Cherry Cheesecake Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

Hannah kept handy for notes about supplies. “I’d better write down flaked coconut. We’re almost out.”
    “Good idea. And while you’re at it, make a note to order Jujubees and Milk Duds.”
    “Are we going to the movies?” Lisa quipped, looking up with a smile.
    “No, the movies are coming to us. Just as soon as we carry in these canisters, we’ll take a coffee break and I’ll tell you all about it.”
    COCALATTAS
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position
     
    1 cup melted butter (2 sticks, ½ pound)
    ¾ cup white (granulated) sugar
    ¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    2 teaspoons coconut extract ***
    ½ teaspoon salt
    2 beaten eggs
    1 cup finely chopped coconut (from approximately 2 cups coconut flakes)
    2¼ cups flour (don’t sift—pack it down in your measuring cup)
    1 cup chocolate chips (6 oz. package—I use Ghirardelli’s)
     
    Melt the butter. (Nuke it for one and a half minutes on HIGH in a microwave-safe container, or melt it in a pan on the stove over low heat.) Mix in the white sugar and the brown sugar. Add the baking soda, coconut extract, and salt. Add the eggs and stir it all up.
     
    Chop the coconut flakes in a food processor. (Most people like the coconut chopped because then it doesn’t stick between their teeth, but you don’t have to go out and buy a food processor to make these cookies. Just find the finest, smallest flakes you can in the store, spread them out on a cutting board and chop them up a little finer with a knife.) Measure the coconut AFTER it’s chopped. Pack it down when you measure it, add it to your bowl, and stir thoroughly.
     
    Add half of the flour and the chocolate chips. Stir well to incorporate. Finish by mixing in the rest of the flour.
     
    Let the dough “rest” for ten minutes on the counter, uncovered. Drop by teaspoons onto UN-GREASED cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard sized sheet. If the dough is too sticky to handle, chill it slightly and try again. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
     
    Let cool for three minutes, then remove cookies from the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
     
    Yield: Approximately 6 dozen depending on cookie size.
     
    Lisa’s Note: Herb’s great-grandmother’s recipe calls for chipped chocolate, so I used chocolate chips. Hannah says that if chocolate chips had been available when Herb’s great-grandmother was alive, she probably would have used them.
     
    Hannah’s Note: These are Herb’s new favorite cookies. He says they taste like a crunchy Mounds bar. The Pineapple Right Side Up Cookie Bars that I made especially for him are still his favorite bar cookie.

Chapter
Three
    H annah was just finishing her last sip of coffee when the phone rang. They’d put the receiver back in the cradle and Lisa had promised to answer it. In less than a minute, her partner was back, grinning from ear to ear.
    “That was Mayor Bascomb,” Lisa announced. “He’s going to stop by in a couple of minutes. He said he’s got breaking news that’ll rock Lake Eden to its foundation. Do you think it’s about the movie?”
    “It must be. We don’t live in earthquake country.”
    Lisa groaned. “I wish I’d thought to say that. Of course I couldn’t have said it, since he’s theoretically Herb’s boss and he might have taken it wrong. I’d better set out some PBJs for him. You know how crazy he is about peanut butter.”
    In less than five minutes there was a tap on the door and Mayor Bascomb came in. He wiped his boots on the rug inside the door and sniffed the air appreciatively. “Do I smell peanut butter?”
    “Right here, Mayor Bascomb.” Lisa pointed him toward the plate of cookies that sat in the center of the work island and the mayor pulled up a stool.
    “No sugar for me today,” he instructed Hannah as she headed for the table with his mug of coffee. “Steffie says I put on a couple of inches around