Jenn McKinlay's News #39
January 25, 2021
Hello, Readers!
Happy New Year!
True Story, Funny Story (not really) - I accidentally deleted the first draft of my newsletter, so this is a bit shorter than the original. Not gonna lie, there was some cussing and some tears involved, but we forge on! If for some reason you can't see the included pictures or the newsletter doesn't format well in your email, you can find the latest on my website in the News and Freebies section.
In happy news, I just finished writing Killer Research!!! It will come out in November 2021 and the one thing I learned from writing it was that I never want to write a book during a pandemic, during the holidays, a heated election, an attempted coup, and topped off with an inauguration ever again. I'm just saying - concentrating was an endeavor!
Book News: Just three more months until the release of FOR BATTER OR WORSE! I'm so excited to share this book with you all! And then, coming this summer is WAIT FOR IT! Set in my hometown of Phoenix, it's a romcom full of heart and healing. Just what the world needs now (I hope)!
Events: Join me tomorrow night - Jan 26th at 8 pm EST - on the independent Facebook page Fans of Jenn McKinlay. I'll be doing a live chat on the page and answering questions sent in from readers.
Not an FB person? That's okay. I'll be going live on Instagram at the same time. You can find me on Insta under the name @mckinlayjenn. Leave a comment on these live feeds and you'll be in the drawing for a For Batter or Worse pot holder! Thrilling, I know!
Extras: If you love the book related swag, be sure to join the FB group McKinlay's Mavens where my assistant, Christie, pulls out all the stops on giveaways and prizes! She has a lot For Batter or Worse pot holders to share!
Because we're just a few short months from the release of For Batter or Worse, to celebrate I am sharing an exclusive recipe from the book for Chocolate Orange Cupcakes: a chocolate cake with a chocolate orange truffle center and orange buttercream. Yum!
Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, adding eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla. Add in the flour mixture alternately with the milk until well blended. Scoop batter into paper liners just covering the bottom, place one frozen fudge ball (see below for recipe) in the center then add more batter until liner is two-thirds full. Bake 18-22 minutes. Cool completely. Makes 14 cupcakes.
Chocolate Orange Truffles:
3 cups chocolate chips, melted
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp orange extract
Whisk together the condensed milk into the melted chocolate chips, add the extract. Mixture will begin to get solid and hard to stir. Use a melon baller, to scoop balls onto a parchment lined pan, chill in the freezer for one hour.
Orange Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2-3 Tablespoons orange juice
In large bowl, cream butter and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed adding orange zest. Add orange juice as needed. Scrape sides of bowl often. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Makes 2 1/2 cups of icing.
*Cupcakes baked and photographed by Christie Conlee
Happy Reading, Everyone! Thanks for being the best readers and author could ever have! XO, Jenn