Guest Cooks, N. N. Light

Welcome N. N. Light to The After Work Cook. N. N. Light is the award-winning husband-wife writing team. I will be having them as my guest monthly. I can't wait to see all their recipes, talk about a yummy recipe! 


The holidays are fast approaching and where is Mrs. N? Why, in the kitchen baking up a storm, of course. Growing up, I would race over to my grandmother’s house after school to help her with the holiday baking. She’d make over a dozen different varieties of cookies for her cookie plate. But the one item everyone clamored for was her famous cinnamon rolls. From the time I was eight, I learned how to make them. When I got married, I carried on her tradition and make them every year for our family.
Nothing says the holidays like waking up Christmas morning like diving into a gooey cinnamon roll along with your hot beverage of choice. It’s a tradition we have in our household and we’d like to share the recipe with you. Enjoy!

N. N. Light Cinnamon Rolls:
Ingredients:
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (though I use brown sugar for extra richness)
1 teaspoon salt
1 package instant yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
½ cup warm water
¼ milk (I use 2%)
2 ½ tablespoons butter (don’t use margarine) 
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup brown sugar

Glaze –

1 cup powdered/icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons cream/milk/coffee

Directions:
Set aside ½ cup flour. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Set aside.

Warm the water, milk and butter together until the butter is melted (temperature should be between 115 and 120 degrees F). This is very important. Any less and the yeast will not activate and any more and it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter mixture into the flour. Add the egg and only enough of the reserved flour to make a soft dough. I end up using it all. Dough will be ready when it pulls away from the side of the bowl and has an elastic feel.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for five minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl and let rest for an hour.

Note: If you have a bread maker, do like me and throw all the ingredients in and run the dough cycle.

When it has risen to twice its size, punch down the dough and roll into a large rectangular. Spread the softened butter to cover the dough, leaving a half inch edge. Spread the sugar over the butter and then sprinkle with the cinnamon. Don’t worry about the measurements for the filling. I go all out and use generous amounts. Starting at the far right end, roll the dough tightly to make a thick log. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the dough into 12 even rounds and place in a 9x13 cake pan. If you’re unsure about them holding their shape, use a muffin tray.

Loosely cover with parchment paper and allow to rise for 45 minutes to an hour. When the rolls have doubled in size, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven.

For the glaze, mix the sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons liquid. If it’s too thick, add a tiny bit more liquid. If it’s too thin, add a little more icing sugar.

Right before serving, top your rolls with the glaze. My Christmas hack: forget the glaze and use one can of your favorite cream cheese frosting. I prefer the one that has the initials B. C. but you choose which one works best for you.

Enjoy!



Our small-town clean romance goes great with a cinnamon roll. We hope you enjoy the excerpt.

Title: Planting the Seeds of Love: A Novella
Author: N. N. Light
Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult, New Adult Romance


The day her grandfather died, Sally’s life changed forever.

Twenty-Two-year-old Sally Rayton returns to the family farm she deserted four years ago to bury her grandfather. Her plan: to settle her grandfather’s estate and return to her life in the city with her boyfriend, Trevor Mattson.

Her childhood friend, Jack Smith, has other ideas.

Jack convinces Sally to transform the farm into a brewery and fulfill her grandfather’s dream while keeping the Rayton Farm in the family. Sally works side-by-side with Jack while Trevor is hundreds of miles away in the city. The more time she spends with Jack, the stronger her feelings are for him. Sally’s torn between her new feelings for her best friend, Jack and her boyfriend, Trevor.

When Trevor shows up to propose to Sally right before Christmas and finds her in Jack’s embrace, she’s unsure which man she loves. Will it be her best friend and farmer, Jack, or will it be rich, successful Trevor? City or Country… only Sally’s heart knows what’s right and true.

Excerpt:

Sally woke up the next morning to the sound of a chainsaw, multiple chainsaws. What  is going on? It's five-thirty in the morning! She threw back the bedcovers and grabbed her robe off the back of the bedroom door. Pulling it tight across her body, the floral soft cotton robe did nothing to conceal the fact she was naked underneath. She ran down the stairs and stomped out the door barefoot.

"So help me, I'm going to kill whomever is making that racket," she roared to no one in particular.

She craned her neck to hear where the sound was coming from. Turning left, towards the citrus grove, she saw Jack and two other men standing under the trees. All of the frustration from the past week poured out of her and she ran as hard as she could. When she came closer, she realized what they were about to do.

"Stop! Don't cut these trees down!" She panted. She put her hands on her hips to catch her breath.

Jack's eyes roamed the length of her body and Sally could feel a slight warmth heat her cheeks. She looked down at her disheveled robe and pulled her robe tighter. What's he staring at? She lifted her gaze and her stomach did a flip. Jack's shirt wasn't buttoned and she caught a glimpse of his tanned ripped stomach muscles. Oh my!

"Jack, what are you doing? Do you know it's five-thirty in the morning?"

He shook his head, as if that was an answer. She tore her eyes away from his abs to his face. She inhaled sharply. His hooded eyes looked ready to devour her. I must be seeing things. Maybe he's just hungry.

The two other men set down their chainsaws. "Listen Jack, we'll be over at your farm eating some breakfast. Come get us when you're ready."

Jack snapped his head around to the men. "Sure. I'll see you guys in few minutes." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I have to clear things up with Miss Rayton." Jack watched the men walk away and whipped his head back to Sally.

Sally rolled her eyes and said aloud, "Yeah, you just have to talk to the womanfolk." She spoke in a sweet Southern drawl. "Remember to speak nice and slow so she understands ya'll."




Author Bio: N. N. Light is the award-winning husband-wife writing team, commonly known as Mr. N and Mrs. N. Mrs. N. has been creating stories ever since she was little. Her grandfather remembers when she was two years old, she would stand at the top of the stairs and tell him a story filled with emotion (and in a language foreign to him) with her hands on her hips. Let’s just say she was a born storyteller.

They’re blissfully happy and love all things chocolate, books, music, movies, art, sports, trains, history, cooking and baking. Their mantra is to spread the Light.

Most of the time you can find them on Twitter or getting new ideas on how to spread the Light on Pinterest. They’re a proud member of ASMSG and Independent Author Network.

Subscribe to their author newsletter and you'll be eligible to win $5 Amazon gift card monthly:  http://ow.ly/jWec308TabL  

In addition to being authors, they’re also book promoters/reviewers, social media marketers/influencers and the owners of N. N. Light Author Promotions. They both love books, have ever since they were young. Matching up books and readers is something that gives them great pleasure.

They’d love to connect with you either via email or via these various social media sites:

Newsletter: ow.ly/jWec308TabL 

Comments

  1. Thank you so much for the opportunity to guest spot and share one of our favorite Christmas recipes. We'll be back in January with a healthy recipe, courtesy of Mr. N (retired chef but still loves to cook for his beloved). :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can't wait to see what is next! Thank you for agreeing to be our monthly guests.

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    2. It's our pleasure. I'm a baker and Mr. N is a retired chef. We both love to eat and make delicious meals. We love to try new things, too.

      Delete

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