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Mia Hopkins: COWBOY VALENTINE (Recipe and Contest)
Thursday, August 27th, 2015

mhCowboyValentine_300final

Hey, there, Delilah fans! I’m so happy to be a guest on the blog today. Two days ago, my debut book was released by Samhain.  It’s an erotic romance called Cowboy Valentine. Cora is an 18-year-old honor student with a full ride scholarship to an Ivy League university. Caleb is her longtime cowboy crush, a local rancher’s son. The book is about the ultra-sexy fling they share the summer before Cora moves away.

Cowboy Valentine is set in a small town in the Central Valley, California’s rural heartland, home to many farms and orchards. One of the hottest love scenes in my book takes place in Caleb’s truck while he and Cora are parked in his family’s almond orchard! (Ooh la-la!)

Here’s what an almond orchard looks like when it’s in bloom.

mhalmond orchard

I love to bake almost as much as I love to write. To celebrate the release of Cowboy Valentine, I’d like to share a recipe with you. This is a variation of old-fashioned peanut butter cookies but made with almonds and almond butter.  The cookies are soft and not too sweet. You can find the recipe below.

But wait! There’s more!

How about a contest? I’d like to offer a free e-book download of Cowboy Valentine and a $10 Amazon gift card to one randomly-chosen reader who answers this question in the comments below: What is your absolute favorite go-to dessert?

Please include an email address where I can reach you. Contest ends at midnight, PST, on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015. I’ll announce the winner by special newsletter first thing on Monday morning.

Thanks, everyone!

Wishing you good reads (and good eats),

Mia

XOXO

mhcookies

Cowboy Valentines
a.k.a. Almond Butter Cookies

Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Makes about 16 cookies

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup brown sugar (light or dark)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup almond butter
1 cup almond slivers

  1. Whisk the first four ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl, using a handheld mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes.
  3. Add egg and vanilla extract to sugar mixture and beat for 1 minute, scraping down sides as necessary. Add the almond butter and beat for 1 minute. Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Using a large spoon or spatula, gently fold in the almond slivers.
  4. Roll the dough into balls, about 3 tbsp of dough each. (I use my ice cream scoop.) Put the balls on a tray or large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, two hours or overnight.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the balls on the cookie sheet about 3 in apart.
  6. Bake each batch for 12-13 minutes until very lightly browned. The cookies will look soft—that’s okay! Let cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. Share with your favorite cowboy or cowgirl. Or don’t share. I won’t tell.

About Cowboy Valentine

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Forget chocolate and flowers. This homegrown honey is all the sweetness he craves.

Small-town life is nothing but a waiting room for eighteen-year-old honor student Corazón Gomez. Work and school leave little time for love, but with a full-ride Ivy League scholarship and a one-way ticket out of the boondocks, who needs it?

The answer appears on Valentine’s Day when her old cowboy crush ambles into the ice cream parlor where she works, inviting her to go on a late-night ride in his truck. For the first time she wavers between staying on the straight and narrow, and going off-road with the handsome heartbreaker.

After four years working on ranches all over the country, Caleb MacKinnon is back on the family farm helping out his mom and brothers while his father fights cancer. The one bright spot: smart, funny, and wickedly sexy Cora.

From the start, they both know this blazing-hot love affair can’t last. But when autumn comes and Cora has to leave for the East Coast, Caleb must find a solution to keep himself—and his heart—from falling apart.

Reviews:

“Mia Hopkins’ sexy cowboy hero and sassy bookish heroine burn up the pages from the moment they lock eyes.” — Cat Johnson

“Beautifully descriptive…hot, sexy and full of yearning!” — Delilah Devlin

Buy the book!
Kindle
Nook
Samhain
Books-A-Million
Kobo
iTunes
Google Play

About the Author

mhheadshotMia Hopkins writes lush romances starring fun, sexy characters who love to get down and dirty. She’s a sucker for working class heroes, brainy heroines and wisecracking best friends.

When she’s not lost in a story, Mia spends her time cooking, gardening, traveling, volunteering and looking for her keys. In a past life, she was a classroom teacher and still has a pretty good “teacher voice” and “teacher stare.” She lives in the heart of Los Angeles with her roguish husband and two waggish dogs.

Connect with Mia!
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest |Google+

13 comments to “Mia Hopkins: COWBOY VALENTINE (Recipe and Contest)”

  1. Toni Whitmire
    Comment
    1
    · August 27th, 2015 at 7:26 am · Link

    Anything chocalate bibbiesparks@yahoo.com.



  2. Debbie Watson
    Comment
    2
    · August 27th, 2015 at 7:43 am · Link

    Red Velvet cake



  3. Jerilynn Rodriguez
    Comment
    3
    · August 27th, 2015 at 7:47 am · Link

    I obsess over breyers fudge twirl ice cream… Lol..if the store is out I’m done and quit shopping. Jerilynnrodriguez@yahoo.com



  4. shalla
    Comment
    4
    · August 27th, 2015 at 8:03 am · Link

    oh my i have to try this!
    will do two batches, one as above but the other adding some coconut flour and 50/50 of butter and coconut oil

    i would love to read the book but having kindle issues lately
    happy with the cookies

    my go to dessert if in a rush or stressed is ice cream
    but if i can make it and have time.. i do a really tasty baileys cheesecake that is so sweet and rich you have to eat it in small squares.. kind of like fudge haha



  5. bn100
    Comment
    5
    · August 27th, 2015 at 9:20 am · Link

    chocolate cake

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com



  6. Daun Ann Korty
    Comment
    6
    · August 27th, 2015 at 9:50 am · Link

    Mine is ice cream. 😛

    dakorty at gmail . com



  7. Jimmy Nguyen
    Comment
    7
    · August 27th, 2015 at 10:48 am · Link

    No Bake Cheesecake. I wreck this easy-to-make pie on the reg.



  8. Shirley Long
    Comment
    8
    · August 27th, 2015 at 11:16 am · Link

    Without a doubt, German Chocolate Cake.

    shirleyjlong50@gmail.com



  9. Elaine Swinney
    Comment
    9
    · August 27th, 2015 at 12:37 pm · Link

    My go to dessert is anything with fresh fruit. A Mousse, Cream Brulee, ice cream or cheese cake are good choices. I also like chocolate and fresh fruit together or just plain fruit!!!! 🙂



  10. Jen B.
    Comment
    10
    · August 27th, 2015 at 9:14 pm · Link

    I have to eat wheat free so I’ve had to find things that I can enjoy and my family will love. I make a mean gluten free crispy snickerdoodle. I also make mini chocolate chip gluten free muffins. The kids eat them as fast as I bake them! jepeb(at)Verizon(dot)net



  11. Mary Preston
    Comment
    11
    · August 28th, 2015 at 2:13 am · Link

    My absolute favorite is Port Wine Trifle. To die for!!

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com



  12. Daria
    Comment
    12
    · August 29th, 2015 at 2:24 am · Link

    Vanilla fro yo. All other desserts might be too heavy, so one might not want them



  13. Mia Hopkins
    Comment
    13
    · August 31st, 2015 at 2:49 pm · Link

    *************CONTEST CLOSED****************

    The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card and free e-book download of COWBOY VALENTINE is….

    bn100!

    Thanks to everyone who left comments! And thanks for reading…

    Cheers,
    Mia xoxoxoxo

    *******************************************



Comments are closed.