DEC
17
The Recipe Club + Swedish Crescent Cookies
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Whenever I hear about a promising food novel or memoir, I take the opportunity to write the author to propose a book review and giveaway. I love sharing these new books with my readers and helping the authors spread the word about their fabulous work. The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel is another such book. Read on for more about the book, a recipe, and how you can win one of 2 copies!
The authors of The Recipe Club effortlessly weave recipes throughout the story of two girls, Lilly and Valerie. Despite being two very different personalities, Lilly and Valerie are sworn childhood friends. The story begins with the main characters attempting to reunite after years of silence. At first all is well, but soon past misunderstandings and betrayals begin to falter Lilly and Valerie’s attempt at renewed friendship.
As the girls grow into women they continue exchanging letters and recipes with one another. Ultimately, Lilly and Valerie feel betrayed by one another and decide to move on with life, friendship aside, but neither has truly forgotten what they once shared. Years later, Lilly and Valerie are engrossed in a last ditch effort to recover their once beloved relationship when a terrible secret is revealed that threatens to destroy their happy memories of each other for good.
The Recipe Club will surely evoke memories of the often complex woman to woman relationships in your own life. Silliness. Fall outs. Reunions. Brutal Honesty. Beauty. Joy. Jealousy. Unconditional love. Apologies. Unspoken feelings. At times I found myself forgetting that this was a novel and not a memoir of two real life friends. It was amazing to see how this friendship grew and changed through the seasons of life, how the characters ultimately find out who they truly are as individuals, and in the end find their way back to one another. You’ll have to read the book to find out if they’ve found their way back for good, or only temporarily.
These Swedish Crescent Cookies are perfect for the Holidays and easy to make. Add some citrus zest (lemon, lime, or orange) for a little extra flavor and substitute different nuts for variations. Using a food processor to finely chop the nuts makes these cookies a breeze!
Swedish Crescent Cookies
adapted from The Recipe Club
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, plus additional for coating
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup finely chopped almonds
zest of one lemonDirections:
In a bowl, beat the butter and 1/2 cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the almond extract, yolk. Beat till combined. Slowly stir in the in the flour, nuts, and zest.
For the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc shape. Cover and chill for 2 hours.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove a heaping tablespoon of dough at a time, shaping into crescent shapes. Arrange about 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until cookies are lightly golden around the edges, about 15-20 minutes. While still warm, coat the cookies with confectioners sugar. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 3 dozen.
The Rules:
- Comment on THIS post by 11:59 pm PST December 20th
- Anonymous comments: leave your email address and first name in the comments.
- 2 random winners will be announced December 21st.
- Contest open to US and Canadian Residents only.
Extra Entries: Additional entries can be earned by doing any of the following, giving you a total of 3 entries. Leave a separate comment for each of your entries.
- Tweet about this giveaway. Include @goodLifeEats and a link to the giveaway in your tweet. Leave the link to your Twitter post in a comment.
- Subscribe to goodLife {eats} via email or RSS reader. New Subscribers only.
p.s. Thanks so much to whoever is my Secret Santa. Your sweet gift arrived on what was a very hectic and trying day and I so appreciated it. It definitely brightened the mood. The towels were perfect and I used one in the photo for this post.
About the Author:
Katie’s lifelong interest in cooking good food has shown her that part of the goodness in life is enjoying delicious food with friends and family. She is: Writer. Photographer. Recipe Developer. Website Founder. Lover of all things good in life. Wife & Mom. A mix of great recipes, family memories, and yummy photography is what Katie serves up each week at GoodLife Eats™. Katie resides in Colorado with her husband and two children.
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Hello! I'm Katie Goodman, author of GoodLife Eats Etc. where I share what I find in my life. A mix of great recipes, family memories, adventures, good reads, and anything else that I love is what you will discover here.
This book sounds really sweet!Kellyfondlyoptimistic@gmail.com
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I can't keep up with you and your books:) Slow down so I can catch up..ha! This one is going on my list too!
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Sounds like a great book-I love that there are recipes woven in to the story!
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Those are too cute, as usual. Love the book!
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Oooh want! Lovely little crescents. I also tweeted about the giveaway (or really, retweeted your original tweet about it!)I have no idea how to link to the individual tweet, but I don't tweet much… easy to find here: http://www.twitter.com/julieruble
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love this recipe can't wait until the weekend so i can try it!!renee
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Can't wait to try the recipe and the book sounds like a great read!
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I love these cookies! Maybe I should try to make them!
Camillecamelvis@yahoo.com
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Sounds like a great Christmas cookie and a good read to boot! Thanks! cookincatrrr@yahoo.com
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Sounds like a sweet book. Thanks for sharing. Celiasmeelia@gmail.com
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I love books like this!
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can't WAIT to read this–it would fantastic to WIN it! thanks for the opportunity…
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here's my tweet…hope i did this right. i'm a twitter novice.http://twitter.com/just4youbyjenn
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Yum! I keep seeing that book and consider buying it. I think the recipe may have convinced me.
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Those look really good!
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What a great idea to match a giveaway with your book review. Sounds like a great novel. Thanks for the chance to win it!
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this looks like a fantastic book! cookingupafamily(at)gmail(dot)com
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tweeted!http://twitter.com/cookingupfamily/statuses/6779833187
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Who can go wrong with this being added to the Christmas basket of cookies. Yum!
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This cookbook looks great and the recipe also.
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I twitted about the giveaway http://twitter.com/thescorpiowoman/status/6780482690
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Recipes intertwined in novels are the best! Definitely going to be a Christmas read
kkeeg672@yahoo.comKaity
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saw this on tastespotting…this is an old family recipe that we have made since i was a little girl. the addition of lemon zest seems like a lovely idea. yum. enjoy
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I just found your blog…this book sounds amazing and I would love a chance to win it. Thanks so much for the great review and for offering a chance to win one!
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And I'm subscribing via Google Reader now!
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I'm already subscribed to your blog through Google Reader! I would love the chance to read this book!
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2 years ago i dropped the box of these when bringing them up from the basement. my mother refused to put the "fingers" out on any cookie platter. i ate them all =)
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Those cookies remind me of my mum's shortbreads, jazzed up – but that book looks incredible! I saved it to my Amazon wishlist too!
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Here's my Twitter link: http://twitter.com/jo_jo_ba/statuses/6786492509And I just subscribed on my RSS feedreader!
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This book looks fantastic – can't wait to read it!Pamela (pamela@joyful-words.com)
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Tweeted your giveaway!http://www.twitter.com/iowawinegirlhttp://www.twitter.com/joyfulwordsPamela (pamela@joyful-words.com)
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I can't wait to read thisilysen
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This is a new shape of a cookie that my kids would love. They are tired of the round ones and also the star-shaped one. Thanks for sharing!
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When my father was courting my mother and visiting her, my grandmother–who spoke with a strong german accent–passed around a plate of these cookies. She said what sounded to him like "vould you like a turt?" That was apparently what these cookies were called in her family. I don't know the proper spelling and she was unaware of how this was understood by my father. But you can guess what these cookies were called ever after by us kids.
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I love the recipe! My wife's babbi made something that is very similar to this. Unfortunately she is in her elder 92 years, so she just does not have the strength to keep it up. There are many Christmases where I fondly remember receiving those cookies. If there is something that could patch up a relationship, it would definitely be those cookies.
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This sounds like a lovely book and a perfect fit for my book club. Thanks for the review.
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I've been hearing a lot about that book. It's definitely on my to-read list. And I love the crescents!Cheers,*Heather*
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I just found your blog, and its fabulous! The book sounds great as well. I subscribed in google reader =D.
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This sounds like a good read. I enjoyed Julie and Julia a lot so this would be a book I think I would also love to read!spencer1953 at gmail dot com-carol.
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I follow and tweet!~http://twitter.com/dresdenrain/status/6797384271
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This is one of my very favorite cookies and I love the crescent shape.jaminator8@earthlink.net
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that looks like a really good read! marymstrupeck@gmail.com
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Sounds like a great book. And I remember my grandmother making these cookies – a favorite!Merry Christmas Katie!
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My husband will love these cookies. I may have to try them this weekend if we get snowed in!
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this book sounds like something I would love. Great idea for a giveaway
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This too is one of my favorite cookies. Thanks for the great giveaway offer!
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Count me in,please. I read 2 – 3 books a week and wold like to read this.Carolecybercook@ameritech.net
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I love novels around food, since I"m writing one myself. Now I have to read this. Nice post.
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thanks for recommending this book!! it sounds like a good one.
i wish there were more books out there that weaved a great storyline with some equally great recipes!
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Your cresent recipe looks great – it's really cold here, which is really good for baking! Thanks for the chance to win the book – my daughter specially loves reading cooking-related books, so this would be a great gift for her…micheleannekaplan@gmail.com
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Adorable cookies. That sounds like a really good book! I'm in a huge reading mood right now.
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this sounds like a great book to share with friends!
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http://twitter.com/NICK0166/status/6829377949tweeted!
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I've been looking for a new book to read…this would be great!!
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This book sounds wonderful! I love the idea of blending a novel with recipes.
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I subscribed via email
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The book looks wonderful!
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I SO want to read this book! Thanks for the chance!
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Oh, do these cookies ever look amazing!!
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Thank you for the recipe and for recommending the book. I plan on buying the book and making the cookies. Merry Christmas!
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I'm making these cookies today!Jamiejamies@hotmail.com
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Wow, I didn't even know this was a giveaway. I just re-visited the post to print off the recipe. LOL! They looked so good I bought all the stuff to make them.I'm Sharonjerseygirl137(at)yahoo(dot)com
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sounds like an amazing book! I"m going to look for it at my local chapters! Its right up my alley….good novel and recipes! hello!!!! lol thanks!
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