Christmas Cupcake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “Heavens, no!” Sally shook her head. “The Canada goose is a wild bird and it has to be roasted in an entirely different way.”

  Hannah was intrigued. “I don’t know anything about preparing goose. How are the wild ones different than the domestic ones?”

  “There’s a lot of fat on domestic geese and you have to drain it off every half hour or so. If you don’t, it’s almost like deep-frying it. Canada geese are usually very lean and they require larding.”

  “What’s larding?” Doc asked her.

  “It’s using lard to give wild game birds enough fat to roast well. I generally wrap wild Canada geese in strips of fatty bacon to compensate for the fat they’ve lost from flying all those miles.”

  “But don’t they taste like bacon then?” Hannah asked her.

  “Yes, but most people really like the smoked flavor. Those that don’t can use lard. Florence carries pure pig fat at the Red Owl for me. I use it for some cuts of venison when it’s too lean and I don’t want the smoked taste of bacon for the entrée I’m preparing.”

  Sally was smiling as she finished taking their orders, told them that she was going in the kitchen to personally start their appetizers, and walked away from the table. Of course they’d all ordered the roast goose. None of them had wanted to miss one of Sally’s special entrées.

  “This is exciting,” Hannah said, smiling. “I’ve never had roast goose before.”

  “Neither have I,” Norman confessed. “Mother never made it.”

  “That’s because your dad didn’t like it,” Carrie told him. “And I wasn’t sure where you could buy a domestic goose.” She turned to Delores. “I don’t know anyone around Lake Eden who raises them, do you?”

  Delores shook her head. “I don’t either. How about you, Doc?”

  “No. I’ve never heard any of my patients mention it. I wonder if Florence could order frozen geese for the store. ”

  “I’ll ask her the next time I see her,” Hannah promised. “Florence sometimes orders special items for me that she doesn’t regularly carry. It can cost a bit extra, since she’s not ordering a large quantity, but it’s worth it to get what I need right here in Lake Eden.”

  The conversation flowed, and the subject was mainly the homeless man who was now Doc’s patient. They were all concerned about him, but Doc did his best to reassure them.

  “He’s fairly young, and it looks as though he was in very good shape until recently,” Doc told them. “Don’t get me wrong. He was in dire straits when you found him, but the three of you rescued him in time.”

  “Then he’ll recover?” Norman asked.

  “My guess is yes, but my staff is running non-invasive tests tonight. Then we’ll let him rest until morning and reassess his condition.”

  “Are you ready for your appetizers?” Sally asked, arriving at their table with a waiter who was carrying their beverages. “Doc called ahead to order champagne for you, Delores.”

  Delores began to smile when she saw the familiar label. “Perrier-Jouët!” she exclaimed. “That’s my absolute favorite champagne! How did you know, Doc?”

  Doc laughed. “I know everything about you, Lori. Don’t forget that I’ve known you longer than anyone else in this room.”

  Hannah smiled. She’d heard Doc say that before.

  “You’ll have a glass, won’t you, Carrie?” Delores turned to her friend.

  Carrie nodded. “Yes, but just one. I want to do an inventory of my antiques when I get home tonight. Then, if we’re serious about finding a place to rent, I’ll know how much space my things will take.”

  “Here’s your favorite ginger ale, Norman,” Sally said, taking a glass from her busboy’s tray and setting it down in front of Norman. “Was I right in guessing what you’d order?”

  “You were right,” Norman confirmed it. “Thanks, Sally.”

  “Coffee for you, Doc?” Sally asked, and when he nodded, she gestured to the busboy to pour a cup for him.

  “And, Hannah, will you have champagne?”

  “Yes, please. It’s been a long day and I’d like to relax.”

  When all the drinks had been delivered, Sally gave a nod to the waiter who was standing behind the busboy, and the waiter stepped forward and placed a covered platter on the table. Sally whisked off the cover, and used the knife to slice the appetizer into pieces.

  “It’s beautiful, Sally,” Hannah said immediately.

  “And it smells every bit as good as it looks,” Norman added. “What is it?”

  “Thank you,” Sally said, serving each of them a slice. “Taste it and tell me if you can identify the Christmas topping. ”

  Hannah tasted the appetizer and made a sound of approval. “Good,” she managed to say, taking a second bite.

  “Can you identify the topping?” Sally asked again.

  Hannah shook her head. “I don’t recognize it.”

  “How about you?” Sally turned to Norman, but he shook his head as well. Doc followed suit and so did Carrie.

  “It’s familiar,” Delores said, taking another bite. “I know I’ve had it before and it was either Thanksgiving or Christmas. And I think it was in a pie that my mother-in-law made.”

  “You’re on the right track,” Sally said, sounding pleased as she turned back to Hannah. “Does that give you any ideas, Hannah?”

  Hannah thought for a moment, and then a smile spread over her face. “Mincemeat!”

  “You’re right!” Delores told her. “We went to my husband’s mother’s house for Thanksgiving when you were barely three years old. She served two pies. One was pumpkin, and the other was mincemeat. She gave us all a half slice of both on the same dessert plate and she called it Pince Pie.”

  “That’s cute!” Sally commented. “I wonder if I could somehow incorporate pumpkin in this recipe.”

  “Don’t do it!” Hannah warned her. “Your appetizer is perfect just the way it is. And I think you should call it Christmas Baked Brie.”

  “Perfect!” Sally gave Hannah a radiant smile. “Now if I could only figure out a second appetizer with sugar plums, I could serve them at the same time. But first I have to figure out what a sugarplum is. Do you know, Hannah?”

  Hannah shook her head. “The only thing I know about them is that they’re mentioned in the poem ‘’Twas The Night Before Christmas.’ ”

  “. . . while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads,” Norman quoted.

  Sally looked thoughtful. “They must be like candy, or something else that children would like.”

  “Hold on, and I’ll look it up for you,” Norman said, taking out his cell phone.

  It took several minutes for Norman to research Sally’s question between bites of his mincemeat appetizer. He was just swallowing the last bite when he looked up from the screen. “Got it!” he said with a smile. “I’ll read it to you, but it’s a little vague, Sally.”

  “That’s okay. As long as I have a general idea, Hannah and I can probably come up with something close.”

  Hannah looked surprised. “How did I get into this?”

  “If we can figure it out between us, you can come up with a Sugar Plum Cookie. Everyone in Lake Eden would like that.”

  Hannah knew she was trapped into helping solve the sugarplum question, but she had to admit that she was intrigued by the problem. “Okay, I’m in,” she said. “Read it to us, Norman.”

  Norman looked down at the screen again. “It’s a long article. I’ll just tell you the important parts, if that’s okay.”

  “That’s perfect,” Sally told him quickly.

  “It says that the sweets mentioned in the poem were probably coriander with a sugar coating.” He turned to Sally. “Do you know what coriander looks like?”

  “Just the powdered kind. Actually, the only thing I really know about it is that it’s a spice. Do you know anything about it, Hannah?”

  “Just a little. I know that the seeds are the spice, but I’ve never seen them in seed form. I do
n’t use it often, but when I do, I use the powdered kind that Florence sells at the Red Owl. The plant is classified as an herb and the leaves are sometimes called Chinese parsley or cilantro.”

  “What does the spice taste like?” Doc wanted to know.

  “It’s . . . spicy. If you’ve ever had curry, it was probably in there. It’s used in a lot of dishes from India.”

  “And you think you can use it in a cookie?” Delores sounded dubious.

  Hannah laughed. “Don’t look so worried, Mother. My cookies will have the usual spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. And the sugar plum will be the decoration on top of the frosting.”

  “Oh, good!” This time Delores sounded relieved. “I love your cookies, dear. When can we taste them?”

  “When I figure out how to make a sugar plum.”

  “I think I might be able to help you with that,” Norman said, looking down at his screen again. “It says that nobody seems to know for sure, but some researchers think that sugar plums are called plums, because they have a cylindrical shape like a plum. Other researchers seem to think they’re made from dried fruit and nuts. The dried fruit is combined with the nuts and then they’re dipped in honey or rolled in sugar. Evidently, that was a way of preserving fruit.”

  “Oh, my!” Hannah gave a little gasp. “Now I know why she did it!”

  “Who?” Sally asked.

  “And what?” Carrie added.

  “Grandma Inge. She made what she called candy for Christmas, but it wasn’t really candy.”

  “What was it, dear?” Delores asked her.

  “Dates. Grandma Inge used to always put them out for a Christmas treat.” Hannah turned to Sally. “The ones you buy in the store are dried dates, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, I think so. I know they’re fruit, and they grow on date palm trees. What did she do with the dates?”

  “She cut them open, pitted them, and put a quarter of a walnut inside. And then she rolled them in white sugar and arranged them on a plate.”

  “I remember that!” Delores sounded excited. “They were just like candy and so sweet you could only eat one.”

  “Got it!” Hannah said, smiling widely.

  “Got what?” Doc asked her.

  “My Sugar Plum Cookies. I can hardly wait to try to bake them!” She turned to Sally. “If they turn out the way I think they will, I’ll drive out here tomorrow with some for you.”

  “What about me?” Delores asked.

  “You and Carrie can come in tomorrow morning to taste them. I’m going to bake early.”

  “And me?” Norman asked.

  “You too.”

  “How about me?” Doc sounded more than a little deprived.

  “That depends. Are you going to sleep at the hospital tonight?”

  “I wasn’t planning on it. Unless John Doe takes a turn for the worse, I’ll be heading back to town.”

  “Then come over before you go to the hospital in the morning and I’ll give you a plate of cookies to take out there for breakfast.”

  “And you’ll drive out here at lunchtime and have lunch with me?” Sally asked her.

  “I will. Lisa’s got help for the next couple of weeks. Her cousin Rachael is staying with Jack and Lisa for Christmas.”

  Sally reached over to refill their champagne glasses, and then she collected their appetizer plates. “I’m off to get the rest of your meal,” she told them. “I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow, Hannah. And don’t forget to bring those cookies, even if they don’t turn out exactly the way you want them to.”

  CHRISTMAS BAKED BRIE

  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F., rack in the center position.

  Ingredients:

  1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

  1 package frozen puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm, which contains 2 sheets)

  1 wheel of Brie or Camembert cheese (7 to 10 ounces by weight)

  1 small jar of mincemeat (you will use ¼ to ½ cup)

  Prepare your baking pan by spraying a cookie sheet with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can line it with parchment paper and spray that with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: If your grocery store doesn’t carry jars of mincemeat, you can usually order it from Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, or Amazon. If you’re in a hurry and don’t want to wait for your order to come, you can substitute your favorite kind of chutney or use whole berry cranberry sauce.

  Place a bread board (if you have one) or a large square of wax paper on your kitchen counter. Sprinkle the Tablespoon of flour on it and spread it around a bit with your impeccably clean palms to form a light coating.

  Unwrap one sheet of puff pastry (it usually comes with 2 sheets to a package) and leave the second one in the freezer.

  Place the sheet of frozen puff pastry in the center of the space you’ve floured and thaw it according to package directions.

  When your puff pastry has thawed, spread a little flour on your rolling pin and roll the puff pastry out into a square that’s large enough to wrap around your cheese.

  Transfer the puff pastry square to the center of the baking sheet you’ve prepared.

  Move your wheel of Brie or Camembert cheese to the counter and place it in the center of your puff pastry square. Make sure there’s enough pastry dough to bring it up the sides of the cheese and ALMOST cover the top. (You’ll want to leave a little bit of your mincemeat topping showing in the very center of the cheese.)

  Open your jar of mincemeat and use a spoon to spread from a quarter-cup to a half-cup of mincemeat on the top of your cheese.

  Using both hands, wrap the puff pastry up over the sides of the cheese, patting it in place. Then bring it over the top of the cheese wheel, leaving a little room so that the mincemeat can bubble up in the center when it bakes.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: You may have to fold some of the edges so that your guests can see the mincemeat topping inside.

  Bake your Christmas Baked Brie at 425 degrees F. for 12 to 16 minutes or until the top of the puff pastry is a lovely golden brown.

  Take the cookie sheet out of the oven and let your Christmas Baked Brie cool on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack for 15 minutes.

  Use a wide metal spatula to transfer your creation to a wooden cutting board and carry it to the table.

  Cut your Christmas Baked Brie into wedges with a long, sharp knife. (A chef’s knife would be perfect.) Do this by first cutting it in half and then turning the cutting board so that you can cut it in half again. This will give you 4 pieces.

  Continue by cutting the 4 pieces in half to make 8 pieces.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: This is easier to do than to describe. It’s like cutting a pie into 8 pieces.

  To make this easier for your guests to transfer to appetizer plates, insert a food pick in the center of each piece so that they can pick them up.

  To serve, present the cutting board to each guest so that he or she can choose their own slice of Christmas Baked Brie. Be sure to serve this tasty appetizer while it is still warm. This is especially wonderful when it’s served with wine or champagne.

  Chapter Six

  Hannah stepped back and looked at her work. She had been busy this morning, baking the cookie dough that Lisa and Rachael had stored in the walk-in cooler. Once she’d finished that, she found her favorite sugar cookie recipe and modified it to suit her parameters for Sugar Plum Cookies.

  As she mixed up a trial batch, she glanced at the clock. She would just have time to bake a test batch of cookies before Lisa came in to work.

  The first order of business was to gather her ingredients. Hannah went to the pantry, and got out the dates she’d bought for the Christmas Date Cupcakes she planned to make this week, and reminded herself to walk down to the Red Owl later to pick up another package.

  A smile crossed Hannah’s face as she realized that Florence had ordered pitted dates. That would save her time when she made the sugar plums to put on top of the frosted cookies.
She collected flour, white sugar, powdered sugar, baking soda and cream of tartar, salt, and spices. Once she’d arranged those on the stainless steel work surface, she went into the walk-in cooler to get salted butter and eggs.

  Hannah placed the white sugar in the bowl of her electric stand mixer and went to the microwave to soften the sticks of butter. She unwrapped each one and put them, individually, in the microwave for five seconds, turning them to give all four sides the same amount of time, and added the softened butter to her mixing bowl. As she worked, adding ingredient after ingredient and mixing everything together to form cookie dough, she thought about John Doe, the homeless man they’d found. If Doc Knight let him have visitors today, she’d take him some of her new Sugar Plum Cookies, too.

  It didn’t take long for Hannah to mix up the cookie dough. Once it was done, she removed it from the mixer and, since a whole batch made approximately eight dozen cookies, she rounded it up in a ball, cut it in half, and put half of it in a ziplock bag that she carried to her walk-in cooler. That way, if her test batch of Sugar Plum Cookies didn’t please her, she could always use the second half of the dough to bake Grandma Knudson’s Cinful Sugar Cookies.

  As she worked with the Sugar Plum Cookie dough, Hannah thought about Grandma Knudson, who took her duties as the unofficial head of the Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church seriously. Grandma, the name both parishioners and non-parishioners called her, often traveled out to Doc Knight’s hospital with her grandson and made her own rounds by visiting the patients. If Doc Knight said that John Doe could have visitors today, she’d call Grandma Knudson and ask her to include him on her visiting list.

  Hannah worked non-stop, rolling dough balls, flattening them, and placing them on cookie sheets. Just as soon as she had enough unbaked cookies to fill all the racks in her revolving industrial oven, she checked to see that she’d preheated it to the proper temperature and slipped the cookie sheets inside.