Skip to main content

Looking Out The Window: Celebrating The Christmas Season With Carol James And Her New Novella, Mary's Christmas Surprise. Carol Will Give Away an eBook.



A Warm Welcome to Carol James

To enter to win Mary’s Christmas Surprise leave a comment and an email address below.

Carol shares a Bible verse to nourish our souls and a recipe to whet our appetites. 

One of Carol's favorite Bible verses is Psalm 91:1-2

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”




One of Carol's favorite recipes is her mother’s Cookie Canes

My mother had the gift hospitality. Not only did she enjoy cooking and entertaining, but she was good at both. One of my favorite possessions is her recipe book. I love looking at the stained pages and wondering how old I was when those markings were made.

Some of my fondest holiday memories are the times she and I made Christmas cookies together. My favorites were her cookie canes, maybe because my special job was using a hammer or meat cleaver to crush the peppermint sticks for the topping. (What child wouldn’t love such a noisy activity?)

Her cookie canes were her masterpieces, and over the years, she probably made thousands to give as gifts. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.



Lillian’s Cookie Canes

Mix together:
1/2 cup of shortening 
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of confectioner’s sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift together:
 2 1/2 cups of flour and 1 tsp salt 

Stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Divide the dough into half. Color one half red, then chill the dough. Roll a small portion of each color into a “rope” about 4-5” long. Twist the red and white ropes together, and then shape into a cane. Bake at 375 on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.

While the cookies are baking, mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup crushed peppermint sticks.

Remove cookies from oven and sprinkle immediately with the peppermint stick and sugar mixture. Cool and store in an airtight container.





Fun! And they sound yummy too!





About Mary's Christmas Surprise

Mary Sherman’s Christmas is nothing like she’s planned. Her fiancé has called off the engagement just days before Christmas, and her parents have gone on an anniversary cruise around the world.

Suddenly alone for the holidays, Mary returns to the comfort of her childhood home to spend Christmas in her parents’ empty house. There’s only one problem. The house is not empty. Unbeknownst to Mary, her parents have taken in a boarder, a handsome carpenter named Jake Wolesky.

Mary's Christmas surprise may make this the best holiday ever.

Buy Mary’s Christmas Surprise on  Amazon and Pelican Book Group

Bio: 

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction. She lives in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors.

Her upcoming novel, The Waiting, will be available January, 2019.

Connect with Carol on

her website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter


Comments

Carol James said…
Gail, thanks so much for having me here today!
Unknown said…
Sounds like a terrific book! Thanks for the yummy cookie recipe:-)
Carlene said…
Carol's book intrigues me. I just preordered. Meanwhile, I simply have to try making those cookies! Thank you.
Emily Conrad said…
Was your mom's name Lillian? That was my grandma's name :) I think my mom used to make similar cookies. Thanks for the recipe! And your story sounds sweet, too :)
Gail Pallotta said…
It's my pleasure to have you, Carol!
Sonja said…
The recipe looks wonderful! I am going to try them. The book soumds so good, maybe a little sad, at least at first, I'm guessing. Would love to read this.
Anita Klumpers said…
The cookies look wonderful and so does the book! Merry Christmas, ladies!
Unknown said…
Those cookie canes sound delicious! May have to try that with my kids this year. ��
Carol James said…
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy the cookies.
Carol James said…
Thanks, Carlene. Have fun with the cookies.
Carol James said…
Yes, my mom was Lillian. I think it was a popular name for that generation, and it seems to be making a comeback. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Carol James said…
Thanks for stopping by, Sonja. The cookies are delicious! And since the novella is a romance, we know it will have a satisfying ending. ;-) And I LOVE happy endings.
Carol James said…
Merry Christmas to you, Anita. And thanks for stopping by.
Carol James said…
Making memories. Have fun! Thanks for stopping by.
Mary A Felkins said…
So sweet to picture you and your mom baking these candy cane cookies together. They're beautiful! I have precious memories of baking Christmas gingerbread cookies with my mom. She allowed me to do the honor of icing and sprinkling...and eating. Thanks for sharing this memory.
Carol James said…
Thanks, Mary. These sweet memories are priceless. I was often on “sprinkle” duty, as well.
Unknown said…
Yum! I wonder if you could use almond flour in place of regular flour? I have family who can't have any kind of grains so almond flour it is for us. I love your writing too by the way :)
Carol James said…
Ooooo. Almond flour sounds yummy. I’m not sure how it would work as a substitution. But, the cookies are somewhat soft, and from time to time my mom would add almond extract. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks for stopping by!
Those cookies sound delicious!
Congrats on your new release.
Good luck and God's blessings
PamT
Carol James said…
Thanks, Pam. They are yummy and melt in your mouth.

Popular posts from this blog

Looking Out the Window: Memories on the Heart

Several weeks ago my husband, Rick, and I ate at a restaurant we frequent fairly regularly. The cute, young waitress who usually waits on us took our orders for burgers and fries. I’ll call her Mandy. As usual Mandy’s smile and bubbly personality brightened our day. We giggled and confessed to her that we shouldn’t eat the fries, but we were going to do it just this once. She joked. “Okay, you’re being bad today.” Not long after we got our food a couple came in and sat in the booth behind us. Mandy walked up to the table with her big grin. “Hi, how are you?” she asked. The man, who had salt and pepper colored hair and a pudgy face, spoke in a harsh tone, “I want the steak.” “Sure, which one would you like?” Mandy asked. “I don’t want you to put it in the microwave. That will make it tough. Do you understand?” Mandy’s lips turned down. “Yes sir, which one do you want to order?” “I want it medium rare. I don’t want blood oozing out of it. I want it cooked right.” “Yes sir, which steak di

Looking out the Window: Karen Malley Talks about Her New Book, Moonlight and Mystery. Giveaway.

  A Warm Welcome to Karen Malley Karen will give away an eBook of Moonlight and Mystery .  To enter to win leave a comment and email address below and enter the Rafflecopter contest. She also gives away a free short story each week for a newsletter sign-up. See below for her Website address. Hi Gail, thanks so much for having me on the blog today. It's my pleasure.  I’m happy to share with you a Bible verse and a recipe, and tell you about my newest book! One of my favorite Bible verses is Romans 10:9.  “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” I love this verse because it distills down the message of Christianity to its simplest elements. So often people add to the gospel, but it really all comes down to our belief in Jesus’ saving work on the cross. This verse tends to make its way into my writing. It’s in my latest novel, Moonlight and Mystery, when the heroine, Beth attends a carnival at a

Looking out the Window: Regina Andrews Talks about Her New Christmas Book, Christmas in Vermont. Giveaway.

A Warm Welcome to Regina Andrews Regina gives away an eBook of Christmas in Vermont. To enter to win leave a comment below and enter the Rafflecopter contest. About Christmas in Vermont Faith and trust are sometimes difficult to master, but can a sparkling Christmas in Vermont change all that? Returning home to Holly Berry Village and beginning her career as an Estate gemologist, puts Christal Birchwood completely in her comfort zone. But when she meets the new town physician, Cole Townsend, the barriers she has created around herself quickly begin to shatter and fall. Will she trust her faith enough to carry her into a sparkling, new beginning? And will Cole be able to trust his heart to love again? Christmas in Vermont Summary  After studying for two years in Switzerland, certified gemologist Christal Birchwood arrives back home in Holly Berry Village just in time for Christmas. The world of Estate and vintage jewelry suits her well. It is exact and precise, and there are no unknown