Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(81)

“Shall I pack them up so we can take them out to the hospital today?”

“Sure. We should do a little more snooping around out there anyway. If we talk to the right person, maybe we can learn something new.”

The phone rang, and Hannah reached up, grabbed the wall phone over her head, and answered, “Hello?”

“Hello, dear,” her mother’s cheerful voice greeted her. “I’m here at the hospital and we wanted to know if you and Michelle would like to join us for Sunday brunch at the Inn.”

Hannah thought about it for a nanosecond. Two bran cookies, no matter how tasty, did not a breakfast make. “We’d love to. Thanks for asking, Mother. But who’s we?”

“Doc, Marlene, Vonnie, and me. I’m going to call Andrea, too. She said that Bill’s going out to the station today, and she loves Sally’s brunch.”

“We all love Sally’s brunch,” Hannah said, and as she did so, visions of popovers swimming in butter and freshly made preserves danced through Hannah’s head. They were followed by crisp strips of bacon that twirled like prima ballerinas, succulent sausages strutting their stuff, pancakes as light as a feather wheeling up like doves toward the sky, and homemade crullers rolling like wheels on a path to her plate.

“Bring your murder book,” Delores reminded her. “Vonnie checked Buddy in, and she remembers something that might help you. And Marlene was with him part of the time in the hospital. She could have new information for us.”

“There’s Doc, too. He may know something new.”

“He doesn’t,” Delores said.

Her mother answered so fast, Hannah frowned. “How do you know that?”

“If Doc knew something new, he would have told me. He doesn’t have any secrets from me.”

“Really?”

“No. Well ... not unless it involves a patient. Then it’s confidential. Meet us at ten-thirty in the lobby, dear. And do dress up a little. It is Sunday, you know.”





DOC’S BRAN-OATMEAL-RAISIN COOKIES

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





? cup raisins (either regular or golden, your choice)

? cup boiling water

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

? cup brown sugar (pack it down when you mea- sure it)

? cup (1 and ? sticks, 6 ounces) salted butter, softened to room temperature

2 large eggs

? teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

? teaspoon grated nutmeg (freshly grated is best)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 and ? cups dry quick oatmeal (I used Quaker Quick 1-Minute)

2 cups bran flake cereal





Place ? cup of raisins in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup or a small bowl that can tolerate boiling water without cracking.



Pour the ? cup boiling water over the raisins in the cup. Stir a bit with a fork so they don’t stick together, and then leave them, uncovered, on the counter to plump up.



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



Hannah’s 1st Note: This cookie dough is a lot easier to make if you use an electric mixer.



Place the cup of white sugar in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Add the half-cup of brown sugar. Mix them together until they’re a uniform color.



Place the softened butter in the mixer bowl and beat it together with the sugars until the mixture is nice and fluffy.



Mix in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.



Add the salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Beat until the mixture is smooth and well incorporated.



On LOW speed, add the flour, one-half cup at a time, beating after each addition. Continue to beat until everything is well blended.



Drain the raisins by dumping them in a strainer. Throw away any liquid that remains, then gently pat the raisins dry with a paper towel.



With the mixer running on LOW speed, add the raisins to the cookie dough.



With the mixer remaining on LOW speed, add the dry oatmeal in half-cup increments, mixing after each increment.



Turn the mixer OFF, and let the dough rest while you prepare the bran flakes.



Measure 2 cups of bran flake cereal and place them in a 1-quart freezer bag. Roll the bag up from the bottom, getting out as much air as possible, and then seal it with the bran flakes inside.



Squeeze the bran flakes with your fingers, crushing them inside the bag. Place the bag on the counter and squash the bran flakes with your hands. Once they’re in fairly small pieces, take the bag over to the mixer.



Turn the mixer on LOW speed. Open the bag and add the crushed bran flakes to your cookie dough, mixing until they’re well incorporated.



Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and give the bowl a final stir by hand.



Drop the dough by rounded Tablespoonfuls (use a Tablespoon from your silverware drawer, not one you’d use for measuring ingredients) onto your prepared cookie sheet. There should be 12 cookie dough mounds on every standard-size cookie sheet.