Lori Wilde: These are a few of her favorite cowboy things

USA TODAY best-selling author Lori Wilde, whose A Cowboy for Christmas, came out earlier this week, has a thing about cowboys. Well, what red-blooded romance author or reader doesn't? I mean, come on. The hats! The jeans! The cowboy boots! I'm getting warm just thinking about it all. So I'll turn you over to Lori, who has some great ideas for what to give the cowboy lovers among your friends and family for Christmas. (Hey, I wouldn't mind getting a cowboy for Christmas. If anyone's interested. I mean, you know, just in case.)

Lori: Every year, I looked forward to Oprah Winfrey's Favorite Things episode. I watched with my notebook computer in my lap so I could Google the items and order them for the friends and family on my holiday gift-giving list. This year, I got to thinking, why should Oprah have all the fun? I can give the gift of my top five favorite cowboy things to my readers. (Plus a bonus recipe.)

1) Old Gringo Cowboy Boots

I love, love, love these boots. They fit your foot like a glove. I even wore them on a trip to New York City and got many admiring looks. Wear red Old Gringo boots and channel your inner Nancy Botwin.

2) Stetsons

Yes, Stetsons are a cliché, but clichés are clichés for a reason. Stetsons are the ultimate in cowboy headwear. Chose beaver over wool for the winter and straw for the summer.

3) Wrangler jeans

Real cowboys wear Wranglers. End of story. Levi's may be chic and trendy, but if you work cattle for a living, you wear Wranglers.

4) A Tuna Christmas DVD

A Tuna Christmas is the second in a series of plays created by Joe Sears and Jaston Williams featuring the fictional town of Greater Tuna, the third-smallest town in Texas. What makes these plays so hysterically funny is the accurate portrayal of small-town life in the Lone Star State. A Tuna Christmas is my favorite of the series, and it's available on DVD.

5) Michael Martin Murphey's Cowboy Christmas Ball

Wonderful guitar music, fetching cowboy lyrics, Christmas imagery. What's not to love about this toe-tapping live performance? But don't feel left out if you don't live in Texas. You can always buy Michael's Christmas album and waltz with your own cowboy.

Bonus favorite: My sister Suzanne Rountree's homemade recipe for Cowboy Brownies that she makes every year for Christmas.

Cowboy Christmas Brownies

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting

3 tablespoons butter, softened

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup Texas wild red plum jam (may substitute jam of your choice)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm. Garnish with pecans. Heat jam in the microwave for 10 seconds. Drizzle over brownies.

For more about Lori and her books, you can visit her website, LoriWilde.com.