Chocolate Cream Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #24)(67)

Prepare your cookie sheets by spraying them with Pam or another cooking spray or, alternatively, lining them with parchment paper.



Hannah’s 3rd Note: I prefer to use parchment paper to line my cookie sheets. That way, all I have to do when I take the cookies from the oven is to grab the edge of the parchment paper and pull it, cookies and all, over to a wire rack to cool the cookies.



Place the powdered sugar in the bowl of your food processor or blender.



Measure out the flaked coconut and add that to the powdered sugar.



Process with the steel blade in an on-and-off motion until the coconut has been cut into very small pieces.



Place the powdered sugar and coconut mixture in a shallow bowl. You will use it to coat the cookie dough balls that you will roll.



Use your impeccably clean hands to roll the dough in walnut-sized balls.



Place the balls, one at a time, in the bowl with the powdered sugar and coconut mixture and roll them around until they are coated.



Place the balls on your prepared cookie sheets, 12 balls to a standard-size cookie sheet.



Flatten the dough balls with the back of a metal spatula or the palm of your impeccably clean hand. The dough balls will spread out in nice circles that are approximately 3 inches in diameter.



Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 13 minutes. (The cookies should have a tinge of gold on the top.)



Cool your Coconut Snow Cookies on the cookie sheets by placing them on cold stovetop burners or wire racks. Cool this way for 2 to 3 minutes and then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies themselves to the wire racks.



Hannah’s 4th Note: If you used parchment paper, just grab the edge and pull it over to the wire racks.



Yield: approximately 10 dozen crunchy, buttery, sugary cookies, which will make 4 to 5 dozen Coconut Snow Sandwich Cookies.



Hannah’s 5th Note: You can eat these cookies just the way they are and they’re delicious. But you can also make them into fabulous sandwich cookies. Instructions follow on the next page.





COCONUT SNOW SANDWICH COOKIES

1 jar of Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)



Open the jar of Nutella and spread the bottom of one cookie with the chocolate-hazelnut spread.



Place the other cookie, bottom down, on top of the Nutella filling.



Repeat above instructions for all of your cookies.



Store in a cookie jar or box in the pantry or cupboard. You can also refrigerate, but you’ll take the chance of having your sandwich cookies get soggy.




Hannah’s 1st Note: The following list suggests other spreads you can use in these Coconut Snow Sandwich Cookies



Any flavor of jam—use a thin layer or it will squeeze out between the cookie halves. To solve this problem, mix a little powdered (confectioners’) sugar into the jam so that it is thicker and will maintain its shape.



Any flavor of jelly – use a thick layer or it will squeeze out between the cookie halves. To solve this problem, mix a little powdered (confectioners’) sugar into the jelly so that it is thicker and will maintain its shape.



Cashew Butter



Peanut Butter



Almond Butter



Commercial frosting, the kind that you’ll find on the baking aisle



Melted semi-sweet chocolate chips thickened with a little powdered (confectioners’) sugar



Melted butterscotch chips thickened with a little powdered (confectioners’) sugar



Melted milk chocolate chips thickened with a little powdered (confectioners’) sugar



Melted peanut butter chips thickened with a little powdered (confectioners’) sugar



Melted white chocolate or vanilla chips thickened with a little powdered (confectioners’) sugar



Hannah’s 2nd Note: Believe it or not, Mike likes cheddar cheese spread between his cookies. Feel free to try it, but no one else I know seems to like Coconut Snow Sandwich Cookies that way!





Chapter Eighteen


At a few minutes after eleven, Lonnie had called to report that there had been no action at the bank yet. Ross had not shown up. Mike had contacted Herb, who was keeping his eye on the entrance to town, and that was a negative, too.

“Do you think he’ll show up?” Hannah asked Mike.

Mike shrugged. “Maybe. He’s got plenty of time. The bank’s open until three.”

At eleven-fifteen, the swinging door from the coffee shop swung open and Earl Flensburg came into the kitchen. “You wanted to see me?” he asked Hannah.

“Yes,” Hannah said, quickly dishing up a plate of Coconut Snow Cookies, even though they were barely cool enough to eat. “Try my new cookies, Earl. And I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

“Hi, Norman,” Earl greeted his son-in-law. “Mike? Good to see you.”

“Good to see you, too,” Mike responded. “Out with the plow again today?”

“Sure am. I’m plowing around the lake. Jessie Pillager wants to get out there to check his pipes.”