Hannah tried to shake off the lonely feeling that was growing inside her, but she couldn’t help wondering what Ross would have done if he’d been there.
“What is it, Hannah?” Michelle leaned close to whisper in her ear.
“Everything,” Hannah said quietly. “Ever since I got back, everything seems static. Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s grown. This may sound crazy, but I think I’m overdue for a change in my life.”
SALTED CASHEW AND MILK CHOCOLATE WHIPPERSNAPPER COOKIES
DO NOT preheat your oven quite yet—this cookie dough needs to chill before baking.
1 box chocolate cake mix, the size you can bake in a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan (I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Chocolate Fudge, net wt. 15.25 oz.)
1 large egg
2 cups Cool Whip, thawed (measure this—a tub of Cool Whip contains a little over 3 cups and that’s way too much!)
1 cup milk chocolate chips (Andrea used a 6-ounce package of Nestle milk chocolate chips)
½ cup salted cashews, finely chopped (measure AFTER chopping)
½ cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar in a separate small, shallow bowl for rolling dough balls. (You don’t have to sift it unless it’s got big lumps.)
18 to 24 maraschino cherries without stems, drained and cut in half
Place approximately HALF of the cake mix in a large bowl.
Whisk the egg in a medium-size bowl.
Stir the 2 cups of thawed Cool Whip into the egg mixture.
Add the egg and Cool Whip mixture to the cake mix in the large bowl. Stir only until everything is combined. You don’t want to stir all the air out of the Cool Whip.
Sprinkle the milk chocolate chips on top.
Sprinkle the ½ cup of chopped cashews on top of the milk chocolate chips. Gently stir until they’re combined. Again, don’t over-stir!
Sprinkle in the rest of the cake mix and fold it in with a rubber spatula, stirring only until everything is combined. The object here is to keep as much air in the cookie dough as possible. Air is what will make your cookies soft and have that melt-in-your-mouth quality.
Hannah’s 1st Note: This dough is very sticky. It’s much easier to work with if you chill it before you try to form the cookies. Just cover the bowl and stick it in the refrigerator for an hour.
When your cookie dough has chilled for one hour, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position. DO NOT take your chilled cookie dough out of the refrigerator until after your oven has preheated to the proper temperature.
While your oven is preheating, prepare your cookie sheets by spraying them with Pam or another nonstick baking spray, or lining them with parchment paper.
When your oven is ready, take your dough out of the refrigerator. Using a teaspoon from your silverware drawer, drop the dough by rounded teaspoonful into the bowl of powdered sugar. Roll the dough around with your fingers to form powdered sugar coated cookie dough balls.
Place the dough balls on your prepared cookie sheets, no more than 12 cookies on a standard-size sheet.
Press a half cherry, rounded side up, on top of each cookie.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Work with only one cookie dough ball at a time. If you drop more than one in the bowl of powdered sugar, they’ll stick together.
Andrea’s Note: Make only as many cookie balls as you can bake at one time and then return the dough to the refrigerator. I have double ovens so I prepare 2 sheets of Whippersnapper Cookies, one for each oven.
Bake the Salted Cashew and Milk Chocolate Whippersnapper Cookies at 350 degrees F., for 10 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes or so, and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. (This is a lot easier if you line your cookie sheets with parchment paper—then you don’t need to lift the cookies one by one. All you have to do is grab one end of the parchment paper and pull it, cookies and all, onto the wire rack.)
Once the cookies are completely cool, store them between sheets of waxed paper in a cool, dry place. (Your refrigerator is cool, but it’s definitely not dry!)
Yield: 3 to 4 dozen soft, chewy cookies, depending on cookie size.
Chapter Twelve
Something was tickling her nose. Hannah opened her eyes to find Moishe only inches from her face, so close that his whiskers were brushing against the bridge of her nose.
“What time is it?” she asked sleepily before she realized how ridiculous her question was. Even if Moishe could speak, he didn’t know how to tell time.
Or did he? she thought as his rough tongue shot out to lick her cheek. It was clear that he wanted her to get up. He was probably hungry. What time was it anyway?
With great effort, Hannah sat up in bed. Sunlight was streaming through her bedroom window. That was odd. It was always dark when she got up to get ready to go to work. She turned her head to glance at her alarm clock. It was ten to seven, hours later than she habitually got up on a work day. Had her alarm failed to go off?
Hannah reached out to feel for the button on the back of the clock, the one she pulled out to activate the alarm. It was pushed all the way in. Had she forgotten to set the alarm last night? Or had Michelle tiptoed into her room in the wee hours of the morning and deliberately pushed the button so that her alarm wouldn’t go off?
Moishe was purring so loudly he sounded like a car with a nonfunctioning muffler. It was definitely time to feed him. She usually fed him right after she poured her first cup of coffee and . . .
Hannah’s mind stopped in mid-thought. She smelled coffee. She was sure of it. And there was another wonderful scent in the air. It smelled like apples. And cinnamon. And nutmeg. And something else, a darker, richer scent. Cardamom?
That did it. Cardamom was Hannah’s favorite spice and she swung her legs over the side of the bed and felt for her slippers. The light had dawned and it was obvious that Michelle had gotten up early, baked something that smelled incredibly yummy, and gone off to work at The Cookie Jar. What a wonderful baby sister she had!
“Come on, Moishe! Let’s go see what Michelle baked!” Hannah slipped her feet into her favorite sheepskin-lined moccasins and headed for the kitchen. She was wide awake, her mouth was watering, and she could hardly wait to see whatever it was that Michelle had left for her.
“It’s some kind of breakfast bread,” she told Moishe, zeroing in on the loaf of bread that sat on the counter. “I know you’d rather have shrimp, but it smells incredibly good to me.”
“Rowwww!”
Hannah turned to glance at Moishe who was standing in front of his empty food bowl. “Okay,” she told him. “Just let me pour my coffee and then I’ll get your kitty crunchies.”
As she passed by the breakfast bread, it beckoned to her, but her furry roommate came first. Her stomach growled almost as loud as Moishe’s purring as she filled his bowl and got him fresh water.
“My turn,” she said, taking her first sip of coffee, the best of the day, incredibly good and rich. She took another sip and then headed straight for the counter to cut a piece of Michelle’s breakfast surprise.
The bread was dark and moist, and reminiscent of apple pie. She always put cardamom in her apple pies, even though it had gotten very expensive over the years. She didn’t need much, only a half teaspoon to mix with the cinnamon and nutmeg. And her Mom’s Apple Pie, the recipe that had come from her great-grandmother Elsa, was very popular at The Cookie Jar.
A moment later, Hannah was seated at her kitchen table and she took a bite of bread. It was every bit as good as it smelled, perhaps better. She had to get the recipe from Michelle. Her customers would absolutely love it.
A note was propped up on the table and Hannah read it.
Good morning, Hannah. Lisa picked me up and we’re at The Cookie Jar. Stay home as long as you like. We’ve got everything covered.
Ross called. He’s coming in earlier than he expected. They moved up his interview to this Thursday. He wanted to know if that was okay with you so please call him back after noon, yo
ur time, today.
The bread on the table is Applesauce Bread. I got the recipe from one of the girls in my acting class. She said it was her grandmother’s recipe. I hope you like it. It’s good just the way it is, room temperature with butter, or toasted and buttered.
See you when you get to The Cookie Jar. Lisa wants you to fill her in on what happened yesterday so she can start telling the story.
The note was signed with an M for Michelle and there was a postscript on the bottom.
P.S.—I fed Moishe.
Hannah turned to look at her cat who was staring up at her with a perfectly innocent expression. “You’ve been busted,” she told him. “Michelle said she’d already fed you.”
Moishe’s expression didn’t change one bit. He still looked as innocent as a newborn kitten. Hannah sighed and shook her head. He’d duped her and there was nothing she could do about it now. His food bowl was empty again. If Michelle did this again, she’d make sure to read the note before she put Moishe’s breakfast in his bowl.
Hannah and Michelle had baked Applesauce Bread and the kitchen at The Cookie Jar smelled wonderful. After they’d finished cleaning up their baking dishes, Hannah had poured coffee for both of them, and they were sitting at the stainless steel work island in the center of the kitchen, enjoying a well-deserved break.
“Lisa’s about to start telling the story,” Michelle said, noticing that the chatter coming from the coffee shop had abruptly ceased. “You’re jam-packed with customers out there. I went in to check while you were putting the Applesauce Bread in the oven and it’s standing room only.”
“I’m not surprised. They love Lisa’s stories. Some of our customers come back two or three times to hear them all over again.”
“Lisa ought to join the Lake Eden Players,” Michelle said, naming the amateur theater group that had taken over the old shoe repair shop and turned it into a small theater.
“If she did, she’d draw a huge crowd. And then they’d have to move to bigger quarters. Lisa’s a natural actor.”
“Do you all know about Judge Colfax’s death?” Lisa’s voice carried clearly to them from the coffee shop. There was a chorus of yesses and Lisa went on. “And do you all know that our Hannah was the first on the scene?”
“Hannah has slaydar. She’s always first on the scene!” a deep voice commented and several customers laughed.
It was Cyril Murphy. Hannah recognized his slight Irish brogue.
“You’re right,” Lisa said. “Let’s start when Hannah got up yesterday morning. It wasn’t an ordinary day for her and I think some of you know why.”
“She had to go to court,” a woman answered.
Hannah recognized the voice, but she couldn’t quite place it. It belonged to either Bertie Straub or her accountant’s wife, Lolly Kramer.
“That’s right, Bertie,” Lisa said. “Hannah was nervous because Howie was picking her up at her condo to take her to the county courthouse.”
“I’ll testify to that,” Howie Levine said. “I know because she didn’t laugh at my first two jokes.”
Hannah turned to Michelle. “Could you go out right after Lisa finishes her story and drag Howie back here? I need to talk to him.”
“Are you going to ask him about Judge Colfax’s background?”
“That’s right.” Hannah was impressed. Michelle had learned a lot by helping her investigate. “I want to hear what Howie knows about Judge Colfax’s family and any cases he tried that may have played a part in his murder.”
“Good idea. I did a little research this morning on the Internet.”
Hannah was surprised. Michelle must have been up all night if she’d done computer research. “Before you left my place?”
“No, in Lisa’s car on the way here. I used my smartphone.”
“I see,” Hannah said, and she did. It was yet another reason to buy and learn to use a smartphone. If she could get Tracey to teach her how to use it. And if she didn’t have to publicly admit that she’d been foolish to dig in her heels and stubbornly refuse to even consider updating her old phone.
“I ordered some groceries from Florence’s website while I was at it. I’ll cook dinner the night Ross comes to town if you’ll make the dessert.”
“Deal,” Hannah said, visions of desserts dancing through her head. “Did you order the groceries on your smartphone?”
“Yes. All we have to do is pick them up at the Red Owl on the way home.” Michelle turned to glance at the clock on the wall. “You should call Ross right after Lisa finishes her story. It’s noon already.”
“Thanks. I’ll call right now.”
“But don’t you want to hear Lisa’s story?”
“Not really. I was there and I know what happened. I’ve already told everything to Mike and to Lisa. Twice is enough.”
“Okay. I’ll slip into the coffee shop so I can hear Lisa better.”
Hannah smiled. “That was a very nice way of putting it.”
“Putting what?”
“The fact that you’re going into the coffee shop to give me privacy for the call.”
“Oh. Yes. Well . . . that’s okay, isn’t it?”
“It’s fine. I was complimenting you on your sensitivity.”
“Mother should be that sensitive!” Michelle said, getting up from her stool. “I just about died every time I talked to a boyfriend on the phone in the hall. I knew she was listening to every word I said.”
“Yes, but not the way you think.”
“She wasn’t listening at the door?”
“No. We had an extension in the kitchen, remember?” Hannah waited until Michelle had nodded and then she continued. “She listened in there.”
“Did you catch her at it?”
“If you mean did I walk in the kitchen and see her, the answer is no. But I know she did it. One time I was talking to a friend and I heard the dishwasher go on the rinse cycle. There was no way I could have heard it from the hallway unless the phone in the kitchen was off the hook.”
“Did you ever accuse her of eavesdropping?”
“No. I just told all my friends what she was doing and they were careful not to say anything that they didn’t want repeated on the Lake Eden Gossip Hotline.”
“Smart,” Michelle said, picking up a full jar of cookies to take into the cookie shop. “I always wondered how she knew I was going to the movies with a boy instead of studying with one of my girlfriends.”
Hannah waited until Michelle had left and then she checked the timer. The Applesauce Bread had only a minute or two left to bake. She waited until the timer rang and then took the loaves out of the oven and transferred them to the baker’s rack. By the time she finished calling Ross, the bread would be cool enough to take out of the pans. She would test the warm bread on her customers, a kind of unexpected treat.
Hannah took a deep breath of the wonderfully aromatic air as she picked up the remote phone and stepped out the back door to make her call. There was no doubt in her mind that her customers would love Michelle’s Applesauce Bread, and she suspected they’d have to bake several more batches to handle all the orders they were bound to receive.
APPLESAUCE BREAD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
¾ cup salted butter (1 and ½ sticks, 6 ounces) softened to room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) softened cream cheese (the brick kind, not the whipped kind)
2 cups white (granulated) sugar
2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
1 and ½ cups applesauce (I used Mott)
3 cups all-purpose flour (don’t sift—pack it down in the cup when you mea
sure it)
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans or walnuts)
Hannah’s 1st Note: You can mix this up by hand, but it’s a lot easier with an electric mixer.
Beat the softened butter, softened cream cheese, and sugar together until they’re light and fluffy.
Add the beaten eggs and the vanilla extract. Mix them in thoroughly.
Sprinkle in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cardamom (if you decided to use it). Mix until they are well combined.
Measure out the applesauce and add it to your mixing bowl. Beat until it is well combined.
Add the flour in one cup increments, mixing after each addition.
Double Fudge Brownie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 18) Page 12
