Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(16)

Hannah tossed one more salmon-flavored treat into Moishe’s bowl and watched him dive in after it. Then she turned back to her cookie dough. The first time they’d tried to bake Pink Lemonade Cookies at The Cookie Jar, they’d discovered that the dough was a bit sticky and they’d simply refrigerated it until the next morning. Now Hannah decided to try another trick she’d learned. She was using a two-teaspoon scooper to scoop up the dough and transfer it to her cookie sheet. She ran a glass of water, placed the scooper in the glass to wet it, shook off the water and then attempted to form the cookies that way. It worked like a charm. Every time the dough began to stick to the scooper, she dipped it in the water again. Once the cookies were in the oven, she sat down at the kitchen table with a fresh cup of coffee to think about Barbara again.

As far as Hannah knew, Barbara had no enemies. Everybody that Hannah knew liked Barbara. She was a popular employee at the sheriff’s station, the members of the St. Jude Ladies Society relied on her, and she was a well-liked member of several other Lake Eden clubs. Barbara was helpful, courteous, and sweet. Hannah had never heard her utter a cross word to anyone. She lived modestly in the house she’d inherited from her parents and Hannah was sure that if she asked around, Barbara’s neighbors would all say they liked her. Yet someone had a motive for pushing Barbara off the roof. Whoever it was had wanted to kill her. There had to be a reason and Hannah knew she had to discover what that reason was.

Hannah flipped the cover on the brand new shorthand notebook she’d taken out of the drawer and carried it to the table. She stared at the blank page for a full minute and then she took a pen from the container that sat in the center of the table and wrote down a single word followed by a question mark. Motive? it read.
TICKLED PINK LEMONADE COOKIES

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

Hannah’s 1st Note: This recipe is from Lisa’s Aunt Nancy. It’s a real favorite down at The Cookie Jar because the cookies are different, delicious, and very pretty.

? cup salted, softened butter (1 stick, 4 ounces,

? pound) (do not substitute)

? cup white (granulated) sugar

? teaspoon baking powder

? teaspoon baking soda

1 large egg, beaten

cup frozen pink or regular lemonade concentrate,

thawed

3 drops of liquid red food coloring (I used

? teaspoon of Betty Crocker food color gel)

1 and ? cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the

cup when you measure it)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the softened butter with the sugar until the resulting mixture is light and fluffy.

Mix in the baking powder and baking soda. Beat until they’re well-combined.

Mix in the beaten egg and the lemonade concentrate.

Add 3 drops of red food coloring (or ? teaspoon of the food color gel, if you used that).

Add the flour, a half-cup or so at a time, beating after each addition. (You don’t have to be exact—just don’t put in all the flour at once.)

If the resulting cookie dough is too sticky to work with, refrigerate it for an hour or so. (Don’t forget to turn off your oven if you do this. You’ll have to preheat it again once you’re ready to bake.) Drop the cookies by teaspoonful, 2 inches apart, on an UNGREASED cookie sheet.

Bake the Tickled Pink Lemonade Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. (Mine took 11 minutes.)

Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Then use a metal spatula to remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

FROSTING FOR PINK LEMONADE COOKIES

2 Tablespoons salted butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar (no need to sift unless it’s

got big lumps)

2 teaspoons frozen pink or regular lemonade con-

centrate, thawed

3 to 4 teaspoons milk (water will also work for a

less creamy frosting)

2 drops red food coloring (or enough red food color

gel to turn the frosting pink)

Beat the butter and the powdered sugar together.

Mix in the lemonade concentrate.

Beat in the milk, a bit at a time, until the frosting is almost thin enough to spread, but not quite.

Mix in the 2 drops of red food coloring. Stir until the color is uniform.

If your frosting is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thick, add a bit more milk or water.

Frost the completely cooled cookies. When the frosting has hardened, you can store them in layers with waxed paper between the layers to keep them from sticking together.

Yield: Approximately 2 and 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on cookie size.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: When Mother and Carrie tasted these cookies down at The Cookie Jar, they decided that these cookies are as refreshing as a glass of icy cold lemonade on a hot summer afternoon.

To serve, arrange these cookies on a pretty plate.

Hannah’s 3rd Note: I used a sky blue plate when I took these cookies out to Barbara at the hospital. The pink of the cookies and the blue of the plate looked lovely together.

A Note from Lisa’s Aunt Nancy: I can see these cookies on a plate with snippets of the candied lemon slices we ate as children on top of the frosting.

Chapter Five


Barbara’s cookies were done. Hannah rinsed out her bowls, spoons, and spatulas and put them in the dishwasher. Once she’d filled the dispenser with detergent and shut the door again, she turned it on. Then she went back to her bedroom to get dressed.