Apple Turnover Murder Bundle with Key Lime Pie Murder, Cherry Cheesecake Murder, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder, and Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke Page B

cool.
    When the mixture is cool enough so it won’t cook the eggs, add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. (You can use an electric mixer at this point if you like.) Then mix in the vanilla, orange zest, (if you decided to use it) baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix it all together.
    Add flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition. You don’t have to be precise—just divide your flour into roughly 4 parts. (One very important reason for adding flour in increments is so that the whole mountain of flour won’t sit there on top of your bowl and spill out all over the place when you try to stir it in.)
    Once the dough has been thoroughly mixed, roll one-inch dough balls with your fingers . (You can also use a 2-teaspoon scooper to form the dough balls). Dip the balls in the bowl of white sugar and roll them around until they’re coated.
    Place the dough balls on a greased cookie sheet, (I usually spray mine with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray,) 12 dough balls to a standard-size sheet. Flatten the dough balls a bit with your impeccably clean palm so that they won’t roll off the cookie sheet on the way to the oven.
    Bake the Chocolate Sugar Cookies at 325 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. (Mine took 12 minutes.) Cool them on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
    Yield: Approximately 7 to 8 dozen fudgy, melt-in-your-mouth, sugar cookies.

Chapter Five
    â€œR emind me not to order that again,” Mike said, pulling into into the alley that ran past the back of The Cookie Jar.
    â€œYou didn’t like your peanut butter pepper burger?”
    â€œIt was … interesting.”
    Hannah laughed. “That word covers a multitude of put-downs.”
    â€œThat’s true.” Mike pulled into the parking lot at the back of The Cookie Jar, parked next to Hannah’s cookie truck, and grabbed the bag of burgers they’d brought for what Hannah thought of as the Beeseman-Herman clan. “Beautiful night,” he said, looking up at the night sky.
    â€œYes.” Hannah looked up at the myriad of stars shining brilliantly overhead. After a day that had topped the eighties, the temperature had dropped to the low seventies and the air felt cool, a rarity in Minnesota where the difference between the high and low in the summer was seldom more than a few degrees.
    There was a low sound as Hannah passed Herb’s cruiser. It was midway between a whimper and a bark,and she moved a few steps closer. The windows were down, and she could see Herb and Lisa’s puppy on a rug in the back bench seat. “Hi, Dillon,” she said. “What are you doing out here all alone?”
    Dillon stared at her with sad puppy-dog eyes, and Hannah would have reached in to pet him, but she knew that Herb was training him and she didn’t want to break any rules. “I’ll come back with a treat,” she promised, “if Daddy says it’s all right.”
    â€œPoor little guy’s probably lonely out here,” Mike said. “Why don’t you ask Herb if he can come in?”
    â€œI would if you weren’t here. It’s against health board regulations.”
    â€œI’m not the health board.”
    â€œThen it’s okay?”
    â€œIt’s okay by me. Besides, Herb’s training him to be a police dog. Police dogs can go anywhere they’re needed.”
    â€œAnd Dillon is needed inside?”
    â€œI’d say so. Somebody might break in and try to steal those apple turnovers you’re making. If that happens, Herb and I might need a little police dog assistance.”
    Hannah gave Mike an approving look. When he’d first come to Lake Eden, he’d been a “by-the-book” cop. He’d moved here from Minneapolis, and big city police departments had to be stricter and their officers were expected to follow regulations to the letter. It had