Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(54)

“Did you resent Ross when he got that office?”

“No. Ross was hired as an executive, and that’s an executive office. But P.K. isn’t. I know he’s just using it while Ross is gone, but it still ticked me off when I saw him in there.”

“Did you and P.K. ever discuss it?”

“Yeah, and that made me feel a little better about it. P.K. offered to share it with me until Ross came back.”

“Did you take P.K. up on that?” Hannah asked.

“No. The fact that he offered counted for something. And, to tell the truth, neither one of us knew when Ross would be back and I didn’t want to move all my stuff in there and then have to move it all back.”

“I understand,” Hannah said, and she did.

Scotty began to frown. “Ross is coming back, isn’t he, Hannah?”

Hannah scrambled for an answer. She didn’t want to lie about it, but neither did she want to admit that she really didn’t know. Then the perfect response popped into her head, and she gave a little smile. “I’m not sure how you feel about it, but it can’t be too soon for me!”





CHOCOLATE CASHEW BAR COOKIES


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



8-ounce (by weight) package brick-style cream

cheese, softened (I used Philadelphia in the silver package)

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces, ? pound) salted butter, softened

? cup white (granulated) sugar

? cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

? teaspoon salt

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

? cup chopped salted cashews (measure after chopping)

1 cup (6-ounce package) milk chocolate chips





Prepare your baking pan. Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can line the cake pan with heavy-duty foil, spray that and leave “ears” on the sides so that you can lift your bar cookies right out of the pan when they’re baked and cooled.





Hannah’s Note: If you forgot to take your cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften it, there’s an easy way to do it. Simply unwrap the brick of cream cheese, place it in the bottom of a small microwave-safe bowl, and heat it in the microwave on HIGH for 20 seconds. Let it sit in the microwave for 1 minute and then take it out and attempt to stir it smooth. If you can’t, heat it for another 20 seconds, let it sit for another minute, and try again.





Aunt Nancy’s Note: This recipe is a lot easier and faster to make if you use an electric mixer. You can also do it by hand, but you’ll have to stir like the Dickens!





Place the softened cream cheese and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat them together at MEDIUM speed until they are blended.





Add the white sugar and the brown sugar to the mixing bowl. Beat on MEDIUM speed until they are thoroughly combined and the mixture is light and fluffy.





Mix in the large egg and the vanilla extract. Beat until they are well incorporated.





Sprinkle in the baking powder and the salt. Mix it in at MEDIUM speed until the mixture is well blended.





Add the flour in half-cup increments, mixing at MEDIUM speed after each addition.





Shut off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, remove the bowl from the mixer, and give your bar cookie dough a final stir by hand.





If you haven’t already chopped the salted cashews, do it now. Then measure out ? cup and add the nuts to your bowl. Mix them in thoroughly by hand with a spoon.





Mix in the milk chocolate chips.





Transfer your bar cookie dough into your prepared pan and spread it out with a rubber spatula or your impeccably clean hands. Pat the dough into the corners and cover the entire bottom of the pan. Press it down as evenly as you can.





Bake your Chocolate Cashew Bar Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown.





Let your bar cookies cool on the cold stovetop burner or on a wire rack until the pan is completely cool to the touch.





When your bar cookies are completely cool, frost them with Milk Chocolate Fudge Frosting, following the directions in the frosting recipe.





Let the frosted bar cookies cool completely. Then cover the pan with aluminum foil and either store them on the counter or refrigerate them until you’d like to serve them.





To serve, cut the bars into brownie-size pieces, place them on a pretty platter, and serve them with strong, hot coffee or cold glasses of milk.





Yield: Approximately 30 Chocolate Cashew Bar Cookies, but this depends entirely on how large you cut the pieces.





The Milk Chocolate Fudge Frosting recipe follows:





MILK CHOCOLATE FUDGE FROSTING (microwave recipe)