12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop

A big festive welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop hosted by As You Wish Reviews and Confessions of the Paranormal and sponsored by As You Wish Tours and Book Dragon Designs.

Grand Prize: $150 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

First Prize: One (1) eBook from Every Participating Author (From me The Glass Knot)

And from right here on this blog: eBook of Cold Nights, Hot Bodies
(Prizes awarded on 16th Dec)

I adore this time of year when the days are cold and the nights are hot. I like to cook, shop, spend time with friends and of course have a little tipple or two, non more so than when I'm in my kitchen baking. (Keep reading to find my cookie recipe!)

I adore the kitchen and often put a tree up in the corner as I spend so much time fiddling about with different recipes and chatting to family and friends. I'm very fortunate as I live in a rural part of Britain and it is often picture perfect.

I frequently set my novels in England and one that springs to mind and is perfect for Christmas is Cold Nights, Hot Bodies. I really enjoyed sending my characters to the beautiful Cotswolds and having them snowed in at a luxury hotel. They had to find something to do to fill the time didn't they and phew, I could certainly find something to keep myself busy if I had him to keep me company!

The Cotswolds is of course stunning in the summer too and my novel The Glass Knot is also set here. This book is m/m/f and the tangles that Laura finds herself in with married couple Josh and Nick seems to have really hit the spot with readers - you can read the reviews on Amazon - but more than that I loved the realness of writing this. Imagining a stunning cottage nestled in a twee village, all perfectly decorated, money no object and then this complex relationship filling its old stone walls. The kitchen, as it happens, is a place where many exchanges take place both verabally and physically and they're all layered with tension and meaning.

Of course a large island is essential in The Glass Knot kitchen, not just for cooking on but also for... you get my drift!

And, if you too feel like spending some time in the kitchen here is my favourite cookie recipe. It's a good base for adding whatever extras you happen to have in the store cupboard if you don't have macadamia nuts - sweets/chocolate of any variety/other nuts/honeycomb - and I've been using it for years.

Choc Chip and Macadamia Cookies

75g Butter

75g Castor Sugar

75g Light Brown Sugar

1tsp Vanilla Essence

1 Egg - Beaten

175g Self-Raising Flour

Pinch of Salt - if desired

125g Choc Drops

75g Macadamia Nuts - roughly chopped

1. Cream butter until soft. Beat in the sugars and vanilla essence until evenly blended. Add the egg and mix well.

2. Sift in the flour and salt. Fold carefully into the butter and sugar mixture.

3. Add chocolate drops and nuts and mix well.

4. Roll the mixture into balls the size of marbles. Place on greased tray leaving space for spreading and flatten lightly with a fork.

5. Bake at 180C (350F) mark 4 for about 10 minutes or until pale golden in colour. They will still be springy at the centre and that gives them a lovely softness when cooled. Enjoy!

Thank you for reading and feel free to stop by my website for information on all my erotic romance novels and if you are interested in BDSM I also write under the name Harlem Dae with my good pal Natalie Dae and we have some great special offers going on with our Sexy as Hell Trilogy.

Have a wonderful day and all the very best for the Festive Season

Lily x

PS - For more chances to win sexy stuff and grab freebies sign up to my newsletter.

PPS - And for more Favourite Christmas Cookie Recipes & Giveaways - Hop along the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

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