Diana Miller is here to tempt you…and give one lucky commenter a $25 GC prize! Back to Blog
Update: The winner of the $25 Amazon.com gift card is Minna! Congratulations, Minna!
Did Katie’s post make you hungry? It’s got me craving all kinds of holiday treats. I’m afraid those cravings are about to get worse! Our next fabulous guest has another treat for you (and she’s also offering up a $25.com Amazon gift card–awesome!). Please welcome Diana Miller to the blog!
I’m thrilled to be participating in the launch party for Cynthia’s newest soon-to-be bestseller. Thanks so much for having me! I’ll be giving away a $25 Amazon gift card to a commentator.
I doubt my heroine Abby Langford’s dysfunctional parents made any special foods for Christmas when she was growing up. However, Abby’s now moved back to her home state of Minnesota, where a large percentage of the residents are of Scandinavian descent and take pride in dozens of traditional Christmas foods and beverages. As a Minnesotan who’s three-quarters Norwegian and married to a Norwegian native, I’d like to suggest a couple recipes Abby should try:
SPRITZ COOKIES
Supermom Abby would enjoy making these with her daughter Maddie, who could be in charge of decorating and, at age nine, may be old enough handle the cookie press herself.
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Colored sugar and decorating candies
Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Gradually add salt and then flour to creamed mixture; mix well.
Using a cookie press fitted with the disk of your choice, press dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar and/or decorating candies as desired.
Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes or until set (do not brown). Let cool for two minutes on pan, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
GLOGG
I’m sure my hero Josh would enjoy unwinding with Abby and a cup of glogg, a hot spiced wine.
It also might help Abby relieve some of the stress from that nightmare she keeps having! This particular version comes from a Danish friend.
Ingredients
2 bottles (750 ml) red wine –(inexpensive is fine; Malene uses Vendange Cabernet)
5 ounces vodka, aquavit, or brandy
1 cinnamon stick
10 cloves
1 tsp cardamom whole seeds or seedpods
½ cup sugar
Blanched sliced almonds
Raisins (can be seeped in port, whiskey, or cognac overnight)
Directions
Pour vodka (or other alcohol) over broken up cinnamon stick, cloves, & cardamom.
Cover and let sit at room temperature for 2 days. Strain, discarding the spices.
Combine red wine with spiced vodka, sugar, raisins, and almonds. Heat over low heat. Be careful not to boil since then the alcohol burns off!
Season to taste with port, Drambuie, Grand Marnier, or more sugar (be careful not to sweeten too much). Serve hot.
***
Oh, Diana, you had me at the pouring vodka part. 😉 But what about the folks reading this post–how do you unwind? I am definitely going to try Glogg this holiday season! Be sure to comment for your chance to win Diana’s $25 Amazon.com gift card!
And, since Diana was awesome enough to come and share her recipes and her cool Amazon prize, let’s talk about her book (one that I have on my Kindle). Here’s the blurb for DANGEROUS AFFAIRS:
When soap opera star Abby Langford leaves Los Angeles for her Minnesota hometown, she’s hoping to give her nine-year-old daughter the peaceful childhood she never knew. But instead of tranquility, Abby finds an old knife hidden between the walls of her new house. Then the nightmares start: a blood-soaked victim and a killer’s arm slicing through the air, again and again.
Abby wonders if she’s having the nervous breakdown the tabloids claim she already had, especially when sexy, skeptical police chief Josh Kincaid questions her story. When menacing hate mail arrives, Josh’s professional concern for Abby soon evolves into an intense attraction, and the feeling is mutual. And now Josh wonders if her psychic visions are of crimes past—or a premonition of terrors to come.
To survive, Abby and Josh must uncover the truth and stop a killer . . . before Abby’s worst nightmares come true.
***
DANGEROUS AFFAIRS – BUY LINKS
Thanks for coming by, Diana!
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Diana – your book sounds great! I’m adding it to my wishlist in case I win that GC!! What you call Glogg, we always called Grogg — yum! That’s a good drink to relax with!!
Glad to find another glogg/grogg appreciater! Good luck in the contest and thanks for stopping by.
I like Glögg, too. I just prefer non-alcoholic variety.
We’ve actually made that for our kids and I was surprised how good it was!
For me I usually unwind with a good book, yoga, exercising, hanging with friends or just droning out by watching mindless television lol.
That all sounds great to me! Have a wonderful holiday season.
I’ve never heard of glogg before but it definitely sounds likes something I would like to try. Thanks for sharing.
I think it’s most common where it’s cold–like Scandinavia and Minnesota! thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it.
I’ll be making glogg.
So will I! Hope you enjoy it!
Great Recipes!!! I can’t wait to start baking for Christmas!!!
I’m not usually a big baker, but I LOVE baking at Christmas. Thanks for stopping by!
During the holidays is when we like to bake stuff. I love the smell of freshly baked cookies and brownies. They also keep me warm 🙂
Especially when you eat a few fresh from the oven! Have a wonderful holiday season.
thanks for the recipes! they all sound great!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful holiday season!
The cookie recipe sounds good. I unwind by reading a good book or watching a movie.
I really like this cookie recipe. I also like the dough! I’ve actually started using pasteurized eggs since I know I’ll eat nearly as much dough as cookies (although I ate dough for years with regular eggs and was fine!)
i like to take a hot bubble bath and listen to music to unwind
meandi09@yahoo.com
I’m a bath person, too. We remodeled our bathroom and my husband actually suggested getting rid of the tub since we don’t have little kids any more. It did not happen (I think I maybe threatened that if the tub left, so did I, lol)–we actually got a bigger whirlpool tub!
Thanks for the cookie recipe. I know we have a cookie press somewhere, I should dig it out for the holidays. To unwind I have chocolates and a good book while snuggling under a blanket on the couch. Sounds nice right about now
Thank you for the cookie recipe. I unwind with a cup of tea.
Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate it. Have a wonderful holiday season!
I unwind with Coke and coconut rum!
ehaney578 at aol dot com
I love rum and Cokes, although I’ve never tried coconut rum before. But I certainly will now!
All these recipes with alcohol that sound so wonderful that I can’t have. 🙁 Since alcohol does not agree with medicine that I have to take daily. I typically unwind with a good book instead and if I am really feeling stressed I will sneak in some dark chocolate.
I’m glad you can still have chocolate. To be honest, if I had to make a choice between giving up alcohol and giving up chocolate, I’d nix the alcohol. And I love all those researchers who keep discovering even more reasons dark chocolate is good for you!
Thanks for the cool recipes! I’ve never heard of Glogg but I’m definitely gonna have to check it out.
I like to unwind by reading. Reading just relaxes me and puts my mind at ease. By the time I realize it, hours have passed and I feel better.
Happy Holidays!!
And Happy Release Day Cynthia!!! <3
Carla
Bookmonsterreviews@yahoo.com
Reading’s my favorite way to unwind, too (especially when I have a terrific book–like Cynthia’s new release–waiting for me on my Kindle. I love the way you can pre-order books and they magically show up there on release day!) Have a wonderful holiday season.
I need some glogg. I unwind by relaxing on the couch and watching some of my favorite comedies like The Hangover and The 40 Year Old Virgin.
Glogg and The Hangover. It sounds like the start of a terrific “Dinner and a Movie” episode, if that show were still on TV!
Glass of wine, Hot Bath, & a book
Sounds perfect to me! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful holiday season.
Love your recipes as I am originally from Minnesota. I love to relax with a good book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other plus if I can be in a lounger by the pool it is even better.
I hope your comment about a lounger by the pool means you’ve moved somewhere warmer than Minnesota! That’s my dream, but unfortunately my Norwegian husband loves winter. What we put up with for love. .
This time of year I unwind by playing Christmas carols on the piano. The rest of the year it’s Broadway showtunes. If I’m really stressed out I dig out the Chopin and play that. For some reason it calms me down.
kesummer69(at)gmail(dot)com
I don’t play piano often enough anymore, but I always play Christmas carols (which reminds me, it’s time to call the piano tuner!).
I unwind with a nice pot of hot tea, flavor varies, and a good book. Nothing is more relaxing than a perfectly brewed cup of hot tea and reading away a few hours.
I love tea, too. (And your cat is beautiful). Happy holidays!
How do I unwind… some nice soothing music & or a gret book! Thanks for sharing the recipes. 😀
Happy Holidays!
Think I’ll pass on the glogg but will substitute with a nice cup of mint tea and a great book!
Mint tea always relaxes me way more than other flavors do. I’ve never figured out why, but it does.
Happy holidays!
Reading of course and sipping on hot chocolate watching a chrisas movie with my family while the tree is blinking away. That’s my favorite way to unwind. I might try the glogg too!
I usually unwind by reading a good book while having a nice cup of hot tea.
I unwind with chocolate and books and if I’m really stressed out I add some pink lemon aid ;)!
I may have to try glogg too!
Chocolate is a wonder drug, isn’t it? Does it really go with pink lemonade? (Although what doesn’t go with chocolate?)
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it!
Surprising chocolate does go with it hehe and your right what doesn’t work with Pink Lemonade! I think pink Lemonade and oreos are the best chocolate-lemonade match up 🙂
does work with Chocolate** sorry typo
Mmmm Glogg sounds good! I always unwind with a good book
As I lived 8 years Wisconsin and went to college at UW-River Falls right by the MN boarder i know what both of those taste like first hand… My family (still lives in WI) is German we make a Mulled Wine… I like a glass of wine, good book and bubble bath if i need to relax.
I’ve been in River Falls many times. It’s a beautiful place. I think mulled wine is a lot like glogg, but without the added hard liquor.
Have a wonderful holiday season.
I unwind by reading a good book, there’s nothing like relaxing with a good book!
Nice to hear from you again, Timitra! Have a wonderful holiday season.
I unwind by reading. And I loved your book. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you so much for reading it! And for stopping by. Have a wonderful holiday season.
i unwind by reading or some exercise when i can. Love the blurb! Sounds exciting. I have not read you before and Cynthia does these launch parties and intros all these great new to me authors. Love it!
Lisa B
We spent 2 weeks in Norway this summer, but did not have the luck to try either of these recipes. Besides a book (of course), my favorite drink to relax with is hot chocolate with Baileys. Yum!!
I hope you enjoyed Norway–and it didn’t bankrupt you! I can’t believe how expensive it’s gotten to travel there (and we don’t even have to pay for hotel rooms)!
Have a wonderful holiday season.
I unwind by staying away from the malls! I worked retail for many years, and realized that it will destroy the holiday for you. When I was finished work, I would come home, get in comfy clothes, drink it tea and relax.
Good call! I live within ten miles of the Mall of America (which is enormous and terribly busy, especially at Christmas). I refuse to go other than on weekdays during the holiday season, not just because the stores are so busy, but because you can never get parking! Call me crazy, but driving around a parking ramp looking for that one last space is not my idea of good holiday fun!
Have a great holiday season!
Thanks for the recipes, they sound great. I unwind by either reading a good book or doing something crafty ( cross stitching, or beading/making jewelry).
My mother would so love to have you as a daughter! I have no crafting ability (and believe me, with her prodding, I’ve tried everything). Mom, on the other hand, is the queen of her local Crafty Ladies group and,despite the group’s hokey name, they all make so many things that that aren’t in the least bit hokey and that people (including me) pay big bucks for! I recently tried beaded earrings, but unfortunately they looked like a five-year-old’s effort!
I like to unwind by laying on the couch with my Kindle. Nothing beats reading a good book
I’ve never heard of it before but it sounds wonderful. We like Kalua and coffee or Irish Cream and coffee during the holidays.
I love both Kalua and Bailey’s with coffee, and it’s a lot easier than making glogg! (Actually, I like both Kalua and Irish Cream even without the added coffee).
Have a wonderful holiday season.
Never heard of glogg but I’ll google it. Spiked eggnog is about my limit!
Spiked eggnog is good, too! Have a wonderful holiday season.
These sound like a dream, Diana! I can’t wait to try the recipe out.
I love snuggling up with my man and winding down with some hot chocolate and a nice Christmas movie. Love Actually’s my all-time fav. My boyfriend claims to like it too, but he may just be trying to please me…
Being a fan of all things Hugh Grant, I also love Love Actually (and you’ve also got Colin Firth and Liam Neeson and I’ve forgotten who else). Unfortunately I’d been married too long when we watched it for my husband to even consider pretending to enjoy it. But he’s heading to a convention in a couple weeks, so I’m going to have to watch it again! Thanks for reminding me of it!
Normal unwinding is just chilling watching some TV or reading a book. For drink just water. But this past weekend I found a really nice mint tea that I need to find. It was really good.
this recipe sounds good! And I unwind from just reading, its relaxing!
I like to read a book to relax.
I read or watch a movie– a Christmas movie, of course 🙂
I definitely have to try that Glogg recipe. It sounds similar to gluwine (sp) that they serve in the Christmas markets in Europe. My favorite drink this time of year is hot chocolate with a touch of Bailey’s in it to give it a little kick.
I unwind with a warm bath and a good book. Glogg looks like a great drink.
I unwind with a good book.
A nice glass of wine and a hot bubble bath.
I read to relax.
Glogg sounds like something I need to relax. Love the name. I have a recipe for spritz cookies although I’ve never made them. I like to read to relax. First I take a nice hot shower and then get the books out.
I LOVE Spritz cookies!! To relax, I have a tendency to grab a glass of wine and read a good book! I have had Glogg before. Awesome Stuff!! Thanks for the giveaway!
Unwind? What is this Unwind you speak of? The only unwinding I get a chance to do if to read….lots and lots of reading.
A good book, going out with friends, or a nap (definitely a nap), never fails to relax me!