Robbie Jordan's Christmas Cocoa #GIVEAWAY

By Robbie Jordan from Maddie Day's novella "Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse" in Christmas Cocoa Murder, book 6.5 in the Country Store Mysteries.

Hey, all. We're been busy decorating Pans 'N Pancakes, my country store restaurant, for the holidays. I'm a native Californian, so I thought I'd serve Mexican hot chocolate for the season, and I made up packets of this mix to sell in the store. Too bad half of them were confiscated by the police!

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

1½ cups granulated sugar

1 cup all-natural unsweetened dark cocoa

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (use ½ teaspoon if you want more heat)

Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months. To make 1 serving of Mexican Hot Cocoa, heat 1 cup whole milk in a small saucepan over medium just until hot and milk begins to steam, about 5 minutes (or in a microwave for about a minute and a half). Remove from heat. Whisk in 2 tablespoons cocoa mix. Serve immediately with whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon.

For the Killer Characters Seasons Readings, my author will send one US commenter a signed copy of Christmas Cocoa Murder, and you'll also get novellas by her talented co-authors Carlene O'Connor and Alex Erickson!

Readers: What's your favorite hot drink in cold weather? The giveaway stays open until December 5 at midnight EST.

Maddie Day creates the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. As Edith Maxwell, this Macavity- and Agatha-nominated author writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction.

Maxwell/Day lives north of Boston with her beau, where she cooks, gardens, and wastes time on Facebook. She blogs here and with the other Wicked Authors. You can find her on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, and at her web site, edithmaxwell.com.