In the Kitchen

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Recipes

CHOCOLATE CHIP CRUNCH COOKIES

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

1 cup butter (2 sticks, ½ pound – melted)
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
1 cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 beaten eggs (you can just beat them up in a cup with a fork)
2 ½ cups flour (not sifted – pack it down in the measuring cup)
2 cups corn flakes
1 to 2 cups chocolate chips

Melt the butter, add the sugars, and stir them all together in a large mixing bowl. Add the soda, salt, vanilla, and beaten eggs. Mix well. Then add the flour and stir it in. Measure out the corn flakes and crush them with your hands. Then add them to your bowl, along with the chocolate chips. Mix everything up thoroughly.

Let the dough set on the counter for a minute or two to rest. (It doesn’t really need to rest, but you probably do.)

Form the dough into walnut-sized balls with your fingers and place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. (I used Pam to grease my cookie sheets.) Press the dough balls down just a bit with your impeccably clean hand so they won’t roll off on the way to the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove the cookies to a wire rack until they’re completely cool. (The rack is important —- it makes them crisp.)

Yield: approximately 6 to 8 dozen, depending on cookie size.

Hannah’s Note: If your cookies spread out too much in the oven, either chill it in the refrigerator before baking, or turn out the dough on a floured board and knead in approximately 1/3 cup more flour.

(Published in “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder” by Joanne Fluke)

BLUE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position

The Batter:

3/4 cup melted butter (1½ sticks)
1 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw if they’re frozen)
2 cups plus one Tablespoon flour (no need to sift)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup blueberry pie filling

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup softened butter (1/2 stick)

Grease the bottoms only of a 12-cup muffin pan (or line the cups with double cupcake papers – that’s what I do at The Cookie Jar.) Melt the butter. Mix in the sugar. Add the beaten eggs, baking powder, and salt. Mix it all up thoroughly.

Put one Tablespoon of flour in a baggie with your cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. Shake it gently to coat the blueberries and leave them in the bag for now.

Add half of the remaining two cups of flour to your bowl and mix it in with half of the milk. Then add the rest of the flour and the milk, and mix thoroughly.

Here comes the fun part: Add 1/2 cup of blueberry pie filling to your bowl and mix it in. (Your dough will turn a shade of blue, but don’t let that stop you – once the muffins are baked, they’ll look just fine.) When your dough is thoroughly mixed, fold in the flour-coated fresh or frozen blueberries.

Fill the muffin tins three-quarters full and set them aside. If you have dough left over, grease the bottom of a small tea-bread loaf pan and fill it with your remaining dough.

The crumb topping: Mix the sugar and the flour in a small bowl. Add the softened butter and cut it in until it’s crumbly. (You can also do this in a food processor with chilled butter and the steel blade.)

Fill the remaining space in the muffin cups with the crumb topping. Then bake the muffins in a 375 F. degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. (The tea-bread should bake about 10 minutes longer than the muffins.)

While your muffins are baking, divide the rest of your blueberry pie filling into half-cup portions and pop it in the freezer. I use paper cups to hold it and freeze them inside a freezer bag. All you have to do is thaw a cup the next time you want to make a batch of Blue Blueberry 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.

These are wonderful when they’re slightly warm, but the blueberry flavor will intensify if you store them in a covered container overnight.

Hannah’s Note: Grandma Ingrid’s muffin pans were large enough to hold all the dough from this recipe. My muffin tins are smaller and I always make a loaf of Blue Blueberry tea-bread with the leftover dough. If I make it for Mother, I leave off the crumb topping. She loves to eat it sliced, toasted, and buttered for breakfast.

(Published in” Blueberry Muffin Murder” by Joanne Fluke)

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

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

1 nine-inch baked pie shell
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THE FILLING:

3 whole eggs
4 egg yolks (save the whites in a mixing bowl and let them come up to room temperature – you’ll need them for the meringue)
½ cup water
1/8 cup lime juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 Tablespoon butter

(Using a double boiler makes this recipe foolproof, but if you’re very careful and stir constantly so it doesn’t scorch, you can make the lemon filling in a heavy saucepan directly on the stove over medium heat.)

Put some tap water in the bottom of a double boiler and heat it until it simmers. (Make sure you don’t use too much water – it shouldn’t touch the bottom of the pan on top.) Off the heat, beat the egg yolks with the whole eggs in the top of the double boiler. Add the ½ cup water, lemon juice, and lime juice. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl and stir until completely blended. Add this to the egg mixture in the top of the double boiler and blend thoroughly.

Place the top of the double boiler over the simmering water and cook, stirring frequently, until the lemon pie filling thickens (5 minutes or so.) Lift the top of the double boiler and place it on a cold burner. Add the lemon zest and the butter, and stir thoroughly. Let the filling cool while you make the meringue.

THE MERINGUE: (This is a whole lot easier with an electric mixer!)

4 egg whites
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup white (granulated) sugar

Add the cream of tartar and salt to the egg whites and mix them in. Beat the egg whites on high until they form soft peaks. Continue beating as you sprinkle in the sugar. When the egg whites form firm peaks, stop mixing and tip the bowl to test the meringue. If the egg whites don’t slide down the side, they’re ready.

Put the filling into the baked pie shell, smoothing it with a rubber spatula. Clean and dry your spatula. Spread the meringue over the filling with the clean spatula, sealing it to the edges of the crust. When the pie is completely covered with meringue, “dot” the pie with the flat side of the spatula to make points in the meringue. (The meringue will shrink back when it bakes if you don’t seal it to the edges of the crust.)

Bake the pie at 350 degrees F. for no more than 10 minutes.

Remove the pie from the oven, let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack, and then refrigerate it if you wish. This pie can be served at room temperature, but it will slice more easily if it’s chilled.

(To keep your knife from sticking to the meringue when you cut the pie, dip it in cold water.)

(Published in “Lemon Meringue Pie Murder” by Joanne Fluke)

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

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

For The Crust:

2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (measure AFTER crushing)
¾ stick melted butter (6 Tablespoons)
1 teaspoon almond extract

Pour melted butter and almond extract over cookie crumbs. Mix with a fork until they’re evenly moistened.

Cut a circle of parchment paper (or wax paper) to fit inside the bottom of a 9-inch Springform pan. Spray the pan with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray, set the paper circle in place, and spray with Pam again.

Dump the moistened cookie crumbs in the pan and press them down over the paper circle and one inch up the sides. Stick the pan in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the cheesecake.

For The Topping:

2 cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
21-ounce can cherry pie filling*** (I used Comstock Dark Sweet Cherry)

*** If you don’t like canned pie filling, make your own with canned or frozen cherries, sugar, and cornstarch.

Mix the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Set the unopened can of cherry pie filling in the refrigerator for later.

For The Cheesecake Batter:

1 cup white (granulated) sugar
3 eight-ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature (total 24 ounces)
1 cup mayonnaise
4 eggs
2 cups white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli’s11-ounce bag)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Place the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the blocks of cream cheese and the mayonnaise, and whip it up at medium speed until it’s smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes. (Chips may retain their shape, so stir to see if they’re melted – if not, microwave in 15-second increments until you can stir them smooth.) Cool the melted white chocolate for a minute or two and then mix it into the batter gradually at slow speed. Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla, mixing it in thoroughly.

Pour the batter on top of the chilled crust, set the pan on a cookie sheet to catch any drips, and bake it at 350 degrees F. for 55 to 60 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, but DON’T SHUT OFF THE OVEN.

Starting in the center, spoon the sour cream topping over the top of the cheesecake, spreading it out to within a half-inch of the rim. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Cool the cheesecake in the pan on a wire rack. When the pan is cool enough to pick up with your bare hands, place it in the refrigerator and chill it, uncovered, for at least 8 hours.

To serve, run a knife around the inside rim of the pan, release the springform catch, and lift off the rim. Place a piece of waxed paper on a flat plate and tip it upside down over the top of your cheesecake. Invert the cheesecake so that it rests on the paper.

Carefully pry off the bottom of the Springform pan and remove the paper from the bottom crust.

Invert a serving platter over the bottom crust of your cheesecake. Flip the cheesecake right side up, take off the top plate, and remove the waxed paper.

Spread the cherry pie filling over the sour cream topping on your cheesecake. You can drizzle a little down the sides if you wish.

(Published in “Cherry Cheesecake Murder” by Joanne Fluke)

KEY LIME PIE

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

THE CRUST:
Make your favorite graham cracker or cookie crumb crust (or buy one pre-made at the grocery store – I used a shortbread crust.)

THE FILLING:

5 eggs
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup sour cream
½ cup key lime juice ***
¼ cup white (granulated) sugar
½ teaspoon lemon zest (optional)****

*** Key limes are difficult to find. If your store doesn’t have them, look for frozen key lime juice. If you can’t find that, just buy regular limes and juice those.

**** If you don’t have lemon zest, DO NOT substitute lime zest, especially from regular limes – it can be very bitter and the little flecks of green aren’t very appetizing.

Crack one whole egg into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Separate the remaining 4 eggs, placing the 4 yolks into the bowl with the whole egg and the 4 whites into another mixing bowl. Leave the bowl with the 4 whites on your counter. They need to warm a bit for the meringue you’ll make later.

Whisk the whole egg and the egg yolks until they’re a uniform color. Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk. Add the lemon zest, if you decided to use it, and the sour cream. Stir it all up and set the bowl aside.

Juice the limes and measure out ½ cup of juice in a small bowl.

Hannah’s 1st Note: Key limes aren’t easy to juice. They’re very small and a regular lime juicer won’t work very well. I just roll them on my counter, pressing them down with my palm, until they’re a little soft. Then I cut them in half on a plate, (so that I can save any juice that runs out,) hold each half over a measuring cup, and squeeze them with my fingers. It’s a little messy, but it works.

Add the ¼ cup sugar to the key lime juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Now add the sugared lime juice to the bowl with your egg mixture and whisk it in.

Pour the filling you just made into the graham cracker or cookie crust.

Bake the pie at 325 degrees F. for 20 minutes. Take it out of the oven and set it on a rack to wait for its meringue.

DON’T TURN OFF THE OVEN! Instead, increase the oven temperate to 350 degrees F. to bake the meringue.

THE MERINGUE: (This is a whole lot easier with an electric mixer!)

4 egg whites (the ones you saved)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup white (granulated) sugar

Add the cream of tartar and salt to the bowl with your egg whites and mix them in. Beat the egg whites on HIGH until they form soft peaks.

Continue to beat at high speed as you sprinkle in the sugar. When the egg whites form firm peaks, stop mixing and tip the bowl to test the meringue. If the egg whites don’t slide down the side, they’re ready.

Spread the meringue over the filling with a clean spatula, sealing it to the edges of the crust. When the pie is covered with meringue, either “dot” it with the flat side of the spatula to make points in the meringue, OR smooth it out into a dome and make circular grooves with the tip of your spatula from the outside rim to the center, to create a flower-like design.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees F. for an additional 12 minutes.

Remove the pie from the oven, let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack, and then refrigerate it if you wish. This pie can be served at room temperature, or chilled. It will be easier to cut and serve if it’s chilled.

(To keep your knife from sticking to the meringue when you cut the pie, dip the blade in cold water.)

Hannah’s 2nd Note: Key lime juice is a very pale green color, midway between green and yellow. The eggs and egg yolks added to the filling will color it more yellow than green. If you see a key lime pie that’s green inside, the baker added green food coloring.

(Published in “Key Lime Pie Murder” by Joanne Fluke)

HANNAH’S SPECIAL CARROT CAKE

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

2 cups white (granulated) sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil (not canola, or olive, or anything but veggie oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream (or unflavored yogurt)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon (or ½ teaspoon cardamom and the rest cinnamon)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, juice and all***
2 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans)
2 ½ cups flour (don’t sift –pack it down when you measure)
2 cups grated carrots (also pack them down when you measure)

*** That’s about 1 ½ cups of crushed pineapple and a scant cup juice

Grease (or spray with Pam) a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan and set it aside.

Hannah’s 1st Note: This is a lot easier with an electric mixer, but you can also make it by hand.

Beat the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Mix in the sour cream (or yogurt.) Add the baking soda, cinnamon (and cardamom if you used it) and salt. Mix them in thoroughly.

Add the can of crushed pineapple (including the liquid) and the chopped nuts to your bowl. Mix them in thoroughly.

Add the flour by half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

Grate the carrots. (This is very easy with a food processor, but you can also do it with a hand grater.) Measure out 2 cups of grated carrots. Pack them down in the cup when you measure them.

Mix in the carrots BY HAND. Grated carrots tend to get caught on the beaters of electric mixers.

Spread the batter in your prepared cake pan and bake it at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester (I use a food pick that’s a little longer than a toothpick,) inserted one inch from the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the cake pan on a wire rack. When it’s completely cool, frost with cream cheese frosting while it’s still in the pan.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1/2 cup softened butter
8-ounce package softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar (no need to sift unless it’s got big lumps)

Mix the softened butter with the softened cream cheese and the vanilla until the mixture is smooth.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: Do this next step at room temperature. If you heated the cream cheese or the butter to soften it, make sure it’s cooled down before you continue.

Add the confectioner’s sugar in half-cup increments until the frosting is of proper spreading consistency. (You’ll use all, or almost all, of the sugar.)

Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you’re good with the pastry bag, remove 1/3 cup of frosting and save it in a little bowl to pipe on frosting carrots and stems.

With a frosting knife (or rubber spatula if you prefer) drop large dollops of frosting over the surface of your cooled cake. I usually end up with somewhere between 6 and 12 dollops. The dollops are like little stacks of frosting – you’ll spread neighboring stacks together, working your way from one end to the other, until you’ve frosted the whole cake. (This dollop method prevents uneven frosting thickness and “tearing” of the surface of your cake as you “pull” frosting from one end to the other.)

If you decided to use the pastry bag to decorate your cake, mix most of the remaining frosting with one drop of yellow food coloring and one drop of red food coloring. Mix it thoroughly to make an orange frosting and pipe little carrots on top to decorate your cake. You can save a bit of uncolored frosting to color green and dab green stems on the large end of the carrots.

(Published in “Carrot Cake Murder” by Joanne Fluke)

FUNERAL HOTDISH “ Anniversary Hotdish”

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position
Or Use an 18-quart electric roaster set to 350 degrees F.

Hannah’s 1st Note: Joyce says this is easiest with three people helping: one person to chop and sauté the celery and onions, one person to brown the hamburger, and one person to cook the pasta and mix the sauce.

Start by spraying the inside of your pan, or the electric roaster with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. (I used a great big disposable turkey roaster sprayed with Pam.)

1 bunch of celery (approximately 10 stalks)
3 large onions (We used four because we love onion)
6 pounds lean hamburger (We used 8 pounds because we like it beefier)
2 two-pound boxes elbow macaroni (for a total of four pounds – Joyce’s Funeral Committee uses Creamettes Elbow Macaroni)
1 large can (50-ounces) Campbell’s tomato soup, undiluted
2 large cans (46-ounces each) Campbell’s tomato juice
1 large bottle ( 46-ounces) catsup (the Swanville Funeral Committee uses Heinz Ketchup)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground is best, of course)

Clean and chop the celery into bite-size pieces. Put them in a frying pan with a little butter and start cooking them over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Peel and chop the onions into bite-sized pieces. Add them to the frying pan with the celery and continue to cook them, stirring occasionally, until they’re translucent.

Brown the hamburger over medium heat. Be sure to “chop” it with a spoon or heat-resistant spatula so it browns in bite-size pieces. (Joyce and her committee do this in a pan in the oven.)

Drain the browned hamburger, and rinse off the fat by putting the meat in a strainer and spraying it with warm water. (We drained the hamburger, but we forgot to rinse it off with warm water – it was good anyway.)

Cook the elbow macaroni according to the directions on the box. DO NOT OVERCOOK. (Joyce’s committee does not salt the water, but we did.) Drain it and set it aside.

Combine the undiluted tomato soup, the tomato juice, and the catsup. Mix in the brown sugar and the pepper. (Joyce’s committee does this right in the electric roaster and then heats it before they add the other ingredients. We mixed up our sauce in the bottom of the disposable turkey roaster and didn’t heat it before we added the other ingredients.)

Add the cooked celery and onions to the sauce and stir them in.

Stir in the hamburger.

Add the cooked, drained macaroni and mix well.

Once everything is thoroughly mixed, cover the disposable roaster with heavy duty foil and put it into a 350 degree F. oven for 2 hours, stirring occasionally so that it heats evenly and doesn’t stick to the bottom. (If you used an electric roaster, put on the lid, turn it up to 350 degrees F., and cook it for 2 hours, stirring occasionally so that it heats evenly and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the roaster.)

Joyce’s Note: Joyce says to tell you that cooking the hotdish for 2 hours is mainly to blend the flavors since everything is precooked.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: When we made this for the family reunion, we sprinkled shredded Parmesan cheese on the top before we served it. Marge says if she ever makes it at home, she’s going to add pitted black olives to the sauce, because Herb and Jack like them so much. She’s also going to make garlic bread to go with it.

Yield: The Swanville St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Funeral Committee says this recipe will serve 75, but they always serve plenty of other side dishes with it. If you plan to use Funeral Hotdish as your only main course, I wouldn’t expect it to serve more than two-dozen people, especially if they’re really hungry.

(Published in “Carrot Cake Murder” by Joanne Fluke)