Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(77)

Lonnie didn’t want for a second invitation. He tucked his feet up on the rungs of his stool while Hannah and Michelle made a beeline for the counter and hopped up.

They hadn’t been in position for more than a second before the feline racing team of Swensen and Rhodes roared around the corner and careened into the kitchen.

“Whoa!” Lonnie exclaimed, rocking a bit on his stool as Moishe crashed into the table leg, skidded on three legs, recovered his balance, and raced off after the blur that was Cuddles.

“How fast do you think they were going?” Norman asked Mike.

“I don’t know. Too bad I didn’t bring the radar gun. Where are they now?”

“Anywhere they want to be,” Hannah said with a laugh. “I think it’s the den, but ... feet up! Here they come again.”

The two cats dashed into the kitchen for the second time, and there was a flying hurdle, a near-miss collision, several yowls, and then both cats rammed into the table leg closest to Mike. The table shook with the force of the blow and teetered on its legs. Mike reached out to grab his plate, but it was too late.

“No!” Mike yelped as his plate hit the floor and the steak slid off. And then, before any of the four of them could grasp what was happening, Moishe grabbed the steak in his mouth and tore off after Cuddles who was speeding toward the doorway.

There was a long moment of silence as the scrabbling sound of cat claws digging into expensive carpeting faded into the distance. The cats were gone, and so was the remainder of Mike’s steak.

They simply stared at each other for a moment, and then Norman broke the silence. “Do you think ... ?” and his voice trailed off.

“Oh, yes,” Hannah replied to his half-formed question. “I’m almost sure of it.”

Lonnie nodded, looking a bit dazed. “They planned it, didn’t they?”

“I believe they did,” Michelle said with a grin. “When it didn’t work the first time, they went back to regroup, and then they tried it again.”

“Well, I’ll be!” Mike said, just shaking his head. “Do you think I should go and try to get it back from them? I mean, I don’t want it, but it’s the principle of the thing.”

“Cats don’t understand principles,” Hannah told him.

“Don’t bother unless you’ve got some kitty handcuffs in your pocket,” Norman advised.

“But where did they go?” Lonnie asked. “I don’t hear a thing now.”

“They’re somewhere safe,” Hannah answered him.

“Like under my bed, gnawing on that steak bone,” Norman added. “They won’t come out until they’re good and ready.”

“But what should we do about it?” Mike asked.

“We should have dessert,” Hannah answered him. “I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee, and Michelle can get out some of Norman’s cookies. There’s plenty since she made a double batch.”

Mike looked upset. “So we’re just going to let them get away with it?”

“Of course not,” Hannah said, biting back a grin. “ When they finish the steak and come out from under the bed, you can have a cop-to-cat talk with them.”





CHEESE AND GREEN CHILES BISCUITS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F., rack in the middle position.





3 and ? cups all purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar (this is important)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

? cup salted softened butter (1 stick, 4 ounces, ? pound)





1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 can (4 ounces) diced green chiles, drained and patted dry with a paper towel (I used Ortega Diced Green Chiles)

2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

1 cup sour cream (8 ounces)

? cup whole milk

? cup shredded cheddar cheese





FIRST STEP



Use a medium-size mixing bowl to combine the flour, salt, cream of tartar, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir them all up together. Cut in the salted butter just as you would for piecrust dough.



Hannah’s 1st Note: If you have a food processor, you can use it for the first step. Cut ? cup COLD salted butter into 8 chunks. Layer them with the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. Process with the steel blade until the mixture has the texture of cornmeal. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl and proceed to the second step.



SECOND STEP



Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and the drained, chopped green chiles. Mix everything up thoroughly.



Add the beaten eggs and the sour cream, in that order. Mix everything all up together.



Add the milk and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.



THIRD STEP



Drop the biscuits by Tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, 12 biscuits to a sheet.



Hannah’s 2nd Note: I use an air-bake cookie sheet lined with parchment paper when I bake these. I measured the cookie sheet and it’s 14 inches by 15 and ? inches. It works perfectly for 12 large biscuits. If you want smaller biscuits, use 2 cookie sheets and make your biscuits smaller. If you have only one oven, bake one sheet on the upper rack and the other sheet on the lower rack, switching places halfway through the baking time.