Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(79)

She was almost to her cookie truck when she heard someone calling her name. Hannah turned and saw Sue Plotnik putting Kevin into his car seat.

“Hi, Sue.” Hannah walked over to greet her. “You’re out early.”

“Not really. We have to be at Kiddie Korner by noon, and I need to stop to pick up some cookies for story time.”

“Cookies? Consider yourself stopped. I’ve got three dozen Triplet Chiplet Cookies in the back of the truck if you want them.”

“You bet I want them!” Sue finished buckling Kevin in and waited for Hannah to come back with the cookies. “Thanks for the job, Hannah. I just adore it. We’re having so much fun, it’s almost a crime Janice pays us.”

“She needs you, Sue. The last time I dropped in on her at Kiddie Korner, she was really stressed out.”

“I know. Sometimes it’s not the work. It’s just that you need another adult to talk to. Being around children as your only companions all day is…well…it’s wearing. But there’s two of us now, and we’re having a really good time.”

“I can believe it.” Hannah smiled at her downstairs neighbor.

“There’s something new every day, especially at Show and Tell time. You wouldn’t believe what some of the kids say!”

“Tell me,” Hannah said. If she was a bit late, it wouldn’t matter, and it was wonderful seeing Sue so happy and energetic.

“Well…the first day I started, Sonny Newberg got up and said, Mom had a big fight with Uncle Tad because he didn’t pay back the money for Nikki’s flowers. Mom said he shouldn’t buy flowers for a bimbo like that. What’s a bimbo, Mrs. Plotnik?”

Hannah just shook her head. It sounded as if Tad Newberg’s sister-in-law didn’t approve of the girl he was dating. “What in the world do you say to a question like that?”

“I just said I wasn’t sure what his mother had meant, and then I asked him about flowers and what kind he liked best. A couple of the other kids told me which flowers they thought were the prettiest, and then somebody else got up to tell about going to the Minnesota Zoo. Kids are fairly easy to distract at that age.”

“Car go, Mommy!”

Hannah and Sue turned to look at Kevin, who was twisting the little steering wheel attached to his car seat.

“I think he’s getting impatient,” Hannah said.

“Definitely impatient. I’d better go, Hannah. I’m going to be at work early because of your cookies.” Sue shut the back door of her car and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Thanks again, Hannah…for everything.”

Hannah got into her cookie truck and followed Sue up the ramp and out of the parking garage. It was good to know that something she’d arranged had gone well. Now all she had to do was solve Ronni’s murder, lose enough weight to fit into the dress for her mother’s book launch party, and pretend that it didn’t matter at all that Mike was a skunk.





TRIPLET CHIPLET COOKIES

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



2 cups melted butter (4 sticks, one pound)

3 cups white (granulated) sugar 1? cups brown sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 4 beaten eggs (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

5 cups flour (not sifted—pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 cup white chocolate chips (6-ounce package)

1 cup milk chocolate chips (6-ounce package)

1 cup semi-sweet (the regular kind) chocolate chips (6-ounce package)

2 cups chopped salted cashews



Hannah’s 1st Note: If you can’t find white chocolate chips, you can substitute butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or any other chips you like.



Melt the butter by heating it in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 3 minutes, or in a pan on the stove.



Hannah’s 2nd Note: This dough gets really stiff—you might be better off using an electric mixer if you have one.



Mix the white sugar and the brown sugar with the butter. Add the vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.



Feel the bowl. If it’s not so hot it’ll cook the eggs, add them now and mix well.



Add 2 cups of the flour and stir well. Then add the chips, and the chopped nuts. Mix it thoroughly.



Add the 3 remaining cups of flour, and stir them in well.



Drop by rounded teaspoons onto greased (or sprayed with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray) cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. If the dough is too sticky to handle, chill it for an hour and try again.



Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned. (Mine took 11 minutes.)



Let the cookies cool for two minutes, and then remove them from the baking sheets. Transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.



Yield: Approximately 10 to 12 dozen crunchy, nutty, chocolaty cookies that everyone will love.



This recipe can be cut in half if you wish.





Chapter Twenty-Seven




Her cell phone rang just as she exited the condo complex, and Hannah pulled over on the side of the road to answer it. “This is Hannah.”