Author Joanne Fluke shares recipes (2024)

Judy Christie| Special to Gannett Louisiana

Best-selling cozy mystery author Joanne Fluke has developed a recipe that readers, viewers - and cooks - love.

She created popular small-town baker Hannah Swensen who solves murders. Then she added original recipes to her novels — and gave readers more than 600,000 chocolate chip cookies.

The 20th Hannah Swensen mystery, “Wedding Cake Murder,” releases this month with a Shreveport visit by Fluke, a writer with a sense of humor and a love of cooking. She will speak and sign books from 1 to 3 p.m. February 27 at the main branch of Shreve Memorial Library downtown, part of a book-launch tour that goes from Scottsdale, Ariz., to Sarasota, Fla.

“Wedding Cake Murder,” part of a sub-genre known as cozy food mysteries, features amateur sleuth and bake-shop owner Hannah Swensen and her original recipes, 20 of which are included in the latest book.

Fluke said she started writing cozy mysteries at the suggestion of her editor at Kensington, who allowed her to include family cookie recipes in the books. “Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minn., was born,” she said. “When I started writing the series, I limited myself to cookie and bar-cookie recipes.” Then she branched out to desserts and on to main dishes and quick breads.

“I started baking when I was four years old by stirring the bowl for my mother and grandmother,” Fluke said. “They encouraged me and I kept it up, all through high school and college. Whenever I get a hankering for a particular dessert, main dish, or bread, I experiment and come up with something. We’ve eaten some great meals throughout the years and I’ve also had some colossal failures. A word to the wise: Don’t put tomato soup in a tuna casserole.”

The popularity of food mysteries

She believes readers like the books because they “need a chance to get away from the everyday trials and tribulations of their lives. Cozy mysteries are set in a kinder, gentler world--except for the murders, of course. There’s a little humor, a little romance, and a little jeopardy, but everything always turns out all right in the end.”

Other novels in Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series, which started 15 years ago, include “Double Fudge Brownie Murder,” “Blackberry Pie Murder,” “Cinnamon Roll Murder” and, the one that started it all, “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder,” which led to her baking tens of thousands of cookies for readers.

Last month Hallmark Movies & Mysteries presented a movie based on “Peach Cobbler Murder,” the third film in an original movie series adapted from Fluke's series. “Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery” came out last year and became the network’s most-watched and highest-rated movie debut in its history, with more than a million viewers. That record was broken when Fluke’s second adaptation, “Murder, She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery” premiered in November 2015.

“It’s been wonderful to actually see Hannah on the screen,” she said, and finds actress Alison Sweeney to be completely believable as the “movie” Hannah. “The screenwriter is working on “Fudge Cupcake Mystery” right now,” Fluke said, “and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there will be many more movies in the Hannah Swensen franchise.”

A regular on the New York Times bestseller list, Fluke has been honored by RT Book Reviews as a “living legend.” Like baker-sleuth Hannah, she was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota, “where a traffic jam was defined as two cars stuck behind a tractor.” She said she shoveled her way out of the snow and now lives in California.

Fans occasionally bake for her. “They generally accompany their baked goods with a favorite family recipe,” she said. “If I really like the recipe, I’ll use it in a Hannah book, but I always give credit to the Hannah fan who gave it to me.”

As she wraps up the interview, she’s off to cook. “I think we’ve covered everything,” she said. “And now, I’m going off to the kitchen to bake a Banana Cream Pie.”

No doubt the recipe includes murder.

Author Judy Christie writes about books for The Shreveport Times. See her weekly book column in the ACE section each Thursday. For information on her novels, see www.judychristie.com .

IF YOU GO

When: 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27

Where: Shreve Memorial Library

Admission: Free

Contact: 318-226-5897

Fluke will sign her new book “Wedding Cake Murder,” with copies available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers. The hardback retails for $26, and the digital version is $12.99 (Kensington Publishing).

BUTTERSCOTCH SUGAR COOKIES

From WEDDING CAKE MURDER by Joanne Fluke

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

2 cups salted butter (4 sticks, 16 ounces, 1 pound)

1 cup butterscotch chips (I used Nestle Butterscotch Chips)

2 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar (critical!)

1 teaspoon salt

4 and 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour (not sifted—pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

——————————

1⁄2 cup white sugar in a bowl for coating the cookie dough balls that you will make.

Melt the butter and butterscotch chips in a microwavesafe bowl by putting the chips on the bottom of the bowl and the butter on top of that. Heat for one minute on HIGH, let the bowl sit in the microwave for one minute, and then try to stir it smooth. If you can, you’re done. If you can’t, continue to heat in 30-second increments followed by a standing time of one minute, until you can stir the mixture smooth. (You can also do this in a saucepanon the stovetop at LOW heat.)

Soften the cream cheese in a microwave-safe container on HIGH for 1 minute. Let it sit in the microwave for 1 minute longer without heating.

Add the white chocolate chips, the half-cup unflavored yogurt, and the salt.

Heat the mixture you made on HIGH for 1 minute more and again, let it sit in the microwave for 1 minute. Then try to stir it smooth with a heat-resistant rubber spatula. If you can’t stir it smooth, heat it in 30-second increments with 30 seconds of standing time until you can stir it smooth.

Add this to the contents of your mixing bowl. Beat until everything is thoroughly combined.

Add the baking powder and the vanilla extract. Mix until they’re incorporated.

Add the cake flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition. Mix until the resulting batter has no lumps.

Divide the cake batter into 6 smaller bowls.

Hannah’s 1st Note: This is easier if you first divide the batter evenly into 2 larger bowls and then divide each of those bowls into 3 smaller bowls. They do not have to be perfect. The cake batter police will not be knocking on your door to measure each bowl. Just do it as best you can.

Open the first Jell-O package and add 2 Tablespoons of the raspberry Jell-O powder to the batter in the bowl. Mix until it is thoroughly combined and the red color is deep and even.

Repeat with the next 5 Jell-O flavors, adding 2 Tablespoons of the orange Jell-O powder to the 2nd bowl, two Tablespoons of the lemon Jell-O powder to the 3rd bowl, 2 Tablespoons of the lime Jell-O powder to the 4th bowl, 2 Tablespoons of the berry blue Jell-O powder to the 5th bowl, and 2 Tablespoons of the grape Jell-O powder to the 6th bowl.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: Lisa, Michelle and I prefer adding Jell-O powder rather than food coloring. The Jell-O powder gives a nice, intense color and it adds its own flavor to each bowl.

Seal up the packages of Jell-O that are left over and stick them in your pantry to use for the next Double Rainbow Swirl Cake you make.

To prepare your Double Rainbow Swirl Cake for baking, begin with the raspberry Jell-O bowl (the red one).

Use a soup spoon to empty it in a puddle in the 1st layer cake pan near the outside edge of your cake.

Throw away the bowl if you used a paper bowl or rinse it out in the sink if you didn’t. Move on to the 2nd bowl flavored with lemon Jell-O (the yellow one). Use a soup spoon to empty that bowl in a puddle next to the raspberry puddle.

Move on to the 3rd bowl, the orange one. Spoon out the batter in a puddle on the space that remains in your cake pan.

Here comes the fun part. Pick up your cake pan and stand at the counter near your sink. Hold the pan up about 4 inches from the surface and then drop it on the counter. This will “settle” the batter. (I’m not really sure you haveto do this, but it’s fun!)

Leave the cake pan on the counter and take a table knife from your silverware drawer. Insert the tip of your knife about 1-inch from the inside edge of your pan. Run the knife around in a circle, dragging it against the bottom of the cake pan, but don’t close the circle. Instead just jog up 2-inches or so to start another circle. You’ll be making a spiral that ends in the center of your cake pan. Don’t make too many circles. You don’t want the cake batter to mix into the other colors too much. Three spirals is just about right for this size of cake pan.

Move on to the empty layer pan. Using the same technique, make puddles from the green, blue, and purple bowls. When you have your 3 colored puddles in the pan, drop the 2nd layer pan, “settle” it the same way you did with the 1st layer pan.

Use the rinsed table knife to repeat the swirling process with your 2nd layer pan.

Bake your layers at 325 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or thin wooden skewer inserted one inch from the center of the pan comes out clean and the top is a light golden brown.

Cool in the pans on a wire rack or on a cold stovetop burner for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edges of the pans to loosen the cakes. Then turn them out on a wire rack.

After the cakes are completely cool, it’s time to frost your cake.

WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

1⁄2 cup (1 stick, 8 ounces, 1⁄4 pound) salted butter,

softened to room temperature

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 cup (4 Tablespoons) white Crème d’Cacao (I used Mr. Stacks)

3 and 1⁄2 to 4 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar (don’t pack it down when you measure it—just

scoop it out and level it off on top—my frosting used the whole 4 cups of powdered sugar.)

Hannah’s 1st Note: If you’re watching your salt intake, you can add less salt than is called for in the recipe. But remember that the reason the salt is there is because it cuts down on the sweetness of the frosting and enhances the flavor of the white chocolate.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you don’t want to use a liqueur in this frosting, you can substitute 1⁄4 cup heavy cream for the white chocolate crème d’cacoa. If you do this, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to your frosting and call it Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

Use an electric mixer to make this frosting. You can do it by hand, but you’ll really have to stir fast and furious to get it to the creamy consistency you need.

Place the softened butter and the salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at HIGH speed until the butter is smooth and creamy.

Add 2 cups of the confectioner’s sugar. Beat the resulting mixture until it is smooth and has no lumps.

Gradually add the white crème d’cacao, beating until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

Add another cup of confectioner’s sugar. Beat until it is thoroughly incorporated.

Add another half-cup of confectioner’s sugar and beat until everything is smooth and creamy.

If your frosting has reached a good spreading consistency, stop beating and proceed to frost your 2-layer cake. If it has not, you may add up to another cup and a half of powdered sugar.

Hannah’s 3rd Note: This frosting is very forgiving. If you went a little overboard with the confectioner’s sugar and it’s a bit too stiff, add a little more crème d’cacoa or heavy cream. If your frosting is not stiff enough, add a bit more powdered sugar until it’s just right. You may end up with extra frosting this way, but the kids will always appreciate frosting spread between 2 graham crackers, or even frosting spread on the unsalted side of a soda cracker.

To frost your cake, peel the parchment paper off the bottom of one layer and set it, bottom up, on the cake

plate. (If the top has risen too much and it wobbles on the plate, even the top with a sharp knife.)

Put dabs of frosting on top of the 1st layer and spread it out evenly with a frosting knife.

Peel the paper off the bottom of the 2nd layer and place it, top side up, on top of the 1st layer. This time you don’t care if it’s risen a little. It will look pretty when you frost it.

Frost the sides of your cake next. When you’ve frosted the sides to your satisfaction, move on to the very top.

Put a generous dab of frosting in the center of the top. Then put dabs of frosting around it. Spread them together to cover the whole top and your work of tasty art is finished!

Let the frosting dry for ten minutes or so. Then decorate your Double Rainbow Swirl Cake in any manner you choose. You can use colored frosting in a pastry bag, the little tubes of colored frostings you can buy at the grocery store, or you can stick colored candies on the top of your cake in a design you create. If you like, you can even sprinkle it with rings of multicolored decorating sugar, the kind you use on Christmas cookies. Whichever method you choose, the real surprise will come when you slice the cake and serve it to your guests!

Yield: 12 to 24 slices

Hannah’s 4th Note: I looked this up online once and a bakery said you could get 24 slices from a 2-layer cake. I guess that’s only if you don’t invite Mike or Ross.

PEANUT BUTTER POTATO CHIP COOKIES

From WEDDING CAKE MURDER by Joanne Fluke

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

The following recipe can be doubled if you wish. Do not, however, double the baking soda. Use one and a half teaspoons.

1 cup softened butter (2 sticks, 1⁄2 pound, 8 ounces)

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

3 Tablespoons molasses

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

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

2 cups crushed salted potato chips (measure AFTER crushing) (I used regular thin unflavored Lay’s potato chips)

2 and 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 and 1⁄2 cups peanut butter chips (I used Reese’s, a 10-ounce by weight bag. I know that’s close to 2 cups, but I like lots of peanut butter chips in these cookies)

Lisa’s Note: The butter in this recipe should be at room temperature unless you have an un-insulated kitchen and it’s winter in Minnesota. In that case, you’d better soften it a little.

Hannah’s 1st Note: 5 to 6 cups of whole potato chips will crush down into about 2 cups. Crush them by hand in a plastic bag, not with a food processor. They should be the size of coarse gravel when they’re crushed.

Mix the softened butter with the white sugar and the mo lasses. Beat them until the mixture is light and fluffy, and the molasses is completely mixed in.

Add the vanilla and baking soda. Mix them in thoroughly.

Break the eggs into a glass and whip them up with a fork. Add them to your bowl and mix until they’re thoroughly incorporated.

Put your potato chips in a closeable plastic bag. Seal it carefully (you don’t want crumbs all over your counter) and place the bag on a flat surface. Get out your rolling pin and roll it over the bag, crushing the potato chips inside. Do this until the pieces resemble coarse gravel. (If youcrush them too much, you won’t have any crunch—crunch is good in these cookies.)

Measure out 2 cups of crushed potato chips and mix them into the dough in your bowl.

Add one cup of flour and mix it in.

Then add the second cup of flour and mix thoroughly.

Add the final half cup of flour and mix that in.

Measure out a cup and a half of peanut butter chips and add them to your cookie dough. If you’re using an electric mixer, mix them in at the slowest speed. You can also take the bowl out of the mixer and stir in the chips by hand.

Let the dough sit on the counter while you prepare your cookie sheets.

Spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line them with parchment paper, leaving little “ears” at the top and bottom. That way, when your cookies are baked, you can pull the paper, baked cookies and all, over onto a wire rack to cool.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto your cookie sheets, 12 cookies on each standard-sized sheet.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: I used a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop at The Cookie Jar. It’s faster than doing it with a spoon.

Bake your Peanut Butter Potato Chip Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned. (Mine took 11 minutes.)

Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove them with a metal spatula. Transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: Approximately 5 dozen wonderfully chewy, salty and soft cookies that are sure to please everyone who tastes them.

Hannah’s 3rd Note: DO NOT bake these for anyone with a peanut allergy!

Lisa’s Note: These cookies travel well. If you want to send them to a friend, just stack them, roll them up like coins in foil, and cushion the cookie rolls between layers of Styrofoam peanuts, or bubble wrap.

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