Elsie’s Coconut Cake by G.A. McKevett

CAKE
Cream Together
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 stick butter (I use Kerrygold Irish butter, salted) or margarine

Add
5 egg yolks
2 cups flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Fold In
2 cups Baker’s Angel Flake coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts
5 egg whites (beaten stiff but not dry)

Bake
350 for 20 min (or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean) – Makes three layers

ICING

Cream Together
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 stick salted butter or margarine
1 box powdered sugar
2/3 cup Baker’s Angel Flake coconut (what’s left from a 7 ounce package)

Spread icing between cooled layers and sprinkle with coconut. Spread icing on top and sides. Sprinkle coconut on top and press onto sides if desired. Decorate with gum drops. (optional)

Recipe courtesy of Murle Hinze


As the Moonlight Magnolia Agency revisits old memories on Christmas Eve, Granny Reid takes the reins back thirty years to the 1980s—back when she went by Stella, everyone’s hair was bigger, and sweaters were colorful disasters. But murder never went out of style . . .

Christmas has arrived in sleepy McGill, Georgia, but holiday cheer can’t keep temperamental Stella Reid from swinging a rolling pin at anyone who crosses her bad side—and this season, there are plenty. First an anonymous grinch vandalizes a celebrated nativity display. Far worse, the scandalous Prissy Carr is found dead in an alley behind a tavern. With police puzzled over the murder, Stella decides to stir the local gossip pot for clues on the culprit’s identity . . .

Turns out Prissy held a prominent spot on the naughty list, and suspects pile up like presents on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, the more progress Stella makes, the more fears she must confront. With a neighbor in peril and the futures of her beloved grandchildren at risk, Stella must somehow set everything straight and bring a cunning criminal to justice before December 25th . . .