The Chicks are pleased to feature today Susan McCormick, author of the fab Fog Ladies mystery series, the latest of which–Date With Death–released in October. And lucky for us all, she’s here just in time for the holidays bringing some delectable cookie recipes! Take it away, Susan!

Death Doesn’t Go With Cookies

This time of year, my mind always turns to cookies. I love to bake, though I must admit that I love to eat more. And that I don’t always allot time for baking, or recipe hunting, or really even turning on the oven. But the holidays are a perfect excuse to set aside normal daily activities that suck time and energy, and re-enter the kitchen.

Cookies play a big role in my Fog Ladies cozy murder mystery series. One book even features a lethal cookie—I won’t say which one in case you haven’t read it yet. One character loves to cook, and new cookie platters appear daily in Frances Noonan’s life. I enjoy relegating various sweet treats for her to bake, not me. Aside from Frances Noonan, in Book 3, the cook at a soup kitchen where the ladies volunteer adds her creations, and she has a penchant for herbal-infused goodies that sound more like a hand lotion than a cookie.

Tiny cookie-based excerpt from the newest book:

“So that’s what happened,” said Mrs. Honeycut. “He stepped too close to the edge and he fell. It was like falling ten stories at least.”

“I think more, Olivia. Maybe twenty. God rest his soul,” said Harriet Flynn.

“At least he didn’t suffer,” said Sarah. “That sort of death would be immediate.”

Alma Gordon clutched Boris’s soft Newfoundland fur as if he were a flotation noodle in a swimming pool. The ladies were gathered in Alma’s apartment so Mrs. Honeycut and Mrs. Flynn could recount their first outing with the Senior Singles. Not recount death. Death didn’t go with cookies.

I did a look-back at all the cookies featured in the Fog Ladies books, and I was excited to see the variety and yumminess. I offer a few of the recipes for your holiday feast. I tried each of these recipes myself, and if I can make them, you can make them. I included my thoughts and a link to the original recipe posting. The photos are mine.

Book 4, The Fog Ladies: Date with Death
Snickerdoodle
Coconut macaroon
Chocolate orange swirl

Book 3, The Fog Ladies: In the Soup
Lavender sugar cookies
Lemon and rosemary
Sugar
Sugar and sage
Rosemary mint shortbread
Chocolate chip with cayenne pepper
Pumpkin and lime
Chocolate espresso
Black and white

Book 2, The Fog Ladies: Family Matters
Chocolate
Molasses
Chocolate chip
Oatmeal

Book 1, The Fog Ladies
Chocolate chip
Oatmeal

Recipes:

Lemon Rosemary Sugar Cookies from Everyday Dishes, recipe reprinted with permission. Delicious and simple.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
1-2 Tbsp lemon zest
1-2 Tbsp granulated sugar

For glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp milk

Instructions:
Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon juice and egg in large mixing bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, lemon zest and rosemary until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

Form 1″ balls with dough and place on prepared cookie sheet. Moisten the bottom of a glass and lightly press the cookie flat. Repeat with remaining dough.

Combine lemon zest and sugar then sprinkle over each cookie.

Bake for 7-8 minutes and let cool completely.

Drizzle cooled cookies with glaze and enjoy! Yield 24 cookies.
https://everydaydishes.com/simple-food-recipes/doily-lemon-rosemary-sugar-cookie-recipe/

Chocolate Espresso Cookies from This Italian Kitchen, recipe reprinted with permission. See tips on the link. Note that I didn’t use the chocolate chips because I didn’t have any. Still yummy.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour (280 grams)
½ cup cocoa powder, like Hershey’s (54 grams)
1 ½ tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (plus more for topping)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick mat; set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to mix together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs and mix until well combined. Pour in the dry mixture and mix, on low speed, just until the batter is combined. Fold in the chocolate chips using a rubber spatula.

Use a cookie scoop to measure out balls of dough and place on the lined baking sheet. Press on additional chocolate chips if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 11-12 minutes, be careful not to over bake. Let cool on baking sheet before moving to cooling rack to cool completely.
https://thisitaliankitchen.com/chocolate-espresso-cookies/

Coconut Macaroons from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa
Easy, quick, and not too sweet.

This coconut macaroon recipe is only five ingredients (shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk, egg whites, vanilla, and kosher salt) and is extremely quick and easy. I substituted unsweetened coconut (same amount) and loved that they were not cloyingly sweet, which is my big complaint about most coconut macaroons.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-macaroons-recipe3-1916155

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Readers: Pumpkin lime cookies, chocolate chip with cayenne pepper, rosemary mint shortbread—What is the most outlandish cookie you have eaten? Was it tasty or just plain weird?

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Susan McCormick is an award-winning writer and doctor who lives in Seattle. She graduated from Smith College and George Washington University School of Medicine, with additional medical training in Washington, DC and San Francisco, where she lived in an elegant apartment building much like the one in the Fog Ladies books. Susan served as a doctor in the US Army for nine years before moving to the Pacific Northwest and civilian practice. In addition to the Fog Ladies series, she also wrote Granny Can’t Remember Me, a lighthearted picture book about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and The Antidote, a middle grade to adult medical fantasy. She is married with two boys and loves giant dogs, the bigger and slobberier the better.

About Date With Death:
The Fog Ladies are at it again, spunky senior sleuths and an overstressed young medical resident solving murders from their elegant apartment building in San Francisco. They join a senior dating group, and romantic intrigue soon turns to murder. Graham Parselle, lady killer extraordinaire, plunges off a cliff on a Senior Singles outing. Did one of his dates pitch him over? Or is Olivia Honeycut’s new beau to blame?

Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.com/Fog-Ladies-Francisco-Murder-Mystery/dp/1509249818
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fog-ladies-susan-mccormick/1143832976
https://bookshop.org/a/22704/9781509249817