Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(18)

Another trick we use at The Cookie Jar is to make half of the batch pink and the rest green for a pretty mix of cookies on the platter.



Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add the sugar and stir. Let it cool slightly. Then add the beaten eggs, baking soda, salt, and peppermint extract, stirring after each addition.



Add the red food coloring, stir it in, and then check the color of the dough. It should be bright pink. If the color’s too pale, add another drop or two of food coloring and stir it in thoroughly.



Add flour in one-cup increments, stirring after each one. The dough will be quite stiff.



Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. (Overnight is fine too.)



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



Place the 1/2 cup of white sugar in a small bowl.



Spray two cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Or use parchment paper to line the two cookie sheets.



Roll the chilled dough into walnut-sized balls. Roll the balls in the sugar so that the whole ball is coated.



Place the dough balls on the cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-size sheet. Press the balls down just a little with a metal spatula (or the palm of your impeccably clean hand) so they won’t roll off when you carry them to the oven.



Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They’ll flatten out the rest of the way all by themselves.



Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, and then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Once the cookies are cool, transfer them to sheets of wax paper and prepare to dip them in chocolate. (If you used parchment paper, you can frost them right on that.)

CHOCOLATE DIP

2 cups chocolate chips (12 ounces)

1 stick butter (1/2 cup, 1/4 pound)



Melt the chips and the butter in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 90 seconds. Stir to make sure the chips are melted. If not, heat in 20-second increments until you can stir them smooth.



Hannah’s Note: Keep this dip fairly hot so that it’s thin and it won’t glop up when you dip in the cookies. If it cools and thickens too much, just return it to the microwave for 10 seconds or so to heat it so it’s thinner.



Dip the cookies, one by one, so that one-third to one-fourth of the cookie is chocolate coated. Place the cookies back on the wax paper (or the parchment paper) faceup to dry and harden the chocolate.



When the chocolate dip is dry (approximately 1 hour), store the cookies between sheets of wax paper in a cool place.



Yield: approximately 8 dozen (depending on cookie size) pretty and tasty cookies.



These cookies can be frozen in single layers between wax paper.





Chapter Six




“What’ll it be, Hannah?” Florence stood behind the meat counter with a little white cap perched on her head. It reminded Hannah of the doilies her great-grandmother had used on the candle stands of the old pump organ that had stood in her parlor. “I’ve got a really nice pork roast.”

“It looks wonderful, but I don’t have time to cook it. Mike’s coming over at six for dinner.”

“Does Norman know that?”

Hannah bit back a sharp retort and reminded herself that in a town the size of Lake Eden, everybody knew everybody else’s business. “I don’t know if he does or not.” And then, because she was tired from her long day and more than a bit out of sorts, she zinged one in. “I guess you like dentists more than cops right now, right?”

Florence just looked at her for a moment, and then she started to laugh. “You nailed that, Hannah! I’m partial to Norman right now because he replaced one of my fillings for free.”

“So if you’d been robbed and Mike had recovered the money, you would have been partial to him?” Hannah pressed her point.

“Maybe so. In fact, I’m almost sure of it. And I guess that means they’re interchangeable?”

“Not interchangeable, but equal. You like them equally and you can’t choose between them in the big picture.”

“You’re right. But in the small picture, they keep bobbing up and down. One’s on top on one day, and the other’s on top on the next day.” Florence stopped speaking and gave Hannah an assessing look. “Is that how you feel about them?”

“It’s like my mother taught me…a woman never discusses her age or her love life.” She paused to let that sink in, and then she went on. “Unless, of course, she’s with a friend. And since you’re a friend, that’s exactly how I feel.”

“Then you should wait, Hannah. One has to be the clear winner.”

“I think you’re right. But let’s get back to the real problem. What am I going to make for dinner?”

“Sausage. That cooks in no time at all, especially if you get the precooked kind. Fix sausage and potato pancakes, and some of your cookies for dessert.”

“Sausage it is,” Hannah decided, “but potato pancakes aren’t quick and easy.”

“Yes, they are. Pick up a package of frozen hash browns. They’re already grated. Just chop them up so they’re in smaller pieces and follow your favorite recipe.”