Jennifer Sommer - "Jen"reflecting

Christmas Baking - Part 4

1/11/2025

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Shortbread

These are very light and crumbly like shortbread, and also have a fairly strong strawberry flavor. They make a nice size cookie. One or two with hot chocolate or tea would be plenty. I ended up adding both white and milk chocolate on top just because I had left-over milk chocolate from another recipe. This recipe calls only for white chocolate. I also sprinkled more freeze-dried strawberry on top as suggested. These would be good for Valentine's Day too, due to the pink coloring.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 T water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 oz. freeze-dried strawberries
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. shortening

Christmas Baking! Part 3

1/6/2025

Fruit &
Spice Rounds

These smell like Christmas! All the spices really come through, so if you like spiced baking, you'll love these. They are a dense cookie with all the great fillings...like a mini fruitcake. The glaze on top adds the perfect amount of sweetness. Adding lemon to the glaze was new to me, but it works perfectly with the other fruits. I have been given many cool gadgets to use in my baking over the years like the mezzaluna knife pictured below, and a mini nut grinder, that help me prepare for recipes like this. But a knife works just as well, so don't fret if you don't have all the extras. These cookies were a favorite this year!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups finely chopped dates
1 cup finely chopped raisins
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Glaze:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 T lemon juice
2 T water

Christmas Baking! Part 2

1/3/2025

Almond Raspberry Stars

I used several jam flavors on these cookies, since I was gifted an Advent Calendar full of 24 spreads this year. I think I used a mixed berry, a strawberry and a fig cinnamon. Maybe there was a raspberry something too. I could make 3 to 4 cookies with one small jar of spread. Also, I didn't measure the size of my cookie cutters as indicated in the recipe. I just picked two that I thought worked well together.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1-3/4 cups plus 2 T. all-purpose flour
1 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 large egg white, beaten
1/3 cup raspberry jam

Her Eyes Were On the Stars Trailer

1/2/2025

Christmas Baking! Part 1

12/18/2024

Peppermint
Stick
Cookies

These turned out to be a festive and quite hefty cookie. One cookie made a nice treat for friends. I didn't find anything difficult about this recipe. I don't have any hints for this one!

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 tsp. mint extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
red food coloring
green food coloring
1-1/2 cups white baking chips
crushed mint candies

Best of Indie Books 2024!

12/17/2024

I am so excited to finally reveal that HER EYES WERE ON THE STARS has been included on the KIRKUS list of the Best of Indie Books 2024!

The Kirkus Star is a prestigious award given to books that are considered to be of exceptional merit. I received a star in April 2024.

What is especially gratifying for me is that I wasn't sure I would even send my book in for a review. Ultimately I decided to do it, hoping for a usable blurb for my marketing efforts. The glowing review that came back was more than I could have hoped for. It wasn't until later, I realized I had received a star. After a friend let me know! And then to receive news that my book, the book I was nearly too frightened to send in for a review, is to be included in the Best 100 Indie Books of 2024...well.

Of course I had to keep the news to myself for about 8 weeks. Not fun.

Christmas Cookies!

12/17/2024

I have been busy trying new cookie recipes for the holiday season. Stay tuned for details!

Continuing problems with Amazon

11/2/2024

I apologize to everyone who has tried unsuccessfully to get either of my books through Amazon. It is a continuing hassle. Originally, only the hardcover version of HER EYES WERE ON THE STARS was listed. The softcover version was listed as a video. That has been corrected, but they still have not added the correct ISBN code. You can search for it under:

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 195579152X which is the Amazon Standard Identification Number

However, from there it says that the book is out of stock. Which it isn't. I have contacted Amazon repeatedly, but so far no change has been made.

The audiobook is listed correctly.

The best way to order a book is still either on my webpage or through Braughler Books .

I am also waiting for Amazon to list EVERY CREATURE EATS on the website.

Needless to say, it is all very frustrating. But again, if you order through my website or through Braughler Books, your order will be filled immediately, and I will personally autograph the books ordered through my website.

Thank you!

HER EYES WERE ON THE STARS at Kirtland Public Library

10/11/2024

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Kirtland Public Library in the Cleveland area to present a program for each of my two books. The afternoon program for school-age children showcased my biography about Nancy Grace Roman, the "Mother of Hubble" called HER EYES WERE ON THE STARS. Along with a reading of the book, I answered questions about my research and explained how I recorded two interviews with Dr. Nancy Grace Roman about the Hubble telescope project, and used the example of the game of telephone as a reason why firsthand accounts are so important to research. We all know how convoluted and contorted those messages get by the time they reach the end of the line! Attendees also received coloring pages and a Hubble space telescope craft to take home. I was pleased that I had three young girls attend who were very interested in the subject. One had just finished writing a report about stars! If I remember correctly, it was about the death of stars.

EVERY CREATURE EATS at Kirtland Public Library

10/7/2024

I was invited by Children's Librarian, Magdalene Pesch, to have the first public reading of EVERY CREATURE EATS at Kirtland Public Library, just outside Cleveland, OH. What a pleasant and friendly place to hold a Halloween storytime. The kids were great listeners and good guessers of what the gross and gooey treats in the story were composed of. And they were very adorable in their Halloween-themed clothing. Most had already decided what they were going to dress up as for Halloween as well...a couple of bumblebees, a kangaroo, Elsa. After the reading they were encouraged to make two of the snacks from the book - Bone-in gelatine and the purple drink with fleas. In addition, I brought one more treat that is not in the book, a skeleton, and provided directions that could be added to the recipes at the back of the book should they decide to buy a copy. I enjoyed the event. I think they did too. It reminded me of all the fun programs we held while I was still working as a Children's Librarian. I hope to repeat it soon!