Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “Stephanie’s coming over this afternoon for coffee. She invited herself and of course I agreed. You should drop by, Hannah. I’ll ask her to bring the list with her.”

  “I would, but it’s our first day back and . . .”

  “Go ahead, Hannah,” Lisa interrupted the excuse that Hannah was about to give. “Aunt Nancy will be here, and Marge and Dad are coming, too. We can handle things here.”

  “Wonderful!” Delores said quickly. “Hannah can help me think of something to serve. Stephanie loves appetizers, and I hate to serve crackers and cheese every time she comes for coffee.”

  Hannah knew when she was beaten and she put on a smile for her mother’s benefit. There were usually strings attached to her mother’s invitations and she should have expected it. “I’ll bring some cookies and if Florence has grapes, I’ll make frozen grapes.”

  “Frozen grapes?” Delores looked puzzled. “I haven’t had those before.”

  “It’s a new recipe I’ve been meaning to try. If Florence has any seedless grapes, I’ll make those. And I’ll bring some of Aunt Kitty’s Jamaican Rum Balls, too.”

  “Stephanie loves those! I had some left over from Christmas Eve and we had them with champagne.”

  Delores finished her cookie, drank the last of her coffee, and stood up to go. “I’ll see you about three-thirty then, dear. That way we’ll be all ready when Stephanie gets there at four.”

  “Before you go, I need to know whether Stephanie prefers vodka or tequila.”

  Delores looked confused. “I’m not sure, dear. She did mention that she sometimes drinks vodka tonics in the summer, though.”

  “Good enough. And we know she likes champagne.”

  “Oh, yes. Expensive champagne. The last time she came over for coffee, I had to open a second bottle of Perrier Jouet. But you’re not planning to bring champagne or vodka, are you, dear?”

  “No, but I need them for the grapes. They’re marinated in a mixture of Prosecco and tequila, but I’ll substitute champagne and vodka.”

  “Oooh! That sounds lethal!” Delores looked slightly worried. “You may have to drive Stephanie home, dear.”

  Hannah laughed. “Or I’ll leave her with you to sleep it off.”

  Delores looked properly horrified. “You wouldn’t . . . would you, dear?”

  “No, I was joking, Mother. Are you going to Granny’s Attic this morning?”

  “Yes, Carrie’s meeting me there and we’re going to price some antiques that Luanne found at an estate sale in Brow-erville. I’m sure they’re wonderful. Luanne has a very good eye for a bargain.”

  Once Delores had left, Lisa turned to Hannah. “Sounds like Luanne is doing very well working for your mother and Carrie. She’s managing the store now, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, and she’s also their accountant. She finished her last class right before Christmas.”

  “Is she thinking about going to work at Stan Kramer’s accounting firm?”

  “I doubt it. Mother and Carrie gave her a big raise. And she loves going out to auctions and estate sales. If Luanne worked for Stan, she’d be stuck in an office all day.”

  Lisa glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall. “If you’re planning to go to the Red Owl, maybe you’d better go now. We still have forty-five minutes before we open.”

  “Good idea.” Hannah stood up, carried her coffee mug to the sink, and went to grab her parka. “I’ll be back before we open,” she promised as she slipped on her boots and went out the door.

  It was cold outside and Hannah pulled up the hood of her parka and slipped her hands into the fur-lined gloves that Norman had given her for Christmas. She’d walk to Florence’s grocery store. It was only a block away. As she hurried down the alley, passed the back of Claire’s dress shop, Beau Monde Fashions, and crossed the street at Third and Main, she was smiling. It was good to be out walking again after three days of confinement in the condo. The air was frosty and it smelled fresh and clean, the sun cast golden sparkles on the snow, and the icicles hanging from the branches of the big pine in the middle of the block glistened like they were made of melted diamonds.

  There wasn’t a soul on the street. Most of the businesses didn’t open until nine, and it was too early for shoppers. Florence’s Red Owl Grocery was open though. She always opened early so that she could stock the shelves with the food items that had come in during the night. Her regular supplier had a key to the office in the back, and he stacked the crates and boxes in there. It would have been folly to leave them on the loading dock. Produce would have frozen and turned brown during the winter nights, canned goods would have frozen and broken open, and liquids would have popped their tops and formed a frozen frosting of dish soap, or beer, or soda on the tops of bottles and cans.

  The front door of the Red Owl was still locked, but Hannah knocked loudly. Florence appeared at the end of the canned soup and meat aisle and smiled as she saw Hannah standing there.

  “Hannah!” Florence greeted her as she unlocked the door. “Come in! Where’s your cookie truck?”

  “At The Cookie Jar. I walked here.”

  “Pretty cold, isn’t it?”

  “It’s not so bad now that the winds have died down. Have you unpacked your produce yet, Florence?”

  “Just did it. What did you need, Hannah?”

  Hannah crossed her fingers even though it was difficult to do in the bulky, fur-lined gloves. “Seedless grapes,” she said.

  “You’re in luck. I just got a shipment of fruit from Venezuela. Do you want red fire grapes? Or green grapes?”

  “Both please.”

  Florence led the way to the produce section and pointed to the grapes. “They look good, don’t they?”

  “They sure do. I’m so glad you have them, Florence. I need them for a recipe I’m making at The Cookie Jar.”

  Florence looked puzzled. “I didn’t know you could bake with grapes!”

  “I don’t know if you can, or you can’t, but I’m not going to bake with them.”

  “But you bake so much, Hannah.” Florence looked confused. “What kind of recipe is it, then?”

  “Frozen Sugared Grapes.”

  “I didn’t know you could freeze grapes!”

  “Neither did I until an old friend of mine from college sent me this recipe. She included it in the Christmas card she sent to me.”

  “And you’re going to try them out on your customers at The Cookie Jar?”

  “Not exactly. Mother’s having Stephanie Bascomb over this afternoon and I promised to bring something interesting to have with their coffee.”

  “Coffee for Stephanie Bascomb?” Florence began to grin. “Whatever it is, your recipe had better have champagne in it. Stephanie’s crazy about champagne. I should know. I order it by the case for her.”

  “I know and this recipe does call for champagne. It also has vodka.”

  “That sounds interesting. And it’s certainly something that Stephanie would like. She definitely has a sweet tooth, especially when she’s enjoying the cocktail hour. Every time I get in a shipment of imported chocolates, I call Stephanie so that she can buy what she wants before I put it on the shelf. Will you bring me a couple of those frozen grapes on your way to your mother’s place? They sound interesting and I want to try them.”

  “Of course I will. It sounds like they pack a wallop, though. You might be better off if you stick them in the freezer and wait until you get home to try them.”

  “Really?” Florence looked interested. “How do you make them, Hannah?”

  “You marinate the grapes in champagne and vodka for an hour. Then you take them out and roll them in white sugar. You put them on a baking sheet, freeze them for several hours until they’re hard, slip them in a freezer bag to save on freezer space, and get them out right before you serve them so that they’re still frozen when people eat them.”

  Florence began to smile. “They’d be great for a New Year’s Eve party. You wouldn’t have to serve as much
liquor. You’d save a ton of money and people could just eat the grapes and celebrate.”

  CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES

  DO NOT preheat oven yet. This dough must chill before baking.

  1 and ½ cups salted butter (3 sticks, 12 ounces, ¾ pound)

  2 cups cocoa powder (unsweetened – I used Hershey’s)

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

  2 teaspoons baking soda

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1 teaspoon mint extract

  3 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

  3 cups flour (not sifted – pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

  1 cup mini chocolate chips (½ of an 11 or 12-ounce bag)

  ½ cup white granulated sugar in a small bowl (for later)

  1 large bag Mini York Peppermint Patties (for later)

  Hannah’s 1st Note: This recipe is easiest if you use an electric mixer, but it can also be mixed by hand.

  Place the 3 sticks of salted butter in a microwave-safe container. (I used a quart Pyrex measuring cup with a spout.)

  Heat the butter on HIGH for 1 minute. Let it sit in the microwave for an additional minute and stir it with a heat-resistant spatula to see if it has melted. If it hasn’t, heat it on HIGH for another 20 seconds, let it sit for 20 seconds, and stir it again. Repeat in 20-second intervals until your butter is melted.

  Pour the melted butter in the bottom of a mixing bowl.

  Add the cocoa powder and mix it in.

  Mix in the 2 cups of brown sugar. Make sure the brown sugar is completly incorporated.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: If your brown sugar has hard lumps in it, remove the lumps, then add more brown sugar until you have a full 2 cups.

  Add the baking soda and salt to your mixing bowl. Mix until they are completely combined.

  Add the vanilla extract and the mint extract. Mix them in thoroughly.

  Feel the sides of the mixing bowl. If the contents are so hot that it might cook the eggs if you add them now, let everything cool to slightly above room temperature.

  If you haven’t yet beaten the eggs, put them in a glass and whip them up until they are completely blended. (I still use a fork from my silverware bowl to do this the way my great-grandmother Elsa used to do.)

  Add the beaten eggs to your mixing bowl. Mix them in thoroughly.

  Add the flour to your mixing bowl in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you’re using an electric mixer and you add all the flour at once, it will poof out all over your counter and floor when you turn on the mixer.

  Once the flour has been thoroughly incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a butter spatula and take the bowl out of the mixer.

  Set the bowl on your counter and give it another stir.

  Add the cup of mini chocolate chips and stir them in by hand. Make sure they’re evenly distributed.

  Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. (Overnight is fine, too.)

  Once your cookie dough has chilled and you’re ready to bake, take the bowl out of the refrigerator.

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

  While your oven is preheating, prepare your cookie sheets by either spraying them with Pam or another cooking spray or lining them with parchment paper.

  Roll the Chocolate Mint Cookie dough into walnut-sized balls with your impeccably clean hands.

  Working one dough ball at a time, roll the dough balls in the bowl of white sugar and place the balls on your prepared cookie sheets, 12 to a standard sheet.

  Hannah’s 4th Note: This dough may be sticky, so roll only enough cookie dough balls for the cookies you plan to bake immediately and return the bowl to the refrigerator.

  Flatten the dough balls a bit with a metal spatula (or with the heel of your hand if the health board’s not around).

  Press one Peppermint Pattie in the center of each cookie.

  Bake your cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes.

  Take your cookie sheets out of the oven and cool the cookies on their cookie sheets for 1 to 2 minutes.

  When the cookies have cooled for a bit, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to metal cooling racks on your counter. If you leave them on the cookie sheets for too long, they may stick and fall apart when you try to transfer them.

  Hannah’s 5th Note: If you used parchment paper, let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets a bit and then pull the parchment paper, cookies and all, over to the cooling racks. (Don’t forget to use oven mitts or pot holders to do this! Metal cookie sheets take longer than 1 or 2 minutes to cool enough to handle with your bare hands.)

  Yield: 4 to 5 dozen deliciously minty cookies that everyone who enjoys chocolate-covered mints will love.

  Hannah’s 6th Note: Chocolate Mint Cookies are a big favorite at The Cookie Jar, especially around the Christmas season. Be sure, however, to serve them with tall glasses of icy cold milk, cups of strong coffee, or mugs of hot chocolate.

  FROZEN SUGARED GRAPES

  1 bunch green seedless grapes

  1 bunch red seedless grapes

  1 cup Prosecco or champagne

  1 cup tequila or vodka

  ½ cup white (granulated) sugar (variable – you may need to add additional sugar)

  Hannah’s 1st Note: You can make several batches of both kinds of grapes with this recipe, as many as you need for your party. Just save the marinating liquid for the next batch. It will work for up to 4 batches without losing its oomph. And yes, oomph is a culinary term!

  Choose a bunch of green seedless grapes that has grapes that are plump and fresh. You can make this recipe with 2 bunches of green seedless grapes or 1 bunch of green and 1 bunch of red seedless grapes, or 2 bunches of red seedless grapes.

  Prepare your freezing pans by making sure the pan size you choose has sides that will keep the grapes from rolling off and that it will fit in your freezer. (Don’t laugh – the first time I made these, I used a baking sheet with sides that were too wide to fit in my freezer at the condo!)

  Remove the grapes from their stems and wash them under cold, running water. (This is easier to do if you use a colander or a large strainer.)

  Pat the grapes dry with paper towels.

  Fill a large, shallow bowl with 1 cup of Prosecco or champagne and 1 cup of tequila or vodka. Mix them together with a whisk.

  Leave the liquor mixture and the grapes on the kitchen counter at room temperature.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you have too many grapes in your bowl and the liquor mixture doesn’t cover them, simply add additional amounts of each liquid to completely cover the grapes.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: I used champagne and vodka when I made these grapes for Stephanie Bascomb and Mother.

  Let the grapes marinate in the liquor mixture for 1 hour. (Longer is okay but don’t let the liquor evaporate.)

  Once the grapes have marinated in the liquor mixture for at least 1 hour, fill a shallow bowl with white (granulated) sugar and roll the grapes in the bowl, one by one.

  Hannah’s 4th Note: If you’re making several batches of grapes, you may need to add more white granulated sugar to your bowl. If the sugar gets sticky and doesn’t adhere to the grapes any longer or sticks to them in clumps, just dump out the sugar, rinse and thoroughly dry the bowl, and put in fresh sugar.

  As you roll the grapes in the white sugar, place them on the pan you’ve chosen with a small space separating them from touching each other.

  Once the pan is full of sugared grapes, place it in your freezer in a nice flat space and let the grapes freeze overnight.

  In the morning, get out a freezer bag, pluck the frozen grapes off the freezing sheet, and place them in the bag. Seal the bag, place it back in the freezer, and proceed marinating and freezing more grapes if you’ve chosen to make more than 2 bunches.

  Serve these gr
apes frozen. They’re very refreshing on a hot, summer day and a great addition to a barbecue or a pool party.

  Hannah’s 5th Note: Be careful with these grapes! They taste delicious, but if you’ve marinated them for a long time, they can pack a real wallop!

  Chapter Eight

  Of course Stephanie Bascomb had loved the grapes. And Hannah had assumed the duty of driving her home after Stephanie had consumed a second bottle of Perrier Jouet. Unfortunately, Hannah still didn’t know whether Lynne and Tom were coming to Lake Eden for the Minnesota Movie Festival because they hadn’t yet called Mayor Bascomb to reply to the invitation.