With a spatula, add half of the flour mixture to the batter and stir. Stir in all of the buttermilk.
Add the remaining flour and stir until just absorbed. Gently fold in the blueberries, raspberries, peaches, or chocolate chips.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. It is thick, so you will have to use the spatula to gently spread it. Sprinkle the remaining one tablespoon of sugar on top. Depending on your oven, this cake will bake anywhere from thirty-five to forty-five minutes and will have a light, golden color on top. Convection setting will take less time. Be sure to check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or a knife. If it comes out clean, the cake is done and it’s delicious!
HOMEMADE BUTTERMILK
Place two teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Fill the cup with whole milk (2% works, too) until it reaches the ½-cup line. Let it stand for ten minutes, and it’s ready to use.
CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP
My kids always know I’m making this when they come home from school because it makes the house smell wonderful! The beauty of this recipe is that you can add more half-and-half to make the soup thinner or reduce it to make the consistency more stewlike. For a healthier option, you can use 2% milk in place of the half-and-half and skip the cream cheese altogether, but it’s awfully good as is! Delicious served with a side salad.
7 cups chicken broth
1 (6-ounce) package long-grain and wild-rice blend. You will use both the rice and the seasoning packet.
¾ cup butter
1 rounded cup carrots, diced
1 rounded cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
⅓ cup all-purpose flour (you may need more if the soup isn’t thickening to your liking)
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 cups half-and-half or whipping cream
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
2½ to 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed (rotisserie chicken works great)
Pour the broth into a large pot on the stove and stir in the rice (save the seasoning packet for later). Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for five minutes and turn off the heat.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onion and sauté for four to five minutes. Add the contents of the seasoning packet, stirring, and sauté for an additional five to six minutes. Gradually add the flour and pepper, stirring constantly to form a roux. Sauté for two to four minutes.
Whisk in the half-and-half or cream, a little at a time, until smooth. Add the cubed cream cheese. Cook until the cream cheese melts and soup thickens. Stir this mixture into the broth and rice and add the cooked chicken.
Cook over medium heat until heated through and rice is done, ten to fifteen minutes. Depending on its consistency, you may need to add more half-and-half or chicken broth.
PUMPKIN SCONES
These are some of our favorites! They are delicious plain, with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, or you can add some white chocolate baking chips into the dough. For special occasions, a spiced glaze can be drizzled on top. The dough can be patted out and cut into rectangles or you can simply drop ¼ to ⅓ cup of the dough onto a cookie sheet and bake. So good with a hot cup of coffee or tea!
SCONES
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
½ cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half or whipping cream
1 large egg
White chocolate baking chips, optional
Spiced glaze, optional
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a stand mixer, combine all the dry ingredients. Use a knife or vegetable peeler to strip the butter into the ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and let it combine the mixture until it is crumbly with no obvious chunks of butter remaining.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half-and-half or cream, and egg. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the dough forms into a ball. If you’d like, stir in ½ to 1 cup of white chocolate baking chips.
Scoop out anywhere from ¼ to ⅓ cup (depending on how large you’d like each scone) and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake anywhere from thirteen to fifteen minutes or until firm to the touch.
SPICED GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
1½ tablespoons milk (or more if needed)
¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice with additional pinch of cinnamon
Mix all the ingredients together. Add more milk if the glaze seems too thick. Taste and see if it needs more cinnamon. Allow scones to cool slightly before drizzling the glaze over the top.
Also by Donna VanLiere
The Christmas Star
The Christmas Town
The Christmas Light
Christmas Keepsakes
The Good Dream
The Christmas Note
The Christmas Journey
The Christmas Secret
Finding Grace
The Christmas Promise
The Angels of Morgan Hill
The Christmas Shoes
The Christmas Blessing
The Christmas Hope
About the Author
DONNA VANLIERE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Good Dream, Finding Grace, The Angels of Morgan Hill, and nine Christmas books, including the perennial favorites The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Hope. Six novels have been turned into made-for-television movies. She travels as a speaker and lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with her husband and three children. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
A Christmas Table Full of Recipes
Special Thanks
Chicken and Spinach Quiche
Buttermilk Breakfast Cake
Homemade Buttermilk
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Pumpkin Scones
Also by Donna VanLiere
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or
