Today’s cookie recipe is one of my favorites.  Madame Mommy Dearest actually created them for my brother, who absolutely loved the movie E.T. when he was a little boy.  But we’re talking chocolate & Reese’s Pieces here, so you know it wasn’t long before I came along & started gobbling them up. :spaghetti

E.T. COOKIES

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 of 10 oz. bag of Reese’s mini-Pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In large bowl, cream butter, sugars, & peanut butter.
Add egg, milk, & vanilla. Beat well.
Add cocoa powder, baking soda, & flour. Mix well.
Add Reese’s mini-pieces. Stir.
Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake 9 minutes, or until tested done with toothpick.
Cool on wire racks.

Oh, yeah. :gingerbread   These are so yummy, it’s not even funny.  They taste great with a big glass of milk, & even better if you eat them while watching E.T. for the 4957th time.

Only two more weeks until HER LITTLE SECRET, HIS HIDDEN HEIR hits the shelves!  I hope you’ve added the date—June 7th!—to your calendar already.

I can’t wait for you to be able to read this story so we can start talking about the goodies Vanessa makes in her Sweet Spot recipe!  Then things are going to get really interesting. :cookinme

If you’d like to collect even more great recipes, or maybe share a few of your own, be sure to sign up for my HappyBookers YahooGroup. We’re doing a bit of a recipe swap over there, as well, to celebrate the yummy bakery angle of HER LITTLE SECRET, HIS HIDDEN HEIR. :flip

Word of the Week: Big in Japan — To say or pretend that you are someone of stature somewhere else, which is pretty much meaningless and not verifiable where you currently are.  (i.e.  “Yeah, I’m big in Japan.”)

That’s right—I’m very big in Japan. :eyelashes

And also at Romance University, where I will be guest blogging today.

This is going to be a fun one.  Not only is it aimed at aspiring writers more than readers—although readers will probably find something to be amused by, as well  :tongue —but the post is based on one of the “Twenty Questions” packages I offered as part of Brenda Novak’s online auction for diabetes research last year.

Yes, it’s taken this long for Romance University‘s Kelsey Browning to formulate her questions, & for me to get them answered.  But the cool thing is that Kelsey then turned them—or some of them, anyway—into this fun guest blog, where I can visit RU & answer even more questions, if visitors have any.

So come on over & check it out.  I’ll be giving away some books, too, so spread the word to all of your reader & writer friends—everyone’s welcome! :bees

“A well-spent day brings happy sleep.”
~Leonardo Da Vinci

Happy Sunday!  I hope you had a lovely Mother’s Day last week, & have much to be grateful for this week!

I AM HAPPY that I was able to help with the Animal Welfare Council yard sale last week.  I didn’t do a whole lot, but I certainly donated oodles of stuff for them to sell, was able to help with setting things up for a couple of hours, & then made a nice, rounded-up donation for the items I grabbed for myself while helping to set up. :kittyplay   (I can be very generous when people let me in the doors early so I can poke around before the crowds arrive. :eyelashes )

I AM HAPPY the cover flats for MUST LOVE VAMPIRES arrived so I can see how gorgeous this book is going to be when it finally hits the shelves! :chick   It is really, really gorgeous, let me tell you.

And if you missed my offer on Twitter & Facebook to autograph a cover for you before MLV comes out, let me know.  I’ve still got plenty & will be happy to send you one.

Although, if you’re signed up to be one of my Street Walkers, never fear—you’ll be getting one when I send out the next batch of promo items, anyway.  And if you aren’t signed up to be one of my awesome Street Walkers, but would like to be, please contact our very own Huggy Bear (a.k.a. Darling Laura J.) via the Street Walkers website.  Her info is in the far right sidebar.

I AM HAPPY beyond belief that THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS & INHERITING HIS SECRET CHRISTMAS BABY are both Finalists for Phoenix Desert Rose RWA’s “Golden Quill” Award.  Happy Dance!  Happy Dance!  Happy Dance! :getdown

I AM HAPPY that Madame Mommy Dearest has been able to take another cruise, which I know she enjoys.  This time, she’s touring Boston, the New England states, & parts of Canada.  I am hoping, as a souvenir, that she will bring back my weight in maple syrup.  That’s a lot of syrup, but OMG, I lurvs it!  I would drink it as a beverage, if I thought I could get away with it.  (How about you… do you like syrup nearly as much as I do? :spaghetti )

And last but not least, I AM HAPPY that everything involved in that Top Secret happy-happy is still moving forward & going fairly smoothly.  (Knock on wood.)  Shhh. :hide   I still can’t talk about it, but I will ask you to keep sending those positive thoughts my way.  If it all works out, I will definitely be filling you in, believe me. :bees

Allrighty…that’s about it for me.  How about you?  Please take a moment to tell us what you’re happy about this week.  And feel free to share the news about your Mother’s Day celebrations.  Did your kids do right by you, or have you been rethinking the wisdom of bringing them into this world at all? :spikey

And now for the winner of our Friday the 13th Free Book Friday giveaway, No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane…

:getdown   Denise Vega!!! :getdown

Congratulations, Denise! :claphat Please contact me with your full name & mailing information, & I’ll get your book out to you as soon as I can!