“Thanks for caring, Mike,” she said. “And don’t worry. I’ll let you know if I think I’m walking into anything I can’t handle.”
Mike looked like he wanted to say something else, but he restrained himself and didn’t. Instead, he simply patted her on the shoulder, thanked her for the breakfast treats, and went out the door.
As she closed the door behind him, Hannah was left feeling conflicted. She didn’t know whether she should feel irritated with him, or grateful for his concern. And then, before she could settle the question in her own mind, Michelle came out of her bedroom, handed Hannah her parka, and they went out the door to start a new workday.
PEACH MUFFINS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
The Batter:
15-ounce (net weight) can of sliced peaches (I used Del Monte)
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour ? cup salted butter (1 and ? sticks, 6 ounces)
1 cup brown sugar (either light brown or dark brown—it really doesn’t matter—pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
2 large eggs 2 teaspoons baking powder ? teaspoon salt ? teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon almond extract 2 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
? cup whole milk ? cup peach jam (I used Smucker’s)
Crumb Topping:
? cup brown sugar ? cup all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
? teaspoon cinnamon ? cup cold salted butter (? stick) cut into 8 pieces.
Grease the bottoms only of a 12-cup muffin pan (or line the cups with double cupcake papers)
Drain your peaches in a strainer. (You can save the juice to drink later if you wish.)
Pat the peach slices dry with a paper towel and put them in the bowl of a food processor with the steel blade in place.
Cut up the peaches by processing in an on-and-off motion. Continue processing until the peaches are in small pieces.
Measure out 1 cup of the diced pieces and put them in a bowl on the counter. Sprinkle them with the Tablespoon of flour and stir until the peaches and the flour are thoroughly combined.
Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it on HIGH for 60 seconds. Let it sit in the microwave for 60 seconds and then stir it. If it’s melted, take it out and put it in a mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer.
Hannah’s 1st Note: You can mix up these muffins by hand or with an electric mixer.
Place the brown sugar in the mixing bowl and mix until it’s thoroughly combined with the melted butter.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Mix in the baking powder, salt, cinnamon and almond extract. Continue mixing until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
Add half of the flour to your bowl (1 cup) and mix it in with half of the milk (? cup). Mix thoroughly.
Add the rest of the flour and the rest of the milk. Mix that in thoroughly.
Add the half cup of peach jam to your bowl and mix it in thoroughly.
Shut off the mixer (if you used one) and remove the bowl. You will be finishing the rest of the muffin batter by hand.
Remember that bowl of diced peaches on your counter? It’s now time to fold them into your batter.
Fold in the peaches and then give your batter a final stir.
Fill the muffin cups three-quarters full of muffin batter.
If you have peach muffin batter left over, grease the bottom of a small tea-bread loaf pan and fill it with your remaining batter.
Crumb Topping
Layer the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in the bowl of your food processor.
Place the pieces of chilled butter on top. Process with the steel blade in an on-and-off motion until the mixture resembles coarse gravel.
Fill the remaining space in the muffin cups with the crumb topping.
Bake the muffins in a 375 degrees F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes. (If you made tea bread, it should bake about 10 minutes longer than the muffins.)
When your muffins are baked, set the muffin pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. (The muffins need to cool in the pan for easy removal.) Then just tip them out of the cups and enjoy.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Lisa and I like to use cupcake papers when we bake muffins. It makes them easier for our customers to handle, and they look prettier on display.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: These muffins are wonderful when they’re slightly warm, but the peach flavor will intensify if you store them in a covered container overnight.
Yield: 12 pretty, tasty muffins.
Chapter Nineteen
Hannah arrived at the Lake Eden Inn five minutes early and waved at Dick Laughlin as she walked past the bar.
Dick was racking glasses and arranging bottles behind the long polished red oak bar, but he saw her and motioned for her to come closer. “Sally’s waiting for you in her office,” he said.
“Okay. Thanks, Dick.”
Hannah turned to go, but he stopped her with a gesture. “Sit down for a second, Hannah. I need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” Hannah sat down on the closest bar stool and looked at him questioningly.
“I know something about what Sally’s going to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s going to tell you that Tori was out here the Saturday before she was murdered. And she was with a man in one of the curtained booths.”
Hannah took a moment to digest that fact and then she asked, “Who was the man?”
“I don’t know. All I can do is give you a description of what he was wearing when he left. I saw him walk past the bar, but didn’t see his face.” Dick gestured toward the doorway. “See how the swinging doors cut off my view of the upper part of everyone’s body?”
Hannah turned around to look. As she did, a waitress passed by and all Hannah saw was her uniform from the waist down and her shoes.