Fudge Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #5)(63)

CORN COOKIES



Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position



2 cups white sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks, 1/2 pound)

1 egg

1 15-ounce (by weight) can mashed pumpkin (I used Libby's)

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup golden raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 cups flour (no need to sift)



package of candy corn



Melt the butter. Add the sugar and mix. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then stir in the egg. Add all of the rest of the ingredients except the flour, mixing after each addition. Add the flour, one cup at a time, and mix it thoroughly. Let the cookie dough sit for 5 minutes to "rest."



Drop by spoonful on a greased cookie sheet, 12 cookies per standard-size sheet. (If the dough is too sticky, refrigerate it for a few minutes to firm it up.) Flatten the cookies with a greased spatula. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes.



When the cookies come out of the oven, leave them on the cookie sheets and immediately press pieces of candy corn on top as a design. Do this right away, so that the candy will stick after the cookies have cooled.***



Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.



Yield: 6 to 7 dozen, depending on cookie size.



***If you fail to put on the candy corn when the cookies are still hot from the oven, all is not lost. You can put it on later using a little dab of powdered sugar frosting (powdered sugar with a tiny bit of milk) as "glue."



Tracey’s friends really loved these cookies and they all offered to help me decorate them next year.





Chapter Twenty-Three





"She didn't!" Andrea was still sputtering when Hannah came back to the room after hanging Tracey's costume in the closet.

"She did. As I recall her description was, the most marvelous, sophisticated man. She even compared him to an older version of Kenneth Branagh. I could be wrong, but she sounded pretty smitten to me."

"Smitten? You mean, like… in love?"

"I'm not sure about love, but she was a lot more than just politely interested."

Andrea gave an exasperated sigh. "Just what I need! Honestly, Hannah, I've never felt so helpless in my life. Here I am swelling up like a toad and I'm confined to this you-know-what couch while Mother's running around town with a gigolo!"

"What's a gigolo, Mommy?" Tracey asked, coming into the living room in time to hear Andrea's last comment.

"Tracey! I didn't know you were there. Um…" Andrea turned to Hannah with a desperate look in her eyes. "Aunt Hannah will tell you what it is."

"It's an Italian word for a man who is skilled at socializing with other people, especially women."

"Oh," Tracey said and she looked wise beyond her years. "You must be talking about Winthrop."

"You know Winthrop?" Both Andrea and Hannah asked the question, almost in tandem.

"No, but he called the last time I was at Grandma's. He said something funny because Grandma's face turned all red and she giggled."

"Mother giggled," Hannah repeated, giving Andrea a look before she turned back to Tracey. "Do you happen to know Winthrop's last name?"

"Harrington. I can spell it."

"That would be good, honey," Andrea said, glancing at Hannah who was already digging in her shoulder bag purse for her notebook.

Hannah wrote down the name, and then she asked the obvious question. "How did you know how to spell it?"

"It was on the flowers."

"What flowers?" Andrea and Hannah asked simultaneously.

"The ones Grandma got. Are you mad? I know I'm not supposed to snoop."

Hannah glanced at Andrea, who was fighting valiantly to keep a straight face. "Your mother's not mad this time, but you really aren't supposed to read things like that. When a man sends a woman flowers, the card is meant to be private."

"I know," Tracey said with a sigh, "but I had to know if Winthrop was after Grandma's money."

Andrea looked shocked. "What made you think that Winthrop might be after her money?"

"I saw it on television, Mommy."

"So you think Winthrop might be a criminal?" Hannah asked.

"I don't know. All I did was read his card. It'd be naughty to tell you what it said."

"Not necessarily," Andrea blurted out. "I mean, if Winthrop is a criminal, Aunt Hannah and I should know so that we can protect Grandma."

Tracey looked confused. "So the rules about snooping change sometimes?"

"Yes," Andrea said, glancing over at Hannah. "Aunt Hannah will explain."

Hannah muttered under her breath. If she were to be absolutely truthful, she'd have to tell Tracey that the rules changed every time her mother and her aunt really wanted to know something. "The rules do change. Maybe they shouldn't, but they do. It's very complicated and I don't want to get into that right now."