Reading is totally sweet. We all know that. But novels are even sweeter when they involve baking recipes! A few years ago, I was charmed by Laura Shaefer's young adult novel The Teashop Girls, about three friends who are trying to save the main character's grandmother's tea shop in Madison, WI; now, there's a follow-up novel entitled The Secret Ingredient, which is a sweet but not saccharine continuation of the tale of Annie and her friends growing up and learning their place in the world--this time centering around a scone-making blogging competition.

So, they're super cute books for young girls to read, but happily, Paula Wiseman books has offered a copy of The Secret Ingredient for giveaway! Just add a comment to this post (or comment on the CakeSpy facebook page) with your favorite type of scone. 

and--bonus! Here's a recipe for one of the scones from the book.

Cookies and Cream Scones

Adapted from The Secret Ingredient

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup chopped sandwich cookies (I used about 8 coarsely chopped berry oreos, because they were pink in the middle)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup milk

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together first; cut in the butter. Stir in the beaten egg and the cookie pieces. 
3. Slowly add the buttermilk to form a thick dough. Knead the dough on a board, roll to a 1-inch thickness, and cut the dough into 2-inch rounds or triangles.
4. Place each piece on a greased cookie sheet and brush the tops with the milk. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.