powder, whisking constantly until blended and the mixture is shiny.

3. Remove from the heat.

4. Stir in the sugar. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and walnuts. Mix well.

5. Pour into a well-buttered 8-inch square baking pan.

6. Bake for about 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely and cut into squares.

 

These brownies are very fudgy and may be somewhat difficult to slice cleanly but worth the effort because they are absolutely delicious!


Whip Up Some Quick Microwave Fudge with Tule Author Laurie Beach!

Happy Holidays, Tuligans!

I wanted to share my mother’s recipe for quick microwave fudge with you. It’s a great Christmas cookie plate filler when you’re tired and need more treats. Quick, easy and delicious!

MICROWAVE FUDGE

1 pound powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

Blend sugar and cocoa in an 8x8x2 dish. Pour in milk. Place butter on top. Heat on full power for two minutes. Stir well. Add vanilla, stir again. Allow to cool.

Enjoy!
– Laurie Beach

*Be sure to check out Laurie’s “Crickley Creek series” on the Tule site!


Delicious Southern Shrimp or Crawfish Pasta from Southern Born Author, Susan Sands!

This recipe is always a crowd pleaser in our family and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! It’s the perfect addition to your holiday festivities.

Enjoy!!
– Susan Sands

Shrimp or Crawfish Pasta

What you need:

  • 1 bag egg noodles
  • 6 – 8 oz. Velveeta 
  • 2 Tbs. of pickled jalapenos
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 2 – 3 Tbs. flour
  • 1 bunch green onions chopped small 
  • 1 small yellow onion chopped
  • Garlic (minced or chopped) or garlic powder
  • Tony Chachere’s to taste
  • 1 green bell pepper chopped
  • ½ stick butter
  • 1 tsp. celery flakes or 1 stalk chopped celery
  • Shredded cheddar to top

What to do:

1. Prepare noodles according to package directions, drain, and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, Tony’s, onion powder and sauté until soft. Add peeled and deveined shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink or crawfish are hot.

3. Cube Velveeta and add to pan, and melt into mixture on low heat.

4. In a bowl, whisk together flour in cold milk until smooth. At low fire, add milk/flour mixture. Use whisk to combine until blended. You can add a little at a time until desired thickness is reached. If mixture becomes too thick, add a bit more milk. 

5. In a 13 X 9 pan, combine egg noodles and shrimp/crawfish sauce mixture. Top with shredded cheddar. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.