Spectacular cocoa cookies

I share several variations of the recipe for Prince Carmel's Cocoa Cookies, but the most popular is the variation in which the cookies are coated in powdered sugar. Also known as "Cocoa Crinkles," the recipe can be a bit tricky to get just right. To achieve spectacular results, try this link I just found for special instructions!

And the winner is...

Bev! Over at the Blogging Bookworm. Thanks for playing and happy reading. Remember, don't touch any purple elephants!

Just in time for Christmas (Update)

I'm offering a free giveaway of one copy of The Purple Elephant, color edition. Please leave your name in the comments below for the drawing. Check back on December 1 to find out who is the winner! (Update: Silly me! I thought Dec 1 was next week! I'll hold the drawing this Friday, Nov 20. Sorry!)

Meet the author

Come meet the author of The Purple Elephant! I will be at the authors' table at Eugene's Art & the Vineyard festival this Sunday from 11:30-3:30. If they let me bring it in, I'll even have a plate of cocoa cookies. :)

Also, coming soon is the Lane County Fair. I'll be at the authors' table on Friday night at the fair, details to follow.

Calling all readers

Hey, Purple Elephant fans! Has anyone finished reading the book, yet?

Would you like to review it on Amazon? Begin your career as a book reviewer! See your recommendation in print! Click here to be the first to review The Purple Elephant!

Bedtime story for who?

I wrote The Purple Elephant in such a way that parents could use the book as a bedtime story for their children. The story is ongoing for those who want to read straight through, but each chapter ends at a good stopping point and with a character falling asleep.

So how's it working? Well, a friend reading the book to her 4-year-old reports that her son begs her to keep reading and he is so excited that he's had a little trouble falling asleep. Oops. But another friend (with grown kids) is reading a chapter each night to her husband. She reports that her husband falls asleep each night before she's done! As for us, I mostly read to my son in the middle of the afternoon and he begs and begs for "just one more chapter," but I'm rationing him to just two a day.

Anybody else tried reading The Purple Elephant as a chapter a day?

"The Purple Elephant" released!

The wait is over!

I'm excited to announce the release of The Purple Elephant!

The Purple Elephant is available through Amazon and CreateSpace.

This 78-page chapter book has color illustrations and retails for $15.95.

Recommended for children ages 5-10. Amazon offers free shipping on orders over $25.

Special Promotion
For the month of May, save $2/copy of The Purple Elephant at CreateSpace with discount code: 87M36Q72

Drumroll, please...

Introducing the cover design for The Purple Elephant!

With many thanks to my wonderful husband for doing all the layout work.

In progress

Just a quick update and I'll resist the temptation to April Fool you. :) The book layout is coming along nicely, but it's required more steps than I'd calculated. I hoped to be able to give a sneak-peek of the book cover today, but it's still in progress. Stay tuned -- everything is looking great and I'll post a cover picture as soon as I have it!

On track!

I have completed my manuscript (yahoo!) and have turned over the text and artwork to my wonderful, fantastic layout guy (my husband)! So The Purple Elephant is right on track for its May, 2009 publication.

Want to see more?

Check out illustrator Kim Sponaugle's Picture Kitchen Studio for a preview of more Purple Elephant pictures! I'm at the top of her website.

Coming soon from Cocoa Cookie Press!

"The Purple Elephant" is currently in production! The estimated publication date is May, 2009. Check back soon for a preview of Kim Sponaugle's wonderful illustrations. While you're waiting, try out a batch of Prince Carmel's favorite cocoa cookies! Yumm!

Cocoa Cookie Recipe

By popular demand, here is the recipe for the cocoa cookies from The Purple Elephant. Cookie doesn't have an electric mixer, so she mixes them by hand. You can, too!

Prince Carmel's Cocoa Cookies

2-1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. In large bowl stir together sugar and oil. Add cocoa powder and blend well. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Cover bowl and refrigerate.

3. 4-6 hours later, when dough is firm enough to handle, shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet two inches apart.

4. Bake at 350 degrees, 12-14 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched lightly and tops are crackled. Yield: 4 dozen.

Variations:

The way King Pop Cornelius likes them:

Add one cup of chocolate chips to the batter before refrigerating.

The way Prince Andrew likes them:

Roll the 1-inch balls of cookie dough in powdered sugar before baking.

The way the princess likes them:

Substitute 1 tsp peppermint extract and 1 tsp vanilla for the 2 tsp vanilla.

The way Polly likes them:

Add one cup chopped walnut pieces to the batter before refrigerating.