Chocolate Meringue Cookies: Guest Post by Bobbi Mumm

My mystery and chocolate worlds collide again! I guess lots of mystery readers and writers love chocolate! Today I welcome back Bobbi Mumm who answers the age old question of what to do with all those egg whites! Bobbi is a married mother of four children, a university administrator, and an occasional mystery writer. She’s excited to be going to China next month for two weeks and is expecting dynamite writing inspiration.

Bobbi Mumm:
Chocolate Meringue Cookies 

Every few months, after making puddings or custards, I find myself with unused egg whites. I’m not fond of scrambled egg whites so I tend to use them in baking. My family loves these cookies. They have a chewy, chocolatey centre that makes them irresistible. I also appreciate them for the fact that they are gentle on the waistline.
How do you like to use egg whites?

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE COOKIES

Ingredients 
• 3 large egg whites (at room temperature)
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 3 tbsp semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions 
1. Preheat oven to 250F.
2. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt at high speed of a mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
3. Sift cocoa over egg white mixture; fold in. Fold in chocolate chips. Don’t worry if you can still see some cocoa powder.
4. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls (they're small!) onto prepared baking sheets. They can be close together as they will not spread much with baking.
5. Bake at 275F for 45 minutes. Use two large baking sheets and bake them all at once.
6. Yield: 40-45 small cookies.

Chocolate Mint Bars

Today I welcome back Bobbi Mumm, just in time for some fabulous holiday treats!

Bobbi Mumm is a mystery and thriller writer in Saskatoon, Canada where she works half-time as an event planner at the University of Saskatchewan. Married to a nuclear physicist, she has four children. A year ago, Bobbi completed her first novel, Cream with Your Coffin, and through her U.S. agent, is seeking a publishing home for the novel. Cream with Your Coffin was a quarter-finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Almost finished her second novel, thriller De Rigueur Mortis, Bobbi spends much of her day immersed in 1954 Paris.

Bobbi Mumm: Chocolate Mint Bars

I tested this new recipe last week and my family gave it rave reviews. Because we’ll have lots of guests over the holidays I made two pans. Chocolate and mint are always a wonderful Christmas combination.

The bar is rich and one of those treats that is best served in small pieces. A true dainty. Thanks to my friend, Sarah Bird, for sharing her recipe. Sarah is a lawyer as well as an outstanding baker.

Thank you, Janet, for the opportunity to appear on Dying for Chocolate. I always enjoy visiting with your friends here. Question to everyone: What is your favourite flavour to pair with chocolate?

Sarah’s Chocolate Mint Bars

Base:
2 squares Baker's unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
½ c butter
½ c flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Filling:
1 c icing sugar
¼ c butter
1 TBSP milk
1½ tsp peppermint extract

Topping:
2 squares Baker's semisweet chocolate (I used 2 oz of semisweet choc chips)
2 TBSP butter

DIRECTIONS:
Base:
Melt unsweetened choc, sugar and butter in saucepan. Let cool slightly. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread in greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 350F for 20min. Cool completely.

Filling:
Beat icing sugar, butter and milk until smooth. Stir in peppermint. Spread onto cooled base.

Topping:
Melt choc and butter. Mix well. Cool slightly and then drizzle over filling.

Cut into squares.
Makes approx. 40-50 squares.

Lamingtons: Guest Post by Bobbi Mumm

A little while ago, I heard about Lamingtons for the first time from my friend Bobbi Mumm. Now, I read a lot of Australian books, but I didn't remember Lamingtons being mentioned. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. That being said, since Bobbi's mention on Facebook, I've now seen Lamington recipes and comments all over the Internet in both the Foodie Community (Pink Lamingtons for Breast Cancer Awareness) and Mystery (Kerry Greenwood) Community. Very odd, but it's usually that way. So once again my worlds collide. Today I welcome back Bobbi Mumm. Be sure and comment on your Lamingtons experiences.

Bobbi Mumm is a mystery and thriller writer in Saskatoon, Canada where she works half-time as an event planner at the University of Saskatchewan. Married to a nuclear physicist, she has four children.
A year ago, Bobbi completed her first novel, Cream with Your Coffin and is seeking a publishing home for the novel. Cream with Your Coffin was a quarter-finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Almost finished her second novel, thriller De Rigueur Mortis, Bobbi spends much of her day immersed in 1954 Paris.

BOBBI MUMM: Lamingtons

Lamingtons, an Australian childhood favourite, are a delicious combination of chocolate, coconut and cake.

Why is a Canadian writing about Australian confections? Australia is about as far away from Canada as you can get. It’s because I’m married to an Aussie. The result of this blissful union is a few children who consider themselves half-Australian. And this year my daughter wanted Lamingtons for her birthday.

In Australia Lamingtons are used as lunchbox treats and, most often, as the feature of school fund-raising bake sales. I can only imagine that they have the status of rice crispy squares in North America. But perhaps something more because there is an Aussie national pride surrounding this sweet treat.

I first tried them - served on lovely china - at a ladies’ tea, hosted by an Australian friend.

Cake (from Betty Crocker’s Yellow Cake)

½ cup butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer until fluffy.
Beat in eggs.
On low speed, beat in flour in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions. Increase speed and mix for one minute, scraping sides of bowl as needed.
Pour into 13" x 9" cake pan (greased and lined with waxed paper).
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn out of pan onto rack and cool completely.
Cut into 3” squares. For a ladies’ tea, cut smaller. Freeze squares, on rack, until completely frozen. The freezing step is important and one that I added (because in Canada we adore freezing). Otherwise you end up with a mess of crumbs in your icing.

Icing
4 cups sifted icing sugar
2/3 cup sifted cocoa
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup water (approximate)
Mix icing, adding water slowly, until it is retains a slight thickness but is quite runny. You can adjust as you experiment. The icing should drip off the squares for a few seconds.
4-6 cups unsweetened shredded dried coconut (in a separate bowl)
Place a baking rack on top of a cookie sheet (to catch drips).
Taking no more than four or five squares from the freezer at a time, dip one square into icing mixture, making sure that all sides are coated.
Dip square into coconut, so that all surfaces are covered.
Place on rack to harden.
Repeat until all squares are done. If icing mixture thickens as you work, mix in a teaspoon of water at a time.

Note: Your fingers will get very messy with this process.
Lamingtons, once prepared, can be stored in a sealed container for up to three days. I’ve also frozen them, with no ill effects. Makes 16 Lamingtons.

Auntie Anne's Best Chocolate Cake: Guest Post by Bobbi Mumm

Yesterday was my birthday, and I know that Bobbi Mumm baked this especially for me. She sent this post and the photo on my birthday, so I know I'm right! Sadly, it was virtual since she lives in Saskatoon. I've been longing for this recipe since she first mentioned it on Facebook, so I'm so glad to welcome Bobbi Mumm as a guest blogger. Bobbi is a "mystery/chocolate cross-over" social media friend. That's a mouthful, and so is this chocolate cake!  

Bobbi Mumm is a mystery and thriller writer in Saskatoon, Canada where she works half-time as an event planner at the University of Saskatchewan. Married to a nuclear physicist, she has four children, two of whom are college-age. The twins remain at home. Bobbi practices Karate, as do her kids.

A year ago, Bobbi completed her first novel, Cream with Your Coffin. This past year, she signed with a U.S. literary agent and is seeking a publishing home for the novel. Bobbi was thrilled this week to learn that Cream with Your Coffin is now a quarter-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. An excerpt can be read here  
http://tinyurl.com/amazoncreamcoffin   Almost finished her second novel, thriller De Rigueur Mortis, Bobbi has fallen in love, all over again, with the mystery that is Paris.

BOBBI MUMM:

Thanks to Janet Rudolph for her tireless championing of mysteries and chocolate. I happen to know that she knows a whole lot about corporate team-building and event planning, too.

In Cream with Your Coffin, American event planner and mother of twins, Lucy Beam, is determined that, by fair means or foul, she’s going to carve out a new life in bucolic Saskatoon, Canada. But juggling social climbing with the parenting of twins—on top of being a Yank oddity—in this, oh-so-Canadian university town is a lot to handle and outspoken Lucy Beam’s fresh start is doomed from the get-go. Pickled neighbours and philandering vets drowned in vats of milk are only the beginning of her troubles.

In spite of her trials, Lucy spends time in her kitchen, cooking for her family and friends. There are five of Lucy’s recipes in Cream with Your Coffin. The most important recipe—the one that helps Lucy uncover the identity of the murderer—happens to be chocolate cake.

This is not any old chocolate cake recipe but one that has been handed down in my family for generations. You’ll see in its simple ingredients how it would have been a standby for the early homestead wives on the prairies.

This photograph was taken by my friend, Eve Kotyk, photographer, writer, and artist extraordinaire. http://tagonist.net Eve and I spent a lovely afternoon photographing the cake and then eating it with our mystery writer friend, Larry. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Auntie Anne’s Best Chocolate Cake
(From Lucy Beam’s recipes in Cream with your Coffin)

2 tbsp vinegar in 2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
2½ cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp cocoa (sifted)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup melted butter or oil

Line bottoms of round pans with waxed paper or butter and flour to prevent sticking. Add vinegar to milk to start milk souring. Cream sugar and eggs until fluffy. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix everything together and beat two minutes with hand electric mixer or 1 minute with a stand mixer.

Bake at 350˚F until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, around 40 minutes for two round layer cake pans, around 20 minutes for cupcakes.

In layer cake use raspberry jam as filling. Makes two 8 inch rounds or 24 cupcakes.

Crème de la Crème Chocolate Pudding: Bobbi Mumm

My mystery and chocolate worlds collide again! I met Bobbi Mumm on Facebook and Twitter. So good to call her a friend, even if she does live in Saskatoon! That's what's so much fun about Social Networking! Recently Bobbi posted her recipe for Chocolate Pudding on Facebook, and I must say the photo had me at... well, chocolate. I asked if she'd do a guest post, and here you have it!

Bobbi Mumm is a mystery and thriller writer in Saskatoon, Canada where she works half-time as an event planner at the University of Saskatchewan. In 2009 Bobbi wrote her first novel, Cream with Your Coffin. This past year, Bobbi signed with a U.S. literary agent who is now pitching Cream with Your Coffin to New York editors. Almost finished her second novel, thriller De Rigueur Mortis, Bobbi has fallen in love, all over again, with the mystery that is Paris.

Bobbi Mumm:

When my family asks for pudding, one of my favourites is this recipe, adapted from The Joy of Cooking, Chocolate Pudding. The addition of the cream turns the slow enjoyment of this rich chocolate dessert into a sensory delight.

Crème de la Crème Chocolate Pudding (6 servings)

½ cup cocoa
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt (scant)
½ cup warm water
¼ cup chocolate shavings or chips (good quality dark chocolate)
2 cups low-fat milk
½ cup plus one tablespoon heavy cream (whipping cream)
4½ tablespoons cornstarch mixed into a paste (in a measuring cup) with
1/3 cup low-fat milk
2 teaspoons vanilla (real vanilla)

Stir dry ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan. Add water, mixing to a runny paste. Heat to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate shavings until melted.

Add milk and cream (2½ cups) to chocolate mixture. Stir in cornstarch paste. Mix thoroughly. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until it begins to thicken. Reduce heat to low, stirring, until mixture begins to simmer. Continue stirring and cook for one minute more.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour immediately into pretty glasses or dessert cups. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least three hours.

Savour by eating with a very small coffee spoon.

Photo: Bobbi  Mumm