Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(24)

“Come on, Moishe. It’s time for bed.” Hannah flicked off the lights and headed to the bedroom. “It’s going to be an even longer day tomorrow.”

Five minutes later, her teeth were brushed, her face was washed, and she was dressed in the oversized sweats she always wore for pajamas when the mercury dipped below freezing. She climbed under the covers and gave a long sigh. Alone again.

She was in the throes of feeling terribly sorry for herself when Moishe jumped up on the other pillow and started to purr. It was such a comforting, soothing sound that it made Hannah smile as she drifted off to sleep.





MINI CHEESEBURGER COOKIES

DO NOT preheat oven—these cookies don’t need to bake.

FOR THE BUNS:

12-ounce box round vanilla wafers (I used Nilla Wafers)

FOR THE HAMBURGER PATTIES:

approximately 3 dozen slightly larger round chocolate-covered cookies (I used 2 packages of Keebler Fudge Shoppe Caramel Filled Cookies—18 cookies to a package)***

FOR THE SHREDDED LETTUCE:

1/2 cup shredded coconut (pack it down when you measure it)

green food coloring

FOR THE CHEESE AND THE KETCHUP:

1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick, 4 ounces,

1/4 pound) at room temperature

1/4 cup milk (2 ounces)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

16-ounce (1 pound) box powdered sugar (approximately 3? cups)

yellow food coloring

red food coloring

FOR THE TOP OF THE BUN:

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 egg white



Prepare your shredded “lettuce” first. It will need time to air dry. Dump the coconut into a large plastic Ziploc bag. Hold the bag open and add three drops of green food coloring to the coconut. Squeeze out some of the air and seal the bag.



Toss the coconut around inside the bag. Squeeze it, play catch with it, roll it around on the counter, whatever. The object is to evenly color the coconut. Once it’s a uniform color, decide if it’s the color of lettuce. If it’s too light, add a few more drops of green food coloring and repeat the mixing process until you think it’s right.



Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and dump out the green-coated coconut. Use a spoon to spread it out as evenly as you can. Let it sit out on the counter to dry, stirring it around every so often.



Once the coconut is dry, it’s time to assemble your cookies.



Line another cookie sheet with wax paper. Lay out 40 vanilla wafers, rounded side up.



In the bowl of a stand mixer, or simply in a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, milk, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. If you’re using a stand mixer, beat on LOW for 2 minutes. If you’re using a handheld mixer, beat on LOW for 3 minutes. If you’re mixing by hand, use a wooden spoon and beat like crazy for 4 minutes, or until the frosting is smooth, with no lumps.



Divide the frosting into two parts, using your original bowl and another bowl. Add three drops of yellow food coloring to the first bowl and mix it in thoroughly. If it’s not bright yellow, add a few more drops of food coloring, mixing them in until it is. This frosting will be the cheese for the Mini Cheeseburger Cookies. 83



Add three drops of red food coloring to the second bowl and mix it in thoroughly. If it’s not bright red, add a few more drops, mixing them in until it’s the color of ketchup.



With a rubber spatula or a frosting knife, spread the curved side of a vanilla wafer with red frosting. Pile it up around the rims of the wafers so it will form flat beds for the “hamburgers.”



Place a chocolate-covered cookie, faceup, on top of the red frosting on the wafer. Press the chocolate-covered cookie down slightly so it’ll stick to the frosting.



Frost the top of the chocolate-covered cookie with yellow frosting. Use just a bit too much so it’ll drip over the sides of the “hamburger” like melted cheese.



Sprinkle on some green coconut “lettuce.” It’ll look more realistic if you let a few strands stick out on the sides.



Clamp on the second vanilla wafer, rounded side up. Now your Mini Cheeseburger Cookie is complete, except for the sesame seeds on the bun.



Repeat until you run out of “buns” or “hamburgers.”



Whip up the egg white in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the vanilla wafers. Sprinkle on a few sesame seeds, and you’re finished.



Let the cookies dry thoroughly. Once dry, they will keep just fine in a loosely covered container until it’s time to serve them.



Hannah’s Note: There’s a photo of the Mini Cheeseburger Cookies on Jo Fluke’s Web site. The address is: www.MurderSheBaked.com, and the photo is on the “Recipe” page.





Chapter Eight




Morning came much too early for Hannah. She was experiencing the loveliest dream, all about frothy milkshakes in peach, strawberry, blueberry, and lemon, dancing Viennese waltzes with dozens of handsome chocolate-dipped biscotti. It was a wedding, or perhaps it was a book launch party. She really couldn’t tell which. The guests, in formal clothing, were chatting merrily, eagerly waiting their turn to capture their favorite refreshment as it dipped and whirled past. Of course she knew it was a dream. Milkshakes couldn’t dance, with or without chocolate-covered biscotti, but the beauty of dreams was that they were impervious to logic.