Yankee-Belle Cafe

Last week I told you about Ada, the heroine of my story in the collection, An Amish Christmas Kitchen. 

This week we'll learn a bit about the hero of the story, Matthias Yoder. 

Matthias is a quiet young man, a skilled wood worker, and the newest employee at Ada's family's business, Heritage Amish Furniture in Shipshewana, Indiana. Of course, the business is fictional, but it is based on the many family owned furniture shops in Indiana's Amish Country.

Matthias remembers Ada from their days together at school, but his family moved to Wisconsin soon after they both graduated from the eighth grade. Now that he is back and living in Shipshewana again, he is becoming reacquainted with the old neighborhood. He especially is happy to learn to know Ada again.

Ada's father sees Matthias' talent, and gives the young man more responsibilities. He takes Matthias along on a visit to a customer's house, and then to lunch afterward.

If you're familiar with Shipshewana and the many fabulous restaurants there, you might be surprised that they went to a little nearby town - Topeka, Indiana - to a restaurant that isn't as well known among the tourists.

Tiffany's is usually busy. There are some four-top tables, but most of the tables are long, with at least fifteen chairs on each side. Groups sit where they can, and often strike up conversations with the folks sitting nearby - strangers or not.

Next is the main course.

Matthias ordered roast beef and mashed potatoes. The last time we were there, I ordered the chicken and noodles while my dear husband got a turkey Manhattan.

Both are delicious!

And you can't leave without pie. You just can't!

You can choose from a dozen kinds, made fresh each day. We chose pecan...

...and custard.

You know the pie is good when your plate ends up looking like this!

Matthias enjoyed lunch at Tiffany's with his employer. He came away from the meal with...well...I better not tell you. I don't want to spoil the story!

But there's a problem when you write a scene during a meal for your characters...I've been craving a Tiffany's lunch ever since then! We haven't stopped in Topeka during our last couple trips to Indiana.

What about you? Do you think you'd enjoy an occasional Amish style meal? I know I do!

It is such a privilege to be part of this collection from Bethany House along with Leslie Gould and Kate Lloyd! Christmas stories are so much fun to write, and I found that I do love writing novellas. I hope to do more in the future!

My story in this collection is "An Amish Christmas Recipe Box." Ada, a shy girl who loves to bake the items she sells in the family furniture store, has her heart set on Amos, one of her father's employees. The problem? Amos doesn't seem to notice that she exists. Then Ada's outgoing sister comes up with a plan - The Great Cookie Campaign! Even though Rose's plans rarely work the way she thought they would, Ada agrees. Together they come up with four favorite cookie recipes for Ada to make for the furniture store's employees in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, culminating in a very special recipe for Christmas Eve.

Will the plan work? You'll have to read the book to find out!

But you don't have to wait to find out what Ada's special recipe was, because I'm going to share it with you now. Who knows? Perhaps this will become your family's favorite Christmas cookie!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

(Ben's Favorite)

Mix together in a small bowl:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup ground almonds, or commercial almond meal

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream together in a medium bowl:

3/4 cup butter, softened (room temperature)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat into the butter/sugar mixture until fluffy:

1 egg

Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well.

Form the dough into 1" balls and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350° for twelve minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are no longer shiny.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven, then quickly and gently press your thumb into each cookie to make a depression. Put a scant 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry jam (or other red jam or jelly) into the depression.

Return the cookie sheet to the oven for another 5 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove them to a cooling rack.

Makes two dozen.

In other news, we're settling into our new home. By this time next week, we'll be bringing home our new corgi puppy, Jack, and the place will be complete!

There's nothing like preparing for a new puppy!

Jan Drexler spent her childhood dreaming of living in the Wild West and is now thrilled to call the Black Hills of South Dakota her home. When she isn’t writing she spends much of her time satisfying her cross-stitch addiction or hiking and enjoying the Black Hills with her husband of more than thirty-seven years.

Today's the day!

Book four in my Rocky Mountain Heroes series releases today. 

A fresh start...and an old love reignited?

For widow Kayla Bradshaw, restoring a historic Colorado hotel means a better life for her and her soon-to-arrive baby. But she needs construction help from Jude Stephens, the love she lost through a misunderstanding. Working with Kayla, the police officer finds himself forgiving her--and longing to rebuild her shattered confidence. But can they trust each other enough to forge a future together?

So let's celebrate with one of my favorite desserts.

Lemon bars are a quintessential southern tradition. One problem I have with these tasty treats, though, is that sometimes they're too sweet. I prefer mine with a little more tang. And this recipe has the perfect balance of sweet and citrus.Best of all, they're really quite easy to make. For years, I opted for a box kit but, really, this scratch-made version doesn't take much longer.

**FYI - refrigeration time is required, so plan accordingly**

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil.

For the crust you will need: