Blog Hop: 12 Days of Christmas

Blog Hop:  12 Days of Christmas

Event Date:  December 1^st  - 12^th 2013

Hosted by: As You Wish Reviews & Confessions of the Paranormal
Sponsors: As You Wish Tours & Book Dragon Designs

 Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or shortening, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
48 Hershey® Kisses® chocolate candies, unwrapped

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, cream butter or shortening and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beating until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla extract; beat well. Add flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into creamed mixture until well mixed.

Roll cookie dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Place balls, 2 inches apart, onto un-greased cookie sheets.

There are two popular ways to cook these cookies. Take your pick:

Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven; press a chocolate kiss candy into the center of each cookie. Return to oven and bake another 2 minutes or until cookies are light brown. Remove from oven and remove from cookie sheet; let cookies cool on wire cooling racks.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie (cookie will crack around edges). Remove from cookie sheet and let cookies cool on wire cooling racks.

Excerpt: Chapter 11

The house looks too familiar. As I turn the corner, I see someone lying on the floor. Without delay I realize it’s Sarah. It’s hard for me to see, but there are several things in the room which stand out. I see a white book shelf, which matches the other furniture in the room. On the shelves, the scrapbooks stick out.

I realize everything in this room is black and white, except for the scrapbook. They are the only things in the room that has color.

I run to the closet and the same boxes I moved earlier are in color too. I bend down to move the boxes. I move the small piece of the wall that hides Sarah’s cutting tools. The tools aren’t there but there’s a piece of paper; I pull it out. Opening it up, I see there are words written on it. Once it was fully unwrapped, I can read it:

Dear Amber,

I want to thank you so much for all you’ve done to help my mom and dad through my death. I know this is really hard for you to do, but I know deep down inside you can handle it.  I want to thank you for removing my “tools” before Mom found them. Please don’t worry about me. I’m a lot better now than I was my entire time on earth. Heaven is exactly how I pictured it to be and more. I’m at peace now, and I couldn’t be happier. I love you Amber, and I always will.

Your Best Friend, Sarah

I fold up the note and slip it into my pocket. In an odd way, this sends love and comfort through my body. I replace everything in the closet, I return to the room to find Sarah’s body isn’t lying there anymore.

I decide to toddle down to the family room to discover what else I can find. When I enter the room, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Everything’s in place. I walk over to a picture of Sarah from her sixteenth birthday. Her dress was made for this party and especially for her. Allen made sure she felt like a princess. She liked the pink, girly girl look at this time. Well, we both did. This is when we tried changing our look to fit in and see if that made a difference in how the girls treated us. Needless to say, it didn’t.

Just as I turn around, the TV comes on and it’s loud. I can’t even hear myself think. I jump when I see what’s on. It’s the tape Allen and Donna made for Sarah for her third birthday and mine too. We shared our party. As I watch the tape, I notice the same guy that was in the picture, is on this tape too. Who in the hell is he?

We have the same outfits, ate the same cake, and got pretty much the same gifts. This was the party that tied us together. This was the time everyone said we would grow to be sisters, and we did.

“Amber...”

I hear a gentle and calming voice coming from the doorway. I turn to see Sarah standing there. I don’t know how to react; I just stand there. I’m not sure if I should talk to her or if it’s just my mind messing with me. A few moments go by and I decide I need to talk to her.

“Sarah.” I say wearily.

“Please don’t feel bad for me.” Sarah starts to say.  “I’m happier now. I don’t feel the pain or darkness anymore. This was for the best.”

“Before you go on, answer me a few questions. Why? What happened? What went wrong?” I ask her.

“I fell into a deep depression when you moved. I tried calling you several times, but hung up before the phone connected. I didn’t want to seem like I was bothering you.”

“Sarah, you could never do that! We are sisters.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose. It just kind of happened. I was trying to take away my really bad headache. The bottle I got them from didn’t say how many to take. I started with one, and it didn’t do anything. I took another, still the same thing. The third, and then the fourth. After I took the fourth, my body seemed to take control all on its own. The next thing I knew, well… here I am. I wasn’t trying to kill myself. I just wanted my headache to go away. Don’t feel bad for me. I am free.”

“It’s good to know the truth. I miss you. We all do. And…” I begin to say, but Sarah cuts me off.

“I don’t have much time. I want you to know that Landon is good. He will be your husband one day. You may not believe me but just watch. Tell Patrick that Stacey is a good girl. Amber, she’s going through the same thing we did. She needs you. Don’t let him push her away. Casey will be fine. She’ll move on. Hopefully, we can talk again soon. I’m sorry, but I have to go now. Love you bunches lil sis!”

That was it; she disappeared. I fell to the floor sobbing. I cry harder than I ever have. My hands start shaking. I don’t want her to go. I want her to stay. I want her to live!

Grand Prize: $150 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
First Prize: One (1) eBook from Every Participating Author

RAFFLECOPTER CODE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes & Giveaways - Hop along the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!