Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti: A Magical Bakery Mystery (34 page)

“I think I found someone who can help out at the Honeybee,” Cookie said, breaking
into my reverie.

I leaned on the handle of the shovel and looked at Lucy. Her response was a serene
smile. I tugged at my gardening gloves and knelt by the hole. “No, thank you.”

“Seriously, you’re going to love her.”

“Uh-huh.”

Mimsey laughed. “You might want to give her a chance. Cookie is good at what I’ve
begun to think of as ‘job magic.’”

I looked up at her. The twinkle was back in her blue eyes. I hadn’t realized how much
I’d missed it the last few days. “Okay.” I capitulated.

Bianca rose. “I need to pick up Colette.” She looked around. “It really is lovely
here.”

“Inside and out now,” Jaida said, standing. “I have to get going, too.”

Lucy nodded, eyeing my planting efforts. “I think we should all give Katie a chance
to settle back in.” She gave me a knowing smile. A smile that said she understood
that I needed to be alone for what I was about to do.

Hugs all around, and I walked them out front, Mungo trotting at my heels. “Thanks,
everyone. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own house
tonight.”

More hugs, and then the ladies climbed into their respective vehicles and drove off
to their own lives. When Lucy’s Thunderbird had vanished around the corner, I turned
back to the house. Margie waved from her front porch, and I waved back.

Back by the gazebo, Mungo sat and watched with interest as I lifted the gardenia plant
out of the plastic pot and settled it into the hole.

Cinnamon Raisin Biscotti

Makes 12 biscotti

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum
foil.

Combine the raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour and set aside. Combine the eggs,
baking powder, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until mixture
is light and the sugar is mostly dissolved. Mixing on low speed, add the flour mixture
in gradually until it is just incorporated. Do not overmix.

Shape dough into a 3 × 12–inch loaf and transfer to the cookie sheet (or form the
loaf on the cookie sheet). Bake for 25 minutes. Remove loaf from oven and reduce the
temperature to 325˚F. Allow the loaf to cool for 15–20 minutes on a cutting board,
then use a serrated
knife to slice it into 12 pieces. Slice either straight across or diagonally, depending
on the desired shape and size of the biscotti. Lightly mist the loaf with water first
to help prevent crumbling.

Place the slices back on the cookie sheet and bake for another 20 minutes until crispy
but not browned. Cool biscotti completely before storing in an airtight container.

If you like nuts in your biscotti, replace half the raisins with slivered almonds
or chopped pecans. These are wonderful dipped into coffee drinks or a glass of dessert
wine, and are something special with a cup of hot apple cider in the fall!

Margie’s Coca-Cola Cake

Makes one 9 × 13–inch sheet cake

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Butter and flour a 9 × 13–inch baking pan.

Mix the Coca-Cola and the buttermilk together and set aside. Sift together the flour,
cocoa, and baking soda and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together on low speed with an electric mixer. Add the eggs
and vanilla extract and beat together until thoroughly combined. Add half the flour
mixture and combine well. Mix in the Coca-Cola and buttermilk, then add the rest of
the flour, mixing until just blended.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350˚ F for 30 to 35 minutes
until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few
minutes while you make the frosting.

Coca-Cola Frosting

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the Coca-Cola and cocoa powder and bring the mixture
to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Stir
in the chopped cherries if you like. The cherries can also be replaced with the same
amount of more traditional chopped pecans. Pour the warm frosting over the warm cake
and allow to cool completely before slicing.

Bailey Cates
believes magic is all around us if we only look for it. She’s held a variety of positions
ranging from driver’s license examiner to soapmaker, which fulfills her mother’s warning
that she’d never have a “regular” job if she insisted on studying philosophy, English,
and history in college. She traveled the world as a localization program manager but
now sticks closer to home, where she writes two mystery series, tends to a dozen garden
beds, bakes up a storm, and plays the occasional round of golf. Bailey resides in
Colorado with her guy and an orange cat that looks an awful lot like the one in her
Magical Bakery Mysteries.