The Cookie Hop is Back!
Welcome back to our annual Historical Romance Cookie Hop for a chance to win in $150 gift card as well as other fun little prizes along the way!
The rules are easy:
- Hop to each link (posted on 12/4), which will take you to a historical author’s FB page, web site, or blog. While you’re there please like, follow, or sign up for a newsletter if you wish to stay up to date on our new releases and author happenings.
- Learn a fun historical fact and discover a new cookie recipe on each site.
- Collect all the names of the cookies, paired with the names of the authors, and e-mail the total list to Heather@HeatherMcCollum.com. Make sure to put Historical Romance Authors Are Sweet in the subject line. The list must be turned in by 11:59 PM ET on December 12th.
- One grand prize winner, of a $150 gift card, will be selected randomly from those who collected and turned in the name of all the treats by the deadline. The winner must respond within 24 hours to claim the prize, and we will announce the winner hopefully by noon ET on December 13th. So authors will have their own giveaways and will post their own winners on their sites.
- This year has been especially exciting for me and that I wrote my first women’s fiction, a historical novel set during WWII called The Last Bookshop in London. In writing this, I did a significant amount of research on life in Britain during World War II, which inspired the cookie I suggesting for you today.
Rationing went into effect in 1939 in Britain, first with petrol, then with food, like butter, meat, sugar and tea and later even paper and clothing were rationed! Some examples of what ration amounts included (weekly): 4 oz bacon, 2 oz tea, 8 oz sugar, 6 oz butter/margarine, 2 oz fat.
In an effort to keep spirits lifted during the war during Christmas, rations were increased with tea being doubled to 4 oz and sugar going from 8 oz to 12 oz. Still recipes were tweaked here and there to account for the rationing.
Another fun fact is that carrots were strongly encouraged during this time. Radars were being used by British pilots to locate and stop Nazi planes from attacks, this was new technology they didn’t want their enemy getting their hands on. So, to dissuade any digging, propaganda went out to British citizens encouraging carrot consumption and stating that it made one be able to see in the dark. Rumor has it that this was so effective a campaign that the Nazi pilots started eating carrots!
For these reasons, my holiday cookie is the war time rationed cookie, Carrot Biscuits!
Bonus: these actually tasted delicious! I found that the excess amount of flour really did give it more of a biscuit taste (I know biscuits are cookies in the UK, but going off my American taste buds, biscuits are not cookies and these definitely tasted a little biscuit-y in a good way) and the carrots made it kind of spongy, but it was really delicious! These disappeared really fast in my house and the girls said they wanted more! LOL
Ingredients:
I Tbsp softened butter (though it would most likely have been margarine, which everyone hated then)
4 Tbsp grated raw carrot (keep up that night vision!!!)
2 Tbsp sugar (BTW, this = 1 oz – just to give you an idea of how fast that sugar ration went)
6 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Pre-heat over to 350°
- Whisk softened butter and sugar until fluffy
- Add grated carrots and vanilla extract
- Combine flour and baking powder and fold in
- Form about 9 balls from the dough and flatten onto a cookie sheet
- Sprinkle with sugar (yum!)
- Cook for 20 minutes
- Enjoy!
In addition to the chance to win a $150 gift card, I’ll also be giving away a signed ARC of The Last Bookshop in London!
Inspired by the true World War II history of the few bookshops to survive the Blitz, The Last Bookshop in London is a timeless story of wartime loss, love and the enduring power of literature.
August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.
Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.
Pre-order your copy (available in ebook, paperback, hardcover and audio) HERE
For a chance to win a signed ARC of The Last Bookshop in London, comment below letting me know what your favorite holiday cookie is – if you’re having issues commenting on my website, you can also comment on my FB post about the hop HERE
Ready to start hopping around to the other authors in this fun giveaway?
Alanna Lucas www.alannalucas.com
Amalie Howard https://amaliehoward.com/
Amy Jarecki https://amyjarecki.com/historical-romance-cookie-hop
Amy Rose Bennett https://amyrosebennett.com/historical-romance-cookie-hop/
Christina Britton http://christinabritton.com/
Deb Marlowe www.DebMarlowe.com
Diana Lloyd www.DianaLloydBooks.com
Elizabeth Watson https://eelizabethwatson.com/happy-holidays/
Elizabeth Langston https://elizabethlangston.net/holiday-hop/
Elizabeth Keysian https://elizabethkeysian.com/2020/12/04/historical-romance-cookie-hop-prize-draw/
Eliza Knight www.eknightauthor.com
Heather McCollum https://www.heathermccollum.com/historical-romance-holiday-cookie-hop-2020/
Jacki Delecki https://www.facebook.com/JDelecki
Jane Charles https://www.janecharlesauthor.com/christmas-fun
Janna MacGregor www.jannamacgregor.com
Jennifer Siddoway www.jennifersiddoway.com
Jerrica Knight-Catania www.jerricasplace.com
Jessica Clements https://www.jessicaanneclements.com/holiday-hops
Kate Parker www.KateParkerbooks.com/holiday-cookie
Kathleen Bittner Roth https://www.facebook.com/Kathleen.bittnerroth.author
Liana De la Rosa www.lianainbloom.com
Lori Ann Bailey https://loriannbailey.com/rugelach/
Madeline Martin http://www.madelinemartin.com/2020/12/wwii-carrot-biscuits/
Nadine Millard https://www.facebook.com/nadinemillardauthor
Patricia Kiyono http://www.patriciakiyono.com/post/historical-romance-cookie-hop
Renee Ann Miller https://reneeannmiller.com/category/blog/
Samantha Grace https://www.samanthagraceauthor.com/holiday-cookie-hop
Tara Kingston https://www.facebook.com/TaraKingstonAuthor/
Tina Gabrielle https://www.facebook.com/TinaGabrielle
Tracey Devlyn https://traceydevlyn.com/events/63/historical-romance-holiday-cookie-hop
**No purchase or sign up necessary to enter. Participation is completely voluntary. Your e-mail address will not be shared or added to any lists unless you specifically sign up for a newsletter list. Winner must be at least 18 years of age and have an e-mail address to accept the gift card.**
