Chocolate Cream Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #24)(86)

“How about Bud Hauge?” she asked. “You told me you heard him say something about teaching Ross a lesson after my talk at church on Sunday.”

“He did, but Bud is all bark and no bite. Besides, he’s hobbling around on crutches. There’s no way he could have made it up your outside staircase.”

“What happened to Bud?”

“I’m not sure. All I heard was that it had something to do with a revival of the limbo at the Golden Eagle and Bud came in third.”

Two down, one to go, Hannah said to herself. She almost hated to ask and nullify her whole suspect list, but she had to know.

“How about Hal McDermott? You told me that he was pretty hot under the collar about Ross at the social hour after Sunday’s church services. Do you think it’s possible that he’s involved?”

“Hal’s got a temper on him, but I don’t think he has anything to do with it. You’d better check with Rose. I think Hal’s weekly poker game was yesterday afternoon and he wouldn’t miss one of those. Rose told me that Hal lost last week to Al Percy and he vowed to win it all back this week.”

Hannah was surprised. “I knew they played poker, but I thought it was just for chips or something like that. I never realized that real money was at stake.”

“Well, it is, but it’s only penny ante. Rose said Hal lost four dollars and seventy cents, but money’s not the issue.”

“Then what’s the issue?” Hannah asked her.

“It’s ego. Hal wants to hang on to his title as the best poker player in Lake Eden. Hal wouldn’t miss that poker game, Hannah. And I’d bet real money on that, not just pennies!”

“I understand,” Hannah said. “It’s not the money at stake in Hal’s poker games, it’s the honor.”

“Honor’s not the only thing. The weekly winner gets a free dessert every day from Rose. And that reminds me . . .” Grandma Knudson stopped talking and reached down to pull a box out of the tapestry tote bag she always carried. “These are for you,” she said, handing the box to Hannah. “It’s a little like carrying coals to Newcastle, but I thought you’d like them.”

Hannah lifted the lid on the box and began to laugh. “Cookies!” she exclaimed.

“Yes. It was my mother’s recipe and I just found it in one of her recipe boxes. They’re called Forgotten Cookies.”

“That’s a great name,” Hannah commented. “Is the name because you forgot that your mother made them?”

“Not exactly. Have one now and tell me if you like them. And if you do, I wrote out the recipe and it’s in that little envelope on top.”

Hannah took a cookie and bit into it. It was made of meringue and it melted in her mouth. “Wonderful!” she said, popping the rest of the cookie into her mouth.

“Read the recipe,” Grandma Knudson suggested. “I don’t know if it’ll work in your industrial oven, but it can’t hurt to try it. And if you can’t make them here, you can make them at home.”

Hannah read through the recipe and then she laughed. “I think I understand why they’re called Forgotten Cookies now.”

“That’s right. The name’s appropriate because if you use your oven for supper, you just mix up these cookies, put them on a sheet, and stick them in the oven. Then you turn off the oven, forget about them, and they’ll be baked and ready to eat in the morning.”





FORGOTTEN COOKIES

Preheat oven to 400 F., rack in the middle position.



(Make these cookies right before bedtime and they’ll be ready to eat in the morning. They must be in the oven at least 4 hours and overnight is fine, too.)



Hannah’s 1st Note: This recipe is from Aunt Nancy’s friend, Judy Baer.



2 egg whites (save the yolks in a covered container in the refrigerator and add them to scrambled eggs in the morning)

? cup white (granulated) sugar pinch of salt (a pinch is the amount of salt you can pick up from a salt cellar and hold between your thumb and your forefinger)

6-ounce (by weight) package (about 1 cup) mini chocolate chips 1 cup finely chopped pecans





Prepare your cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper.



Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat them until they are foamy.



Continue to beat while adding the white sugar by Tablespoons, sprinkling in the sugar over the very foamy egg whites.



Add the pinch of salt and beat until the egg whites are very stiff. (You are making a meringue.)



Once the egg whites are stiff enough to hold a peak when you shut off the mixer and test them, shut off the mixer and take out the bowl.



Hannah’s 2nd Note: Test for stiff peaks by shutting off the mixer, dipping the rounded back of a spoon into the beaten egg whites and pulling it up. If the peak that forms is stiff, you are done beating.



Sprinkle in the chocolate chips and gently fold them in with a rubber spatula, being careful not to lose any air.



Hannah’s 3rd Note: “Folding” is done by inserting the blade of the rubber spatula into the center of the bowl, turning it to the flat side and “shoveling” the stiff egg whites up to cover part of the chips. Turn the bowl and repeat this action until you have pulled up all the egg whites from the bottom and have covered all of the chips.