Two Yummy Treats: Pumpkin Muffins and Perfectly Christmas!

When I made a pumpkin pie for our Canadian Thanksgiving this year, I had half a can of pure pumpkin left over. Rather than letting it go to waste (or sit forgotten in the freezer), I made gluten-free pumpkin muffins with it. A delicious snack to have on a break with a cup of cocoa and a great book! 

 

Gluten-free Pumpkin Muffins

 

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs

½ cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cup E.D. Smith pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filing)

1 ½ cup gluten-free flour blend (I use Robin Hood)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp salt

 

Beat the sugars with the eggs until thick (2 minutes). Slowly pour in the oil with the mixer on low speed. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Add to the wet ingredients and mix only until combined. Scoop the batter into a paper-lined muffin tin (or use a silicone mold). Makes 30 small muffins or 12 regular muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Enjoy!

 

 

And if you need an idea for a great book…In Perfectly Christmas, the small town is worried that the new – but temporary - surgeon will fall in love with their beloved family doctor and lure him away when she leaves. They set up a plan to keep the two doctors apart! Perfectly Christmas is part of the Perfectly Series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. It’s a fun, sexy, holiday romance – perfect if you need an escape!

 

On the first day of Christmas, his true love said to him, “Sorry, I have to work.”

That’s the life of a surgeon, and Dr. Madison Hayes wouldn’t have it any other way.

Dr. Quinn Malone has another priority. In the countdown to Christmas, he needs to convince his old flame that there’s more to life – and love – than the job itself. 

This time, his heart is in it for the long haul. Really. 

Romantic and . . . complicated – it’s Perfectly Christmas!

 

 

Enjoy an excerpt from Perfectly Christmas ~ 

 

Edna Alexander and Bea Mitchell stood at the window of the seniors’ center and watched the new surgeon drive out of the parking lot. 

“She’s very young, Bea.”

“And very pretty,” Bea agreed with a frown. She adjusted the tortoise shell glasses perched on her nose. “Didn’t we specify we wanted someone old, someone frumpy?”

“There wasn’t a tick-off box for that.”

“Hmph. There should’ve been.”

They watched the car pull out onto the street and hit the curb as it turned.

“She drives like us.”

“True. And look at the bright side, Edna. If we need surgery, it’d probably be better to have a young whipper-snapper doin’ it rather than some old fart like us.”

“I’m more worried about losing Dr. Quinn.”

Bea pursed her lips. “I know. But what are the chances of that happening?”

Edna gave her a grim sideways glance. “I’d have said slim to none three weeks ago. But when Dr. Hoity-Toity Hecktare decided she’d had enough of us, and Dr. Quinn looked like he was going to go with her, I almost had a stroke. I would never have believed he’d abandon our beloved Strathaven for a girl.”

“Woman,” Bea corrected absently. “Do you think he truly loved her?”

Edna shook her head and her gray curls bounced. “No.” She bit her lip. “Yes. That’s what I’m worried about. What if he up and falls in love with this new surgeon and leaves us?”

“We’d have a town of five thousand with no doctor.”

“Exactly. We’d be right back where we were five years ago before Quinn returned home.”

“And we’d have to go through another round of recruitments for a new doctor. I rue the day when someone from the Underserviced Area program figures out that we’re the Mitchell Alexander who’s been filling out all those forms.”

“A problem for another day.” Edna sighed. “Maybe she’ll stay. Dr. Madison Hayes. She seemed very friendly. Very small-townish.”

Bea grunted. “Not likely. You read her application. I’ll bet my boots she’ll do her two years and move on.”

“And take Quinn with her.” Edna twisted the strap of her oversized purse. “We can’t control his heart.”

“No. But we can’t risk him falling in love, either.”

“So we’ll keep them apart.”

Bea’s eyebrows shot up and she paused, considering. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“Of course, it’d be easier if he wasn’t also the only anesthetist for miles around. They’re going to have to work together.”

“Sure, but they’re professionals. I can’t see them getting into any hanky-panky at work. We’ll just make sure they’re never alone together outside of the clinic.”

Edna grinned widely. “Excellent plan. I’ll get on the blower, and before she unpacks, we’ll have a network of chaperones in place.”

“Email me the list.”

“Send me an email, and I’ll reply.”

Bea looked at her pointedly. “Edna, you gotta learn how to send an email.”

“I know how,” Edna said. “You hit reply, then type, then send.”

Bea laughed and threw her arm around Edna’s shoulders. “I think I’ll get you a computer lesson for Christmas.”

Edna’s eyes lit up. “A private one? With that hotty Albert Sparkle?”

Bea stepped back and started buttoning her coat. “Albert’s one hundred and two. And I think the name is Spartan. Does he even own a computer?”

“Yes, and he’s rigged himself up the perfect cup holder with this little drawer thingy that slides out at the top of the computer engine.” Edna pulled a crocheted cap over her curls.

Bea frowned. “You mean the CD tray on the tower?”

Edna smiled. “Maybe. Isn’t that brilliant?”

Bea laughed. “You two were made for each other. C’mon, let’s go and start Operation Put Out the Fire.”

 

Buy link (you can also enjoy it in Kindle Unlimited): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYW5T7X

 

Award-winning author Linda O’Connor started writing romantic comedies when she needed a creative outlet other than subtly rearranging the displays at a local home décor store. Her books have enjoyed bestseller status. When not writing, she’s a physician at an Urgent Care Clinic. She shares her medical knowledge in fast-paced, well-written, sexy romances – with an unexpected twist. Her favourite prescription to write? Laugh every day. Love every minute.

 

Website https://www.lindaoconnor.net

Twitter https://twitter.com/LindaOConnor98

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Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/795688.Linda_O_Connor

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Linda-OConnor/e/B00S7CNLEA