Candy Cane Murder (Hannah Swensen #9.5)(33)

Mike gave her another long, level glance, and Hannah was sure it was the same glance he used in the interrogation room. “What else did you just find out?” he asked.

“Well … nothing really. Except that she knows a lot about plants. Her maid is named Emily, if that helps.”

“Right.” Mike stood up to go. “Let me know if you hear anything you think I should know. And remember to leave the investigating …”

“… up to the professionals,” Hannah finished the sentence in tandem with him. “Hold on a second and I’ll wrap up these cookies. You can take them out to the station with you.”

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LINDA’S PECAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 cup white (granulated) sugar 1 cup brown sugar***

1 cup (2 sticks, 1?2 pound) salted butter 1 cup vegetable oil (Canola is NOT a vegetable— the oil’s from a weed!)

1 beaten egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar (critical!) 1 cup uncooked oatmeal (I used Quaker’s Quick) 1 cup Rice Krispies

4 cups flour

2 cups chopped pecans (measure after chopping) *** Brown sugar is nothing more than white sugar with added molasses. All you have to do to make 1 cup brown sugar is to measure out a cup of white sugar and drizzle in 2 teaspoons of molasses, and then mix well. You can mix it with a fork and a little muscle, or with an electric mixer and a little electricity. It’s your choice. Knowing this little trick eliminates the necessity of keeping brown sugar, the kind that develops hard lumps, on hand in your pantry.

Put one cup of white sugar and one cup of brown sugar in the bowl of your mixer. Zoop them up together to make really light brown sugar.

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You have two choices with the butter. You can let it come up to room temperature on its own, or you can soften it in the microwave. If you’re in a hurry and you don’t want to wait for nature to take its course, do this: Unwrap a stick of refrigerated butter. Put it on a paper plate. Nuke it for 5 seconds on HIGH in your microwave.

Roll it forward so the topside is now on the side. Nuke it for another 5 seconds on HIGH. Roll it forward again and nuke it for another 5 seconds on HIGH. Repeat rolling forward again and nuking for 5 seconds once again. You’re done. Take the plate out of the microwave and dump the butter into your mixing bowl.

Repeat the whole thing for the second stick of butter.

Once you’ve added the butter to your mixing bowl, mix it until it’s smooth.

Pour in one cup of vegetable oil and add one egg. Mix it all up together at slow speed.

Add the vanilla, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.

Mix it all up together.

Add the cup of oatmeal and the Rice Krispies. Mix thoroughly.

Add 4 cups of flour to your bowl in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

Take the bowl from the mixer, give it another stir with a spoon, and mix in 2 cups of chopped pecans by hand.

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With your hands, roll dough balls approximately 1-inch in diameter and place them on the cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-sized sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges . (Mine took exactly 12

minutes.)

Let cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling.

Yield: 9 to 11 dozen yummy shortbread-type cookies ! % { # 9

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Chapter


! Ten #

Hannah removed another leftover quiche from Andrea’s seldom-used oven and set it out to cool on a rack. Their dinner plans had gone awry. Michelle had begged off. She was having dinner with Delores and Carrie, and then the three of them were going to call everybody who’d been at Sally’s Christmas party. Even though the deputies had already interviewed everyone who’d been there, Delores had decided it was worth a try. They’d already divided the guest list into three parts. There were the people Carrie knew best, the people Delores knew best, and the younger crowd that Michelle knew best. When Hannah had talked to her sister earlier, Michelle had been certain that the three of them could get more candid information from a friendly phone call than the sheriff’s deputies had gotten at the party last night.

Another few minutes and the quiche would be cool enough to cut and then it would be time for the second shift to eat.

She’d fed Tracey and Grandma McCann while Andrea had spoonfed baby Bethany, who had recently graduated from purees to small chunks. Then the kids and “Grandma” had gone off to the den to watch a new Christmas movie with animated penguins who’d lost their Christmas presents and had to find them before Christmas Eve. Andrea had gone upstairs to change. They were going to go out to the inn to talk to Wayne’s ex-wife right after they’d eaten their dinner.

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“Is it cool enough to eat?” Andrea asked when she came into the kitchen again.

“I hope so. I’m hungry.” Hannah sliced the quiche while Andrea dished up salads. They sat down across from each other, picked up their forks, and for long moments there was silence broken only by the sounds of chewing.

“This quiche is absolutely delicious,” Andrea finally said, finishing the last of her slice and looking longingly at the three slices still left on the serving plate.