Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(30)

“And you said the elevator screeches every time it arrives at the penthouse floor?”

“Yes. The reason I know is that Barbara came over to get a cupcake right before she went up to the penthouse. She said, I’m taking this up there with me just in case I get stuck in that little elevator. And then she went out and got in the elevator. Herb and I heard the screech when she got up there so we knew she didn’t get stuck.”

“And you said you heard another screech later, right before everyone went rushing to the windows.”

“That’s right. Somebody must have called for the elevator and gone up to the penthouse right before Barbara went off the roof. Otherwise the elevator wouldn’t have screeched.”
COFFEE AND CREAM COOKIES

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

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

1 cup brown sugar (pack it down when you

measure it)

1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks, 8 ounces,

? pound)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

? cup strong coffee (room temperature)

2 teaspoons instant coffee (I used instant espresso)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

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

cup when you measure it)

2 cups white chocolate chips (I used Nestle)

Approximately 50 to 60 white miniature marshmal-

lows (1 per Cookie)

Spray cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line them with parchment paper and spray that with nonstick cooking spray.

Hannah’s Note: This is easier with an electric mixer, but you can do it by hand if you wish.

Place the white sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat them together on LOW to combine.

Add the softened butter and mix it in on MEDIUM speed. Beat it until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Add the vanilla extract and strong coffee. Mix them in.

Mix in the instant coffee, salt and baking powder. Blend well.

Mix in the flour a half-cup at a time, beating after each addition.

Take the bowl out of the mixer and mix in the white chocolate chips by hand.

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheets, 12 mounds of dough to a standard-sized sheet. Use wet fingers to shape the dough mounds.

Press your impeccably clean thumb into the center of each dough mound. Fill the resulting indentation with a white miniature marshmallow. Press it down slightly.

Bake the Coffee and Cream Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned. (Mine took 11 minutes.)

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then remove them to a wire rack to complete cooling.

Yield: approximately 4 to 5 dozen tasty cookies, depending on cookie size.

Chapter Ten


The Coffee and Cream Cookies had been such a huge success, Hannah and Lisa were making them for the third day in a row. Lisa had just finished slipping the last cookie sheet into the industrial oven when the phone in the kitchen rang.

“I’ll get it,” Hannah said, crossing to the phone that hung on the wall. “This is The Cookie Jar, Hannah speaking.”

“Well, Hannah. How nice to talk to you again!” the caller said, causing Hannah to frown deeply. “You know who this is, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes.” Hannah clamped her lips together, waiting for the caller to continue.

“I have an order for you,” the caller said.

“Yes.” Hannah motioned to Lisa. There was no way she was going to take this call. “Excuse me, but my oven timer’s ringing. I’ll put Lisa on to take your order.”

Lisa looked puzzled as she took the phone. “Hello, this is Lisa,” she said. And then, after the caller had identified herself, she gave Hannah a sympathetic glance. “Yes, Doctor Bev. We do bar cookies. What type would you like to order?”

Hannah watched as Lisa wrote the order on the pad they kept by the phone. “Yes, we can bake lemon bars. How many pans would you like? Five by two this afternoon? And Mr. Dalworth will pick them up? Certainly. Is there anything else you’d like to order?”

Lisa rolled her eyes in Hannah’s direction and gave a little shrug. “I see. Yes, I can get a list and read it to you. I would stay away from chocolate though. It’s going to be hot this afternoon. If you’ll hold on a moment, I’ll get the list.”

Lisa hit the hold button on the phone and hurried over to Hannah. “She wants five pans of six different types of bars. That’s thirty pans total, and I didn’t think you’d want to turn it down.”

“You’re right,” Hannah said, even though she wasn’t thrilled about baking for Doctor Bev.

On her way back to the phone, Lisa stopped at the center work island and picked up their book of recipes. She flipped to the bar cookies and picked up the phone again.

“Doctor Bev? I’m back. How about Multiple Choice Bar Cookies with butterscotch chips instead of chocolate?” She listened for a moment and then she jotted it down. “Five pans of those, is that correct?” She listened for another moment and then she said, “We also have Pineapple Right-Side-Up Bar Cookies. They’re very popular in the summer.”

Hannah watched as Lisa added them to her list. Lisa was a great little saleswoman.