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Blog Tour Stop with Extract and Recipe - Christmas Under A Cranberry Sky by Holly Martin

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for Christmas Under A Cranberry Sky by Holly Martin!

I adore Holly's festive books, so I'm really looking forward to starting this beauty!

I have a short extract from Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky for you, followed by a delicious recipe!

Extract:

‘Daddy, why was that woman shouting at you?’ Wren said.
‘Sometimes when someone is sad all their life, they forget how to be happy. Instead of enjoying the good things they look for the bad.’
Wren clearly thought about this for a second. ‘Is Mrs Hughes sad, Daddy?’
‘Yes, I think she might be.’
‘Do you think we can make her happy again?’
‘I hope so, Princess.’
‘Can we get some churros with chocolate sauce?’
‘Of course we can.’
‘I love churros, they make me happy.’
‘They make me happy too.’
Gabe smiled at her simplistic view on life. Who needed to be sad when there were churros to be had? He walked into the churro and doughnut shop and Wren chatted happily to Maryline, the owner of the shop, while they were being served and then they walked back out onto the street.
Wren suddenly ran from Gabe’s side and disappeared into the crowd of people. His heart leapt as she vanished from his sight and he quickly ran after her.
When he pushed his way through a few of the guests he saw her approaching Mrs Hughes. He ran over to stop her just as Mrs Hughes turned round at the sound of Wren calling her name.
‘Mrs Hughes, would you like a churro?’ Wren asked, offering up the cup of sticky treats.
Mrs Hughes stared at Wren in surprise.
‘They make me happy,’ Wren explained. ‘And I thought they might make you happy too.’
Oh crap. He hurried over to apologise for his daughter just as Mrs Hughes helped herself to a churro.
‘Make sure you get one covered in chocolate sauce, those are the best ones,’ Wren said.
Mrs Hughes chose carefully and popped it in her mouth. She chewed for a second and then swallowed.
‘Thank you,’ she said and just before she turned and walked away, he was sure he saw her smile.
Maybe Wren was right, maybe everything could be fixed with a chocolate-covered churro.

My recipe for chocolate covered churros that will make you smile

Ingredients
375g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
75g butter
Cooking oil
525ml of water
Large packet of chocolate buttons
150g of sugar
3 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
Method
* Mix the flour and baking powder together.
* Boil the water and add the melted butter
* Beat the water and butter mixture into the flour until smooth
* Add the vanilla essence.

* Mix the sugar, cinnamon and ground nutmeg together and spread on a tray.
* Melt chocolate buttons in the mircowave and stir until smooth
* Heat the cooking oil until hot in a large pan

* Add the dough to a piping bag and pipe small strips directly into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown.
* Remove from oil and roll in sugar and cinnamon tray.
* Use a spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate over the churros and enjoy.
Do be careful when cooking with hot oil as it can spit

Thanks to Emily Burns for sending me an ARC of this gorgeous book!

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