Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(15)

"Thanks, but I can't think of anything I..." Hannah stopped speaking as her neck gave a twinge. She reached up to rub it and sighed. "There is one thing. Remember when we went shopping last year and I bought that new pillow?"

"The goose-down?"

"That's the one. I need a second pillow just like it."

Andrea's eyes narrowed. "But you already have one. Does that mean you're contemplating ... uh ... sleepover company?"

"No, it just means that Moishe keeps stealing it. And every time he does, I wake up with a stiff neck. I'm going to give him mine and get a new one for myself."

"You really ought to train him not to do that."

"That's impossible. Cats train their owners, not the other way around. It took Moishe a whole year, but he's trained me to buy a new pillow."

Andrea laughed. "Okay. I'll pick one up for you, but it might be expensive. The last time I priced them, they were over fifty dollars."

Hannah sighed. She'd forgotten that goose-down was that expensive. She didn't really want to shell out an extra fifty dollars, but it would be worth it for a pain-free neck. "Just get it, whatever it costs. I can spend fifty dollars for a pillow, or I can spend fifty dollars for a chiropractor. At least with a pillow, I won't have to go back for another adjustment."

Almond Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees R, with rack in middle position.

1 !/2 cups melted butter (3 sticks)

2 cups white sugar (granulated) 1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract 1/8 cup molasses (2 tablespoons) 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt (if you use salted almonds, cut the salt to l/2 teaspoon)

1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds (grind them up

in your food processor with the steel blade— they don't have to be blanched)

2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork) 4 cups flour (no need to sift)

13 oz. bag Hershey's Kisses (or small squares of milk chocolate)

Microwave the butter in your mixing bowl to melt it. Add the sugar, the vanilla, the almond flavoring,





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and the molasses. Stir until it's blended, then add the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Grind up the almonds in your food processor. Measure after grinding. Add them to the bowl and mix. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir. Then add the flour and mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended.

Let the dough firm up for a few minutes. Then form it into walnut-sized balls and arrange them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet.

Cut the Hershey's Kisses in half (from the top down, so that each half has a point and a base). Press the halves into the middle of your cookie balls, cut side down. They'll look pretty on top as a yummy decoration. If you want to splurge a little, press a whole Hershey's Kiss into the center of the dough ball, base down and point sticking up. (If you do splurge, you 'II need double the amount ofHershey 's Kisses. If your kids help you unwrap the Kisses, you should probably triple the amount!)





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Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. (Don't worry— the Hershey's Kisses won't melt.) Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: 10 to 12 dozen cookies, depending on cookie size. (If that's too many, just cut the whole recipe in half. And if you have any Kisses left over, the baker deserves a treat!)

(Norman says these cookies taste the way he always wished marzipan would taste.)





Chapter Five

This is a nice location," Hannah commented, stopping

her truck as close to the front door as she could get.

"You can see the lake from here."

"You'll be able to see it even better when I prune the bottom branches on those pines." Norman hopped out of Hannah^ truck and opened the door for Delores.

"It's a nice little house," Delores said, taking Norman's arm and heading for the front door. "It's almost a pity to tear it down, but I suppose it's much too small for you with only two bedrooms. Once you make the smallest one into an office, there's no room at all for..."

"Houseguests," Hannah interjected quickly, shooting her mother a warning glance. Now was not the time to fish around for a proposal.

"Yes, guests," Delores looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, I'll go straight to work. I don't want to keep you two out here all afternoon."

Norman opened the front door. "I'd better turn on the lights so you can see better. The windows are small and it's fairly dark inside."

"The electricity's still on?" Hannah was surprised. She'd assumed that Rhonda had turned it off to save the expense.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 59

"I told Rhonda to switch it over to my name. I'll have it turned off on Saturday morning before the demolition crew gets here."

When Hannah stepped inside the house, she was pleasantly surprised. She'd expected to be assailed by the clouds of must and dust that inevitably gathered when a house was unoccupied, but the only odor she could detect was lemon-scented furniture polish. "It's so clean in here!"

"I know. That's why I didn't bother to change clothes." Delores glanced down at the pale yellow dress she was wearing. "Andrea told me that Rhonda had a cleaning woman."