Chapter Sixteen
Hannah had just finished transferring her wet clothes from the washer to the dryer when her phone rang again. She took a half-second to set and turn on the dryer and then rushed back to the living room to answer it. “This is Hannah,” she said, sinking down on the couch.
“And this is Michelle,” Hannah’s youngest sister answered. “Can I come and stay with you for a couple of days? I’ve got a little time off before my work-study program starts, and it’s lonely at our house. Everyone else has left on summer break.”
“Of course. You know you’re always welcome. What day are you coming?”
“I’m here. Mother picked me up at the Quick Stop and Sean said we just missed Andrea. Mother will drive me to your place if that’s okay with you.”
“It’s fine with me. Have you eaten?”
“Not yet, but I’ve got a couple of energy bars with me, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“It’s no worry. I’m already fixing night lunch for Andrea, Norman, and Mike. It’s easy to add you and Mother to the mix.”
“Oh, good! Mother hasn’t eaten either. Can we pick up anything on the way?”
Hannah thought fast. “Some orange juice. That’s a natural with breakfast sausage and my Oatmeal Apple Pancakes.”
“You got it. How about dessert?”
“I’ve got cookies and French vanilla ice cream in the freezer.”
“That sounds good. I’ll pick up some toppings to go on the ice cream. There’s no way Mother can eat a whole meal without chocolate so I’ll get hot fudge.”
“Good thinking.” Hannah glanced over at Moishe, who was staring at her intently. “Is Mother wearing silk stockings?”
“Yes. But why did you want to . . .” Michelle stopped speaking and laughed. “I get it! I’ll pick up some kitty treats so Mother can placate Moishe. We’ll see you in less than an hour.”
Hannah hung up the phone and sighed. It didn’t do any good to have a cold glass of lemonade if she didn’t get the chance to drink it. It was a good thing she made it fairly strong so that all she had to do was pour it in a larger glass and add fresh ice. She had just accomplished that and was on her way back to the couch when the phone rang again.
There were times when she really wanted to answer the phone and times when she really didn’t. This was one of those “really didn’t” times. In Hannah’s case, reluctance bowed to responsibility and took center stage because she reached for the phone. “This is Hannah,” she said, trying not to sound as exasperated as she felt.
“Hi, Hannah. It’s Mike. I got through early and I would have been out there by now, but Doc Knight’s doing the autopsy and I’m waiting for the results. I’m almost sure I can be there by nine, though. Is that all right?”
“That’s fine. Are you hungry?”
“As a bear. Do you want me to stop at the Corner Tavern and pick up burgers for us?”
“Thanks, but no. I’m cooking. And just so you know, I’m about to get a houseful.”
“Who’s coming?”
“Andrea’s the first. She should be here fairly soon. And Mother and Michelle are right behind her.”
“Great. I haven’t seen Michelle in a while. Anyone else?”
“Norman. He hasn’t eaten since breakfast and I invited him to join us. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Not at all. I need to talk to him anyway. When I went out to the Inn to interview Sally, she said he had lunch with Bev.”
“Had lunch?” Hannah was a bit disconcerted. Norman had told her he hadn’t eaten lunch.
“Okay, I should have said that Norman was with her at lunch. Neither one of them ate. He had coffee and she had sparkling water. Sally also said that Norman looked the opposite of thrilled to be with Bev again. What are you cooking, Hannah? Do you need me to pick up anything on the way?”
“Thanks, but I think I’ve got it covered. We’re having pancakes and sausage with cookies and ice cream for dessert.”
“Sounds good! I’ll see you as soon as I get those results.”
Hannah took time to drink her lemonade and then she went into the kitchen to get out her electric griddle. With six for pancakes, she needed more cooking space than she could get with frying pans on the stovetop. She was just getting out the vegetable oil, butter, flour, and milk when the phone rang again.
“Grand Central,” she said as she picked up the wall phone by her kitchen table.
There was a burst of laughter from her caller and Hannah recognized the laugh. “Lisa?” she asked.
“It’s me. I just wanted to tell you that Jenny’s going to come in tomorrow to meet you.”
“Jenny?” Hannah asked, thoroughly puzzled.
“Jenny Hester, the nurse with the Easy Fruit Pie recipe. I talked to her on our break tonight. She just moved here a couple of weeks ago and if she isn’t working for Doc Knight at the hospital, she’s at the college taking classes. She told me she’s been so busy she hasn’t had a chance to get to The Cookie Jar yet, but she wants to come in and meet you.”
“Great. I’ll look forward to meeting her.” Hannah paused as she heard a knock on the door. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Lisa. I’ve got company coming and I think they’re here.”
It only took a moment or two to hang up the phone and cross the living room to the door. Hannah opened it without looking through the peephole and chided herself for her negligence. She had to get into the habit of looking before she opened the door.
“You didn’t look through the peephole,” Andrea accused as she handed Hannah a grocery bag.
“How do you know I didn’t?”
“Because I was looking in from outside, and nothing blocked the light behind it.”
“Then if I’d looked, all I would have seen was your eye.”
“Oh. I guess you’re right. But you really ought to look, Hannah. Bill says it’s really important.”
“I’ll try to remember.” Hannah glanced inside the grocery bag. “I’m glad you didn’t get the really small canister of oatmeal.”
“How much do you need for those pancakes?”
“Only half a cup for each batch, but a batch only makes six small pancakes. We’ll be six for dinner and I’ll need at least four batches, maybe more. I just hope I have enough cookies in the freezer.”
Andrea began to smile and it was a very happy smile. “Go put that big bag in the kitchen and then look inside the smaller bag I’m carrying.”
“What’s in there?” Hannah asked as Andrea followed her to the kitchen.
“Something I hope you’ll like. I made them when I got home this afternoon.”
The moment the large bag of ingredients was empty, Hannah took a peek at Andrea’s smaller bag. “Cookies?” she asked, looking through the almost transparent green plastic lid of the food storage container inside.
“Yes. The kids really liked them and so did Grandma McCann. Of course the kids like almost anything, but Grandma McCann is a really good cook so her opinion counts.”
“Yes, it does,” Hannah agreed, lifting the lid and removing one of the cookies. If Andrea’s nanny and housekeeper thought the cookies were good, they were definitely good.
Hannah took a bite and chewed. And then she took another bite. “Excellent,” she said, but only after she’d finished the cookie. “I’ve never tasted anything quite like them before. You’re turning into a very good baker.”
“Thanks!” Andrea beamed at the compliment. “Of course Tracey and Bethie deserve some of the credit. Tracey stirred and she reminded me to put the scooping spoon in the freezer so the dough wouldn’t stick.”
“Good for Tracey.” Hannah already knew that her almost-seven-year-old niece was a big help to Andrea, but she wondered what two-year-old Bethie could do to help. “How about Bethie? What did she do?”
“She drank the pineapple juice after I drained the pineapple. And before you say anything, I know that’s not really helping, but I told her it was. And she did critique the cookies. She said, Yummy, Mummy! And then she asked for another one.”
“That’s a seal of approval in my book. Are all these cookies for me?”
“Yes. I’ve got another container at home for Lisa and Herb. I’ll bring them by The Cookie Jar in the morning.”
“Would you mind if I served your cookies tonight? They’d be really good with vanilla ice cream.”
Andrea’s face lit up. “I wouldn’t mind at all! Who’s coming over? You said there were six.”
“You, me, Mike, Norman, Mother, and Michelle.”
“Then it’s a family party except for Bill. He’s working late on some paperwork that has to be filed. He says it takes him a lot longer now that he has to explain everything to one of the temporary secretaries. Barbara used to take care of all that.” Andrea gave a little sigh. “I wonder if she’s ever going to come back to work. It’s so sad. And they’re still in the dark about exactly what happened and who attacked her. I wonder if she’ll ever be able to tell us.”
“I think she will. She was rational for longer periods of time when I saw her this afternoon. She said some strange things, but some things made sense, too.”
“Let me help you set the table,” Andrea offered. “And when we’re through, you can tell me all about it.”
PINEAPPLE COCONUT WHIPPERSNAPPER COOKIES
Do not preheat your oven quite yet—your mixing bowl and spoon must chill before mixing this cookie dough.
8-ounce can of crushed pineapple
1 box yellow cake mix (the kind that makes a
9-inch by 13-inch cake)
1 large egg, beaten (just whip it up in a glass with a
fork)
2 cups of original Cool Whip (not low-fat Cool
Whip)
1 cup (8 ounces) sweetened coconut flakes
? cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar (for rolling
the cookies)
15 to 18 maraschino cherries cut in half lengthwise
30 minutes before you’re ready to bake, stick a teaspoon from your silverware drawer in a large freezer-safe mixing bowl. Stick the bowl with the spoon in the freezer to chill.
Open the 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple and empty it in a small strainer. Occasionally, use the back of a tablespoon from your spoon drawer to press down on the top of the crushed pineapple in the strainer to speed up the draining time.
After 30 minutes have passed, empty the drained pineapple out onto a couple of paper towels and blot it gently to remove any remaining moisture.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Either spray a cookie sheet with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper and then spray that.
Remove the large mixing bowl from the freezer, but leave the spoon in.
Pour approximately half of the yellow cake mix into your bowl.
Add the beaten egg and stir it in.
Add the drained pineapple and mix it in.
Sprinkle the rest of the yellow cake mix on top. Add the Cool Whip and the coconut. Stir everything together until it’s well mixed.
Place the half-cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Then take the spoon out of the freezer.
There are two ways to form dough balls with this sticky cookie dough. One is to scoop out dough with the chilled spoon and place it in the bowl of powdered sugar, rolling it around with your fingers until it forms a small ball. The other, easier way is to dust your hands with powdered sugar, pinch off a small amount of dough, place it in the bowl of powdered sugar and shape it into a ball with your fingers.
Use your favorite method (you may want to try both to see which one works best for you) to form 12 dough balls for each cookie sheet.
If you don’t have double ovens, place the remaining cookie dough in the refrigerator to wait until you have room to bake a second sheet of cookies. If you forget to do this and leave it on the counter, it will be even stickier!
Place one-half of a maraschino cherry, cut side down, on top of each cookie ball on the sheet. Flatten the balls just a bit by pressing down on the cherry halves.
Bake your Pineapple Coconut Whippersnapper Cookies at 350 degrees F., for 15 minutes.
Remove your cookies from the oven and let them cool for 2 minutes on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack.
When 2 minutes have passed, remove the cookies from the sheet with a metal spatula and place them on the wire rack to complete cooling. If you used the parchment paper, this is simple. Simply pull the paper off of the cookie sheet and onto the wire rack. The cookies can stay on the paper until they’re cool.
Hannah’s Note: Pineapple Coconut Whippersnapper Cookies are very pretty. Lisa and I are going to make them for Christmas parties using both red and green cherries since red and green are the traditional colors of Christmas.
Lisa’s Note: Herb absolutely adores these cookies. I can’t bake them fast enough for him!
Yield: Approximately 2 to 3 dozen very pretty and very yummy cookies.