by Jessica Beck
“What happened with Terry?”
“No worries on that front. We found her, safe and sound. She’s a little worse for the wear, but she’s going to be okay.”
“And the man who was holding her?” I asked, a hitch in my voice.
“He’s in jail.” I let out of sigh of relief, and Jake asked, “What were you expecting?”
“I was afraid that you might have hurt him,” I confessed.
“He might have gotten a few bumps and bruises before we could make the arrest, but hey, he shouldn’t have taken a swing at Terry, not after what he’d done.” Jake seemed rather pleased with himself, and I wasn’t about to try to steal his thunder. He was back with me, and safe, and that was all that really mattered to me.
I decided to tell him exactly that. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“From the sound of it, I was safer than you were,” he said. “I was never in any real danger at all.”
“What can I say? I seem to attract trouble like a magnet.”
“Let’s see what we can do about changing that,” he said.
“Funny you should say that. I’m starting to think that maybe I’ve pressed my luck one too many times investigating these murders.”
“I don’t blame you for feeling that way a bit. By the way, the chief said you were free to go, since you’ve already signed your statement. What do you say we get out of here and grab something to eat? I’m starving.”
I realized that I was hungry as well. “How about Napoli’s? Can you wait until we get to Union Square?” I asked, mentioning our favorite restaurant.
“You know I’m never going to say no to that,” Jake answered with a grin.
As we made our way to the restaurant, I thought about what I’d told Jake in the police chief’s office. Was it time to step back from investigating murders, or was I just still a little shaky from my confrontation with Simon Gant? Could I really give it up if murder crossed my path again sometime in the future? At this point I couldn’t say for sure, and only time would tell if a murder ever came my way again.
But in the meantime, I decided to enjoy every last bit of life I had in me.
“I’ve been thinking about taking some time off from the donut shop and going on an extended vacation. What do you think about that?”
“Let’s swing by the house before we go eat. If you can give me twenty minutes to pack, I’ll be ready to go,” Jake said with a grin.
“Wow, are you sure you don’t want some time to think about it first?” I asked with a smile of my own.
“I don’t even care where we go. Let’s just get out of town and see where the road takes us.”
“It’s a deal. I’m sure Emma and Sharon will be happy to take over for as long as we need them.”
“Then it’s set,” he said. “After we eat, we can decide which way to head: north, south, east, and west. It doesn’t matter a bit to me, as long as we’re together.”
“I can hardly wait,” I replied. “I’ll make the phone calls I need to make after we pack and start driving to Napoli’s. You still want to go there, right?”
“Well, we have to eat anyway, don’t we?” he asked me with a grin.
It was the answer I’d been counting on.
I wasn’t sure where the days ahead might lead us, but one thing was certain.
If I had Jake with me, then I had all that I really needed in the world, and at least for a little while, Donut Hearts would be fine without me.
Recipes
Fun and Easy Rainy-Day Donuts
I call these rainy-day donuts because sometimes when the kids are out of school and you’ve done every last single arts and crafts project, you need something to fill your time until dinner. I love these donuts because they are airy and light with just a tad of sweetness. I specifically like the fact that the dough just has to go through one rise cycle instead of two, so the next time the rain is pouring down outside, or your kids are just a little bored, give these a try!
Ingredients
— 2 packages fast-rising yeast (1⁄2 ounce total)
— 1 cup water, warm
— 2 1⁄2 tablespoons granulated sugar
— 1 egg, beaten
— 1⁄3 cup butter or margarine, melted
— 1 teaspoon cinnamon
— 1 teaspoon nutmeg
— 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
— 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
— 3–4 cups flour
Directions
In a large bowl, mix the yeast, water, and sugar together. In about five minutes, the yeast will start to work. Add the beaten egg, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt, blend it all together thoroughly, then start adding flour ½ a cup at a time until the dough is no longer sticky to the touch. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead it for about a minute, then roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it’s approximately 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch thick. After you’ve done that, cut out whatever donut shapes, diamonds, or ravioli-cutter shapes please you. This is a good time to get the kids involved, and it doesn’t really matter if the shapes are perfect or not.
Set these aside to rise for half an hour, and then fry them in 360°F canola oil, turning once so both sides cook evenly. Don’t crowd them while they’re cooking or the oil temperature will drop too quickly.
After the donuts are golden brown, drain them on paper towels. You can eat them plain, dust them with powdered sugar, or even make your own icing. This is another time to let the kids get involved, personalizing their own treats with sprinkles and other confections.
Makes 6 to 10 donuts, depending on the shapes you select.
Baked Fruit-Flavored Donuts
If you’re craving a donut but you don’t want to fry it in oil, baked donuts offer a delicious alternative. I’ve been playing with several baked recipes for years, and some of them are quite tasty. You can use a donut pan in your oven or even buy a standalone donut baker, which I love using! Either way, have fun, and don’t be afraid to experiment. That’s how this recipe came to be when I had a yearning for something different.
Ingredients
Wet
— 1 egg, beaten slightly
— 1⁄2 cup whole milk (2% can be substituted.)
— 1⁄2 cup granulated white sugar
— 1 tablespoon butter, melted (I use unsalted; salted can be used, but cut the added salt by half.)
— 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry
— 1 cup all-purpose flour (I prefer unbleached, but bleached is fine, and so is bread flour.)
— 1 teaspoon baking powder
— 1 teaspoon baking soda
— 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
— 1⁄2 cup dried fruit (any combination of fruit bits like raisins, cranberry, apple, apricot, plum, peach, cherry)
Directions
Combine all of the listed dry ingredients together except the fruit, adding the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and sifting them all together thoroughly. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients by mixing together the beaten egg, milk, sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. Slowly add the contents of the bowl containing the wet mix directly to the dry, stirring it all in until it’s incorporated, but try not to over-mix. Lastly, coat the fruit pieces with a teaspoon of flour to keep them suspended in the batter, add the fruit to the batter and mix it lightly in.
It’s really that simple. Now they are ready to bake. Set your oven to 350° and bake them for 10 to 15 minutes. You can use cupcake trays, small donut molds, or, if you have a countertop donut baker, set the timer for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the donuts are golden.
I like these plain, since they have a good amount of fruit already in them, but you can dust them with powdered sugar or make a s
imple fruit glaze by reducing your favorite fruit jam by half on the stovetop.
Makes 6 to 8 donuts.
The Donut That’s Not Really a Donut!
This recipe was born out of desperation and an unwillingness on my part to create a lot of dirty dishes! There is some debate in my house that this even qualifies as a recipe, but I’ve yet to see a single member of my family turn down one of these delightful treats, especially when they come out hot and steaming. The results are impressive, and they are so easy to make, how can you not try them just once?
Ingredients
— 1 can biscuit dough (I like the sourdough recipe)
— Any toppings you may desire
Directions
Pop open the can and separate the biscuits. You can use your donut-hole cutter to remove the centers, or fry them intact. Drop the rounds into canola oil that’s been heated to 375°F. Turn after 2 minutes so they cook on each side. If you choose to produce rounds, don’t forget to fry the holes, as they are equally delightful.
Drain your donuts on a rack or on paper towels, and after they’ve cooled slightly, dust them with powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or even make your own sugary glaze.
Makes 4 to 8 donuts.
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Other Books by Jessica Beck
The Donut Mysteries
Glazed Murder
Fatally Frosted
Sinister Sprinkles
Evil Éclairs
Tragic Toppings
Killer Crullers
Drop Dead Chocolate
Powdered Peril
Illegally Iced
Deadly Donuts
Assault and Batter
Sweet Suspects
Deep Fried Homicide
Custard Crime
Lemon Larceny
Bad Bites
Old Fashioned Crooks
Dangerous Dough
Troubled Treats
Sugar Coated Sins
Criminal Crumbs
Vanilla Vices
Raspberry Revenge
Devil’s Food Defense
Pumpkin Pleas
Floured Felonies
Mixed Malice
Tasty Trials
Baked Books
The Classic Diner Mysteries
A Chili Death
A Deadly Beef
A Killer Cake
A Baked Ham
A Bad Egg
A Real Pickle
A Burned Biscuit
The Ghost Cat Cozy Mysteries
Ghost Cat: Midnight Paws
Ghost Cat 2: Bid for Midnight
The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries
Cast Iron Will
Cast Iron Conviction
Cast Iron Alibi
Cast Iron Motive
Cast Iron Suspicion
