Karen Rose Smith’s newest installment in her Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series is steeped in intrigue. Murder With Chocolate Tea follows the book’s heroine, tea shop owner and amateur detective Daisy Swanson, as she races to solve a murder before her wedding day. As you enjoy this cozy mystery, indulge in these delicious Rhubarb Muffins. They’re the perfect pairing for this delightful read!
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, divided
- ¼ cup old-fashioned oats
- 1¾ cups firmly packed light brown sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup frozen butter, grated
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line 18 wells of a regular-size muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a small bowl, stir together ¼ cup flour, oats, ¼ cup brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in grated butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in pecans. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together vegetable oil and remaining 1½ cups brown sugar with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Beat in eggs until smooth. Beat in yogurt, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat in remaining 2½ cups flour, ½ cup at a time, until batter is well blended and smooth. Stir in rhubarb.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until three-fourths full. Sprinkle pecan mixture evenly over batter.
- Bake until muffins are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from muffin pan.
Tea shop owner and bride-to-be Daisy Swanson must solve a murder before she can say, “I do,” in the latest Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery set in Pennsylvania’s Amish country.
Daisy has a lot to celebrate this summer. She’s supervising a special tea event to help commemorate the 100-year anniversary of her town’s historic covered bridge. But the main event is her upcoming wedding to her beloved fiancé, Jonas. Somehow Willow Creek’s busiest brewer of specialty teas and amateur sleuth still finds time to be a guest on local journalist Trevor Lundquist’s crime podcast to discuss the last murder she solved.
After the podcast, Trevor receives an anonymous tip from a caller who claims a travel chest that’s about to be auctioned holds a clue to a 20-year-old unsolved murder. Is it a hoax or a genuine lead? When a body turns up in Willow Creek, Trevor suspects a connection between this current homicide and the cold case. Has the murderer killed again to cover their tracks? Now Daisy has another mystery steeping, and Trevor may just have his next podcast.
Karen Rose Smith is the author of the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mysteries and the Caprice De Luca home-staging mysteries. Married to her college sweetheart, Karen has convinced her husband that felines can make purr-fect housemates. They share their home in the Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania with their three rescued cats. Visit her website at karenrosesmith.com and follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/KarenRoseSmithBooks.
