Joanne Fluke Christmas Bundle: Sugar Cookie Murder, Candy Cane Murder, Plum Pudding Murder, & Gingerbread Cookie Murder (86 page)

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

These are from Becky Summers. They’re perfect to serve for a Thanksgiving dinner.

¾ cup melted butter
(1
½
sticks)

1 cup white
(granulated)
sugar

2 beaten eggs
(just whip them up with a fork)

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup dried cranberries

2 ¼ cups flour
(no need to sift)

½ cup milk

½ cup cranberry sauce
(use whole berry, not jellied)

Crumb Topping:

½ cup sugar

¹
/
₃
cup flour

¼ cup softened butter
(
½
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 in a bowl with the dried cranberries and set them aside to plump up and cool. Measure out the sugar in a large bowl and add the beaten eggs, baking powder, and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Stir in the cooled butter and plumped dried cranberries. Add half of the flour to your bowl and mix it in with half of the milk. Add the rest of the flour and the milk and mix thoroughly. Then add ½ cup cranberry sauce to your bowl and mix it in.

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 cranberry sauce 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 Cranberry 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 cranberry flavor will intensify if you store them in a covered container overnight.

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

This recipe is from Gina, Father Coultas’ cousin, and she always brings a loaf when she comes to Lake Eden to visit. She says to tell you that if you keep this bread in an airtight container, it’ll taste even better the second day. It’s also wonderful if you toast and butter it.

½ cup butter
(1 stick,
¼
pound)

1 cup white
(granulated)
sugar

½ teaspoon strawberry flavoring
(or vanilla, or almond)

2 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour
(no need to sift)

1 cup crushed or chopped fresh strawberries
(or a 10-ounce package of frozen strawberries, thawed and well drained, then chopped.)

Melt butter. Mix with sugar and strawberry flavoring. Set aside and let cool.

Separate the eggs, reserving the whites for later. When the butter/sugar mixture is warm but not hot to the touch, add the egg yolks one at a time, stirring thoroughly after each addition.

Stir in baking powder, soda, and salt.

Stir in half of the strawberries. Stir in half of the flour. Add the second half of the strawberries, then the second half of the flour.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Fold them into the strawberry mixture.

Spray a loaf pan
(bread pan—9 x 5 inch)
with non-stick cooking spray, then line it with wax paper and spray it again.

Turn the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the loaf pan and continue to cool on the rack. Wait another 10 minutes or so before removing the wax paper.

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

Regina Todd got this recipe from her cousin, Sally Hayes, who got it from her brother’s neighbor, Connie. Regina tried to teach Andrea to bake it, but that was a lost cause and she gave up.

¾ cup softened butter
(1
½
sticks)

1 ½ cups white sugar
(granulated)

2 beaten eggs
(just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

1 ½ cups mashed bananas
(3 or 4 overripe bananas, the ones with lots of black spots on the peel)

2 cups flour
(no need to sift)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
(optional)

Mix the butter and sugar together until they’re nice and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs and stir it all up.

Peel and mash the bananas.
(You can do this with a fork, if they’re ripe enough.)
Measure out 1½ cups of mashed banana and add it to your mixing bowl. Stir well.

In another bowl, measure out the flour and mix in the baking soda and salt.

Add half of the flour to your mixing bowl. Stir well. Add half of the buttermilk
(you don’t have to be exact)
and mix that in. Add the rest of the flour, stir well, and then mix in the rest of the buttermilk. Stir thoroughly.

Mix in the nuts at this point, if you decided to use them.

Coat the inside of a loaf pan
(the type you’d use for bread)
with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon in the banana bread batter and bake at 350 degrees F. for approximately one hour, or until a long toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

You can also bake this in 3 smaller loaf pans, filling them about half full. If you use the smaller pans, they’ll need to bake approximately 45 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack in the pan, loosen the edges after 20 minutes, and turn the loaf out onto the wire rack.

Regina usually sends this banana bread home with Bill.
(I guess she figures it’s the only way her son will get anything homemade.)
Andrea likes it sliced, toasted, and buttered for breakfast.

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

This recipe is from Bridget Murphy. She makes it every year on St. Patrick’s Day and many times in-between.

½ stick butter, at room temperature
(
¼
cup,
¹
/
₈
pound)

1 cup flour

In a large bowl, with a fork, cut the butter into the cup of flour.

Add the following ingredients to the bowl:

3 more cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup white sugar
(granulated)

½ teaspoon cardamom
(or coriander)

In a separate bowl, mix the following:

1 and ¾ cups evaporated milk
(or buttermilk)

2 beaten eggs

2 cups golden raisins
(optional)

Add the milk and eggs
(and the optional raisins)
to the bowl with the flour and stir thoroughly. Turn out on a floured board.

Bridget says to make sure this step doesn’t scare you off. Anyone can knead bread. Just put some wax paper on your counter, and sprinkle it with flour.

Knead the dough
(punch it down, roll it around, and fold it over on itself like you’re playing with clay and mashing it down)
for 2 to 3 minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky for you to handle, sprinkle it with more flour. When your 2 or 3 minutes are up, shape it into a ball and cut it in two with a knife you’ve sprayed with Pam or other non-stick cooking spray. Shape each half into something resembling something round.

Spray two 9-inch pie plates with non-stick cooking spray. Put the dough inside the pie plates, press it down, and use a sharp knife to cut an “X” on the tops a half-inch deep.
(Bridget says you might have to spray the knife first to keep it from sticking.)

Bake the soda bread at 375 degrees F. for 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, turn out onto a breadboard, and slice to serve.

This soda bread is especially good with John Brady’s Quick Irish Chili, or Irish Roast Beast.

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

Geraldine Goetz contributed this recipe. Her husband goes fishing with Lisa’s dad, Jack Herman.

9 to 12 fillets of fish
(any firm white fish will do)
juice of one lemon

2 teaspoons Season Salt
(see Mrs. Knudson’s recipe on backmatter)

2 teaspoons pepper
(freshly ground is best)

2 cloves garlic, minced or mashed
(you can also use jarred garlic)

½ cup dry white wine

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

2 Tablespoons chopped green onion

2 Tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

4 Tablespoons melted butter
(
½
stick,
¼
cup,
¹
/
₈
pound)

Rinse and dry fish fillets with paper towels. Rub with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle or spread minced or mashed garlic in the bottom of a greased baking pan
(a 9 x 13 inch cake pan will do fine.)

Place the fillets in the pan and pour the wine over the top. Sprinkle with parsley, green onion, and breadcrumbs. Melt the butter and spoon it on.

Cover the pan loosely with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes. Take off the foil and bake 15 minutes longer.

Pour off most of the liquid before serving. This fish is wonderful served with crusty bread and a tangy green salad.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F., rack in the middle position. Spray a 5-quart or 6-quart crock-pot with Pam

Norman Rhodes says this is the easiest barbecue anyone could ever dream up. I’ve tasted his barbecued ribs and they’re absolutely delicious.

4 to 5 pounds ribs, cut up into 2-rib servings

Barbecue Sauce:

½ cup catsup
(Norman uses Heinz)

2 Tablespoons
(
¹
/
₈
cup)
firmly packed brown sugar

¼ cup bottled steak sauce
(Norman uses Heinz 57)

¼ cup prepared mustard
(Norman uses honey mustard)

2 Tablespoons
(
¹
/
₈
cup)
wine vinegar
(or apple cider, or plain white)

½ teaspoon Season Salt
(see Mrs. Knudson’s recipe on backmatter)

½ teaspoon liquid smoke

½ onion, minced
(if Norman’s in a hurry, he uses dried chopped onion)

Place the ribs on a rack in a baking pan and brown them at 400 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Turn them over and brown them on the other side for an additional 15 minutes. Drain off the fat.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Place the ribs in the crock-pot and pour on the sauce. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.

These ribs are great cooked entirely in the slow cooker. If you want to use your grill, pre-cook them in
the crock-pot for 5 hours, refrigerate them, and finish them up outside on the grill.

Norman says to tell you that this barbecue sauce also works for chicken or sausage cooked entirely on the grill. For chicken, it’s even better if you leave out the steak sauce and increase the mustard to ½ cup.

Norman also says that if you’re pressed for time, you don’t have to make the barbecue sauce. Just use a good bottled sauce. The secret is slow cooking the meat in the crock-pot—that’s what makes it so tender and tasty.