Devil's Food Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #14)(71)

“It’s the outside light,” Hannah explained, coming over to take his coat. “I petitioned the association to move the light so my visitors’ faces aren’t in shadow. They approved it, but the handyman hasn’t been around to do it yet.”

“I’ll do it on my day off,” Mike promised.

“But you don’t have to …”

“I want to. I want you safe, Hannah. It’s after eleven at night. You should know who it is before you open the door. Besides, I’m law enforcement, and that means I’m responsible for your safety and well-being. I have a vested interest in keeping you around.”

“Oh, really?” Hannah said as Mike moved closer. She tried to keep it casual, but she knew what was coming and her voice shook slightly. “What’s that?”

“I’ll show you.”

Before Hannah could do more than draw in her breath, Mike pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

It felt good to be loved, even by the man she was almost convinced was wrong for her. He’d been dating Doctor Bev, and he hadn’t even mentioned it to her. Of course he also hadn’t mentioned the other women he’d dated, like Shawna Lee Quinn, her sister Vanessa, and Ronni Ward. Then again Norman, who she suspected was right for her, had been up-front about taking Bev out to dinner when Hannah had a date with Mike. Except tonight. Tonight Norman had betrayed her, and …

Hannah stopped thinking. Mike’s kiss was too compelling to spoil with thoughts of anything but him and how very good it felt to be loved, even if it wasn’t forever.





STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD BAR COOKIES

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

Hannah’s 1st Note: These are really easy and fast to make. Almost everyone loves them, including Baby Bethie, and they’re not even chocolate!

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





? cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar (don’t sift unless it’s got big lumps)





1 and ? cups salted butter, softened (3 sticks, 12 ounces, ? pound)





1 can (21 ounces) strawberry pie filling (I used Comstock)***





*** - If you can’t find strawberry pie filling, you can use another berry filling, like raspberry, or blueberry. You can also use pie fillings of larger fruits like peach, apple, or whatever. If you do that, cut the fruit pieces into smaller pieces so that each bar cookie will have some. I just put my apple or peach pie filling in the food processor with the steel blade and zoop it up just short of being pureed. I’m not sure about using lemon pie filling. I haven’t tried that yet.

FIRST STEP: Mix the flour and the powdered sugar together in a medium-sized bowl.

Cut in the softened butter with a two knives or a pastry cutter until the resulting mixture resembles bread crumbs or coarse corn meal.

(You can also do this in a food processor using cold butter cut into chunks that you layer between the powdered sugar and flour mixture and process with the steel blade, using an on-and-off pulsing motion.)

Spread HALF of this mixture (approximately 3 cups will be fine) into a greased (or sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray) 9-inch by 13-inch pan. (That’s a standard size rectangular cake pan.)

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown.

Remove the pan to a wire rack or a cold burner on the stove, but DON’T TURN OFF THE OVEN!

Let the crust cool for 5 minutes.

SECOND STEP: Spread the pie filling over the top of the crust you just baked.

Sprinkle the crust with the other half of the crust mixture you saved. Try to do this as evenly as possible. Don’t worry about little gaps in the topping. It will spread out and fill in a bit as it bakes.

Gently press the top crust down with the flat blade of a metal spatula.

Bake the cookie bars at 350 degrees F. for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden.

Turn off the oven and remove the pan to a wire rack or a cold burner to cool completely.

When the bars are completely cool, cover the pan with foil and refrigerate them until you’re ready to cut them.

(Chilling them makes them easier to cut.)

When you’re ready to serve them, cut the Strawberry Shortbread Bar Cookies into brownie-sized pieces, arrange them on a pretty platter, and if you like, sprinkle the top with extra powdered sugar.





Chapter Twenty-Three

“You’ve got goose bumps,” Mike said, chuckling a bit as he reached out and shut the front door. “Sorry about that. I totally forgot the door was open.”

“That’s okay,” Hannah said, deciding not to mention that she hadn’t even noticed, and the icy air that was coming in the open door probably wasn’t the cause anyway. Since it would be very easy to go straight back into Mike’s arms again and continue right where they’d left off, she stepped back slightly and smiled at him. “Did you get a chance to have something for dinner?”

“No. I was going to stop by the Corner Tavern, but things got rushed at the station. Did you ask because you’re going to feed me? Or was it just a matter of curiosity?”

“When have I ever failed to feed you?” Hannah answered his question with another question.