Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(40)

Delores flipped up the corner of the napkin covering Michelle’s personal bread basket. “You didn’t tell us that Sally gave you four!”

Michelle looked perfectly innocent. “Didn’t I mention that? Goodness gracious! Let’s pass them around.”

All of them laughed, including Michelle.

“You’re a piggy, Michelle,” Delores accused her youngest daughter, as she took a muffin from the basket.

“I’ll say she is!” Andrea commented, taking her muffin and passing the basket to Hannah.

“Didn’t I mention that?” Hannah repeated, still smiling as she took the last muffin. “I don’t know what they’re teaching theatre majors now at Macalester, but you didn’t fool us.”

“Not even for a second,” Andrea said, breaking open her muffin and buttering it. “That Goodness gracious! was really fake. I think you’d better take another acting class next semester.”

For a few minutes everyone was silent, concentrating on their food. Andrea finished first, and put down her fork, then Hannah and Michelle did the same. They waited for their mother to finish.

At last Delores put down her silverware and smiled. “That was just excellent. It always is.” She turned to Michelle. “That muffin was simply delicious.”

“Yes, it was.” Michelle agreed. “Why do you think I tried to keep them all for myself?”

Andrea turned to Hannah. “You need to get the recipe from Sally. These would be perfect at Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s an easy recipe that even I could make.”

“Maybe,” Hannah said, doing her best not to sound doubtful.

“I know you don’t think I can bake, but you liked those Double Puffs I made for Mother’s cookie exchange, didn’t you?”

“I liked them a lot. They were great cookies.”

“I thought so, too,” Michelle added quickly.

“Simply marvelous, dear.” Delores reached out to pat her daughter’s hand. “They were the hit of the afternoon. Everyone loved them. You know how we trade cookies afterwards, don’t you?” She waited until her daughter had nodded, and then she continued. “Before we left the community center, five different ladies came up to me and offered to trade any other cookie they had if I’d give them your Double Fudge Drops in return.”

“Really?” Andrea asked, looking very pleased.

“Really. And of course I turned all the offers down. And then I went home and I ate every one of them myself.”

Hannah watched as Andrea flushed pink with pleasure. Her pleased smile was so luminous, it made Hannah smile, too. Delores didn’t compliment her daughters that often. When Hannah had called her on it once, she’d said that she expected her daughters to be competent young ladies who did everything well, and if she had no criticism, that was a compliment in itself. Now, suddenly, all that had changed. Hannah liked this new, softer side of her mother. She wasn’t sure what had caused it, but she hoped it wouldn’t change back.

“I’ll ask Sally for the recipe,” Hannah promised. “And if you think you can’t do it alone, I’ll be glad to help you make them.”

“What recipe do you want, Hannah?” Sally asked, arriving with their coffee just in time to hear the comment.

“Stuffin’ Muffins. Andrea wants to bake them for Thanksgiving.”

“No problem. I’ll run a copy and you can have it. It’s so easy, even ...” Sally stopped when Hannah gave her a warning glance. “I shouldn’t say it. It’s not that my sous chefs are dumb. It’s just that only one of them knows how to bake.”

Hannah smiled. She knew that what Sally had been about to say was, It’s so easy, even Andrea can do it. Thanks to Sally’s quick thinking, she’d stopped in midsentence and then implied that her sous chefs couldn’t bake!

“Speaking of baking, my other chef tried a new cake this afternoon.” She turned to Hannah. “You were there, as a matter of fact.”

Hannah was puzzled for a moment, but then she remembered Sally’s two thumbs up gesture. “Was that the Pucker Up Lemon Cake?”

“That’s right. I tried a sliver a few minutes ago and I liked it a lot, but I’d like a Swensen family opinion.”

“I’ll order a piece for dessert,” Delores offered. “Lemon’s my second favorite flavor ... after chocolate, of course.”

“You don’t have to order it. I’ll send a sample piece to the table.”

“And we’ll all taste it,” Hannah promised, not even bothering to check with her mother and sisters. She knew they were all in agreement that any sweet treat that came out of Sally’s kitchen was bound to be wonderful.





STUFFIN’ MUFFINS

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





4 ounces salted butter (1 stick, 8 Tablespoons, ? pound)

? cup finely chopped onion (you can buy this chopped or chop it yourself)

? cup finely chopped celery

? cup chopped apple (core, but do not peel before chopping)

1 teaspoon powdered sage

1 teaspoon powdered thyme

1 teaspoon ground oregano

8 cups herb stuffing (the kind in cubes that you buy in the grocery store—you can also use plain bread cubes and add a quarter-teaspoon more of ground sage, thyme, and oregano)