Devil's Food Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #14)(25)

“How about that trifle?” Norman asked. “Is it difficult to make?”

The time to be generous was over. Hannah gave a little shrug. “It’s not difficult for me,” she said pointedly.

“I didn’t figure it was. You can bake anything. I just want to know what sort of baking’s involved.”

“It starts with a sponge cake,” she said quite honestly, but then temptation overtook her. “Do you think Doctor Bev could bake one of those?”

“Not on a bet!”

“Well…I could give you my recipe for sponge cake if you think she’d like to work on it,” Hannah offered, deliberately sounding doubtful. She certainly wasn’t about to tell Norman that the assembly time for the trifle was only fifteen to twenty minutes, there was no baking required, and you could buy the sponge cake along with all the other ingredients.

“Never mind. Bev burns everything she tries to bake, and it would probably depress her. She just hates it if she can’t master something.”

“Okay,” Hannah said, wondering how long Norman would stand here in his shirt sleeves. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked him again.

“No. It’s just good being alone with you, Hannah. How about if I drop by The Cookie Jar tomorrow?”

“Sure. You’re always welcome at The Cookie Jar.”

“Morning? Or afternoon?”

“Right between the two.” Hannah decided quickly. “I’ve got a ton of baking to do in the morning, and then I have a couple of deliveries to make in the afternoon.”

“Is noon okay? I’ve got a patient at eleven-thirty, but it’s just a quick checkup.”

“Noon is fine. See you then.” Hannah took a few steps toward her cookie truck, but when she turned to give a final wave, she noticed that Norman was still standing there as motionless as a statue. “Go inside before you turn into an icicle, Norman. It’s below zero out here.”

“Right,” Norman said with a quick bob of his head. He shivered once, as if he’d just noticed how cold it was, and then he walked quickly back to the door, pulled it open, and stepped into the heated interior.

“Oh, boy!” Hannah breathed, opening her truck and sliding in on a plastic seat cover that seemed even colder than the air outside. Norman was really preoccupied if he hadn’t even noticed the cold. There was something else she’d noticed, too. A worry line he’d never had before was forming between his eyebrows. Something was very wrong and she didn’t have a clue what it was.

Hannah started her truck, cranked the heat up all the way, and turned up the fake fur collar on her parka while she waited for the windshield to defrost. Yes, something was definitely wrong with Norman. Could that be why he wanted to see her alone tomorrow afternoon? Did he intend to tell her what it was?





MINI MAC COOKIES

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Hannah’s 1st Note: These cookies are called “mini” for two reasons. They’re made in small (mini) cupcake papers or mini muffin tins, and they have mini chocolate chips in them. “Mac” is appropriate because they’re macaroons.

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk—I used Eagle Brand)





2 teaspoons vanilla extract





2 seven-ounce packages flaked coconut (that’s approx. 5 and ? cups)





2 cups mini chocolate chips (12-oz. package—I used Nestle)





Hannah’s 2nd Note: I always chop my coconut flakes a little finer in my food processor with the steel blade. If you don’t have a food processor, you can lay it out on a cutting board and chop it with a sharp knife.

Prepare your baking sheets. You can use mini size paper baking cups (1 and 5/8 inches diagonally, the size that will fit into a mini muffin pan), the mini muffin pan without baking cups, or cookie sheets. If you use the baking cups, just set them in the muffin pan. If you use the mini muffin pan without baking cups, spray it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then flour it, OR use baking spray which already contains the flour. If you use cookie sheets, line them with heavy duty foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray and flour it, or simply use a baking spray that contains flour.

Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and empty the contents into a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract and stir it in.

Measure out your coconut, chop it a bit finer with your food processor or a knife and stir it into the bowl. (It’s easier if you add the coconut a half-cup at a time.)

Add your mini chocolate chips to the bowl, stirring them in as thoroughly as you can. (The goal here is to get some chocolate chips in every single Mini Mac Cookie.)

If you’re using baking cups, drop some cookie dough inside with a teaspoon and press it down lightly with a wet fingertip. (This dough is sticky!) Since these cookies don’t rise, you can fill the baking cup very close to the top.

If you’re using mini muffin tins without the baking cups, simply use a teaspoon to fill them up and press down slightly with a wet fingertip. They’ll look best if they’re a little mounded on top.

If you’re using greased and floured (or sprayed with baking spray) cookie sheets, drop the dough by teaspoons onto the sheet and press them down slightly with a wet fingertip. Since these cookies don’t spread out, you can get 16 to 20 on each cookie sheet.