Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(64)

“In the shower, hanging on a hanger. I was going to rinse out some towels and I figured the shower was the quickest way to do it. And there it was, as big as you please.”

Hannah covered her eyes with her hands. It was a pose of abject embarrassment, and it was precisely how she was feeling. She hadn’t thought of it at the time, but now she remembered hanging it there herself after someone had come in the back door and tossed a very wet, snow-covered parka over hers on the rack.

“I did that,” she admitted. “And then I forgot all about it.” She turned to Delores. “I apologize, Mother. I thought maybe you ... but I was wrong.”

“You thought I stole your parka so that I could buy you one that I liked better?” Delores asked, but she looked much more amused than angry.

“Well ... yes. That’s what I thought. But it was just a fleeting thought. Really it was.”

“I know how much you love your old parka,” Delores said. “Do you want me to try to return the new one?”

“No! Don’t do that!” Hannah stopped and gave a sheepish grin. “I love my new parka. It’s perfect for me. It makes me feel special, and loved, and ... I’ve never had a parka that made me feel that way before.”

“That’s wonderful, dear.” Delores gave a little smile. “Now the only question is, what are you going to do with your old parka?”

“I’m going to ask you to take it back to Helping Hands, Mother. It’s not in any worse shape than it was when I bought it. Maybe someone else can use it.”

“Nice idea,” Delores said, giving her daughter an approving nod. “And don’t forget to take the charity write-off when Stan does your income tax. I’m sure Helping Hands will value it at least a nickel, maybe even as much as a dime.”





APPLE CINNAMON WHIPPERSNAPPERS

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





For the Cookies:





1 large egg

2 cups Cool Whip (measure this – Andrea said her tub of Cool Whip contained a little over 3 cups.)

cup apple pie filling (Andrea uses Comstock)

1 package (approximately 18 ounces) spice cake mix (Andrea used Betty Crocker)





For Rolling Cookie Balls:





? cup powdered (confectioners) sugar

? teaspoon ground cinnamon





Prepare your cookie sheets by spraying them with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or lining them with parchment paper, which you then spray with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.



First of all, chill 2 teaspoons from your silverware drawer by sticking them in the freezer. You want them really icy cold. This will make it lot easier to form the cookies after the dough is mixed.



Whisk the egg in a large mixing bowl.



Measure out 2 cups of Cool Whip and stir them into the egg.



Place the cup of apple pie filling in a small bowl. Cut the apples with a sharp knife until they’re in quarter-inch pieces. (The object here is to make small enough pieces so that you’ll get some apple in every cookie.)



Add the apples to the mixing bowl and stir them in by hand. Mix very gently and don’t over-stir. You don’t want to stir all the air out of the Cool Whip.



Sprinkle the cake mix over the top of your mixing bowl. Fold it in very gently, mixing only until everything is combined. The object here is to keep as much air in the cookie batter as possible.



Place the ? cup of powdered sugar in a separate small bowl (you don’t have to sift it unless it’s got big lumps).



Add the cinnamon to the bowl and stir it all up with a fork. Mix until the cinnamon is thoroughly combined with the sugar.



Drop the cookie dough by chilled and rounded teaspoonfuls into the bowl of powdered sugar and cinnamon. Roll the cookie dough ball around in the bowl with your fingers to coat it on all sides.



Hannah’s 1st Note: Roll only one cookie dough ball at a time. If you roll too many, they’ll stick together and you’ll have a real mess. This dough is very sticky, so you must keep your fingers coated with the sugar-cinnamon mixture.



Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you’re really having trouble with the sticky dough, refrigerate your mixing bowl and dough for one hour. Then take it out and try it again. If you do this, don’t forget to turn off your oven. You can preheat it again a few minutes before you take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator.



Place each coated cookie dough ball on the cookie sheets you’ve prepared, 12 cookies to each standard-size sheet.



Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are firm to the touch when tapped very lightly on the top with a fingertip.



When the cookies have baked, take them out of the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.



Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you used parchment paper, all you have to do is wait 2 minutes and then pull the whole sheet onto a wire cooling rack. Just leave the Apple Cinnamon Whippersnappers on the parchment paper until they’re cool, and then simply peel them off.