Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(45)

“I’m almost done,” Hannah said as she put the last pan of Sweet and Salty Strawberry Bar Cookies in the oven. “These will be baked in less than thirty minutes and then I can go to the bank with Mike.”

“You can go now,” Norman told her. “Just set the timer and I’ll take the pans out of the oven and put them on the racks.”

“Really?” Hannah asked.

“No problem.” Norman started to grin. “I’ve watched you enough times to know what to do. It’s not complicated. All I have to do is pull them out of the oven. And after all, Hannah, I’m a dentist.”

Hannah stared at him for a moment. “What’s that got to do with it?” she asked.

“Dentists are really good at extractions.”

Hannah groaned and then she laughed. “You really reached for that joke”

“Maybe, but you laughed.”

“That’s true,” Hannah admitted. “Are you sure you can stay long enough to finish the baking for me?”

“I’m sure. Doc Bennett’s filling in for me for the rest of the day and the only thing I have waiting for me at the clinic is some boring paperwork. When Michelle comes back and you two are finished baking for the day, we’ll all go out for that dinner I promised you.”

“Thank you, Norman,” Hannah said, patting his shoulder before she slipped on her parka. “I’ll go tell Mike we can leave now, and I’ll be back just as soon as I can.”

“No hurry,” Norman called after her.

Hannah thought about Norman and how much she liked him as she opened the door. She stepped out into the cold winter air and realized, once again, how lucky she was to have a best friend like Norman.





SWEET AND SALTY STRAWBERRY BAR COOKIES



Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.





The Crust and Topping:



2 cups (4 sticks, 16 ounces, 1 pound) salted butter

softened to room temperature

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

1 and ? cups powdered (confectioners’) sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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





The Strawberry Filling:



11.75-ounce jar (net weight) strawberry ice cream topping or preserves

1 cup (6-ounce by weight package) white chocolate or vanilla chips

cup (2 Tablespoons) whipping cream

? teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons sea or Kosher salt (the coarse-ground kind)





Before you begin to make the crust and filling, spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another nonstick baking spray.





Hannah’s 1st Note: This crust and filling is a lot easier to make with an electric mixer. You can do it by hand, but it will take some muscle.





Combine the butter, white sugar, and powdered sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at MEDIUM speed until the mixture is light and creamy.





Add the vanilla extract. Mix it in until it is thoroughly combined.





Add the flour in half-cup increments, beating at LOW speed after each addition. Beat until everything is combined.





Hannah’s 2nd Note: When you’ve mixed in the flour, the resulting sweet dough will be soft. Don’t worry. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.





Remove the bowl from the mixer. With impeccably clean hands, take out a generous cup of the sweet dough, form it into a loose ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Stick that sweet dough ball in the refrigerator to chill. You will use this chilled sweet dough for your top crumble crust.





Again, with impeccably clean hands, press the rest of the sweet dough into the bottom of your prepared cake pan. (If the dough seems a bit sticky, cover the dough with a sheet of waxed paper to use when you press it down.) This will form a bottom crust. Press it all the way out to the edges of the pan, as evenly as you can, to cover the entire bottom. Then remove the wax paper if you used it.





Bake your bottom crust at 325 degrees F. for approximately 20 minutes.





While the crust is baking, take the lid off your strawberry topping and place the jar in the microwave. Heat on HIGH for 20 seconds. Leave the jar in the microwave for 1 minute and then take it out.





Pour the slightly heated strawberry topping in a microwave-safe bowl on the counter. (I used a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup.) Use a rubber spatula to get all the strawberry topping out of the jar.





When the edges of your crust have turned pale golden brown, remove the pan from the oven, but DON’T SHUT OFF THE OVEN! Set the pan with your baked crust on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack to cool. It should cool approximately 15 minutes.





After your crust has cooled, it’s time to finish making your strawberry filling.





Add the cup of white chocolate or vanilla chips to the bowl with the strawberry topping. Mix them in with the rubber spatula.





Measure out cup whipping cream and add that to your microwave-safe bowl. Mix it in with the rubber spatula.