Baker's Deadly Dozen Read online

  “Nice?” Carolyn said. “She’s a drug dealer and a murderer!”

  “Yeah, that’s what it looks like, all right. But that doesn’t change the fact that she was nice to me.” Sam shrugged. “Humans are complicated, messy creatures. Most folks have some good, and some bad in ’em. And in some of ’em the balance gets out of whack. I reckon that’s what happened with Amber.”

  Earlier, Jimmy D’Angelo had called Phyllis to let her know that Chase had been released. Jason Duncan and Alan Riley were both in custody, along with Amber, and from what D’Angelo had heard, they were competing to see who could incriminate the others the fastest.

  Because of that, Phyllis wasn’t surprised when she looked up to see Chase in the doorway of the hospitality room. As he came in, he smiled and said, “Do you mind if I give you a hug, Mrs. Newsom?”

  “I suppose that would be all right,” Phyllis said as she got to her feet. Chase embraced her, then turned to shake hands with Sam. “Thank you both so much for everything you did to help me.”

  “I didn’t do much this time,” Sam said. “It was all Phyllis.”

  “Well, I appreciate it,” Chase said. “You not only cleared my name, you got the ringleader I’d been after, too. That settles the question of whether my assignment here is over.” He looked around. “I still need to tell Ronnie the truth, though. Where is she?”

  “She and Walter went down to the gym to watch ’em give out the awards.” Sam grinned. “When they were walkin’ off, the boy reached over and took hold of her hand. I expected her to haul off and wallop him one. I think she thought about it . . . but the last I saw of ’em, they were still holdin’ hands. I’ve got a hunch she may have gotten over that crush on you, Chase.”

  “Oh, good,” Phyllis said. “I like Walter. Especially since he turned out not to be a fourteen-year-old criminal mastermind after all.”

  Author’s Note

  There is no J.C. Courtland High School in Weatherford, Texas, or anywhere else that I’m aware of. As of this writing, Weatherford has only one high school. Which means, more than ever, that all the places, characters, and events in this novel are fictitious and entirely the product of the author’s imagination. Not the cookies, though. The cookies are there, and I’ve baked them, and they’re good.

  Recipes

  Gluten-Free Banana Nut Oat Pancakes

  INGREDIENTS

  1 cup oat flour*

  1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1 1/4 cup mashed bananas (about 3 small bananas)

  1/2 cup crunchy nut butter (almond, peanut, or cashew)

  2 tablespoons coconut oil

  1 tablespoon milk (nut milk can be used)

  1 teaspoon honey

  2 eggs

  DIRECTIONS

  In a medium bowl, blend the oat flour, baking soda, salt.

  In a small mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, nut butter, coconut, and honey. Beat in the eggs.

  Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed.

  Let the batter sit for 5 minutes.

  Spray a large nonstick skillet or griddle with oil and heat over medium-low heat. Add 1/4 cupfuls of batter and cook until bubbly on top and golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until golden on the bottom, about 2 more minutes.

  Makes 10-12 pancakes.

  *HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN OAT FLOUR: To make oat flour out of old-fashioned oats, simply pour one cup of oats into a blender or food processor and process until it is equivalent to flour.

  Chocolate Mint Cat Brownies

  INGREDIENTS

  3/4 cup baking cocoa

  1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  2/3 cup butter, melted, and divided

  1/2 cup boiling water

  2 cups sugar

  2 eggs

  1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  16 miniature peppermint patties (like York)

  32 semi-sweet chocolate chips (for decorating)

  Candy eyes and icing pens, for decorating

  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat oven to 350°F.

  In a large bowl, combine cocoa and baking soda. Blend in 1/3 cup melted butter. Add boiling water, stir until well blended.

  Stir in sugar, eggs, and remaining butter.

  Add flour, vanilla, and salt and stir until well blended.

  Pour into a greased 13x9x2-inch pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until brownie starts to pull away from sides of pan.

  While still warm place 16 peppermint patties evenly on brownies so they’ll be centered on each brownie square when cut. Lay 2 chocolate chips next to peppermint patty for cat ears. Allow to slightly melt on warm brownies.

  Cool, cut into squares, Pipe a cat face on each peppermint patty with white icing pen, and add candy eyes, or use a green icing pen for the eyes.

  Makes 16 servings

  Killer Sugar Cookies

  INGREDIENTS

  2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

  1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1 cup butter, softened

  1 1/2 cups white sugar

  1 egg

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat oven to 375°F.

  In a medium bowl, stir together baking soda, flour, and baking powder until blended.

  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Butter must be soft for batter to work right. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Scoop tablespoonfuls of dough with cookie scooper, and drop into a bowl of white (or colored) sugar. Roll around and then place onto ungreased cookie sheets, flatten with bottom of cup or glass.

  Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly golden. Do not overcook. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

  Makes 4 dozen

  Ranch Cheez-Its

  INGREDIENTS

  One 12.4 OZ box of Cheez-It crackers

  One packet of Ranch Dressing mix

  2 tablespoons of fresh minced Dill

  2 tablespoons canola oil

  DIRECTIONS

  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, then scatter out onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

  Makes 12 servings

  Lit'l Mummy Dogs

  INGREDIENTS

  32 Lit'l Smokies Sausages

  1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent dough rolls

  Mustard or ketchup, if desired

  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat oven to 375°F.

  Carefully unroll dough, you want to end up with 4 rectangles, so separate at right angle perforations, creating 4 rectangles. Press diagonal perforations to seal.

  With a knife or pizza cutter cut each rectangle lengthwise into 8 strips. So, cut the rectangle in half, cut those halfs in half, and then the quarters in half. Do this with each rectangle, and you’ll have a total of 32 strips. Wrap one strip of dough around each sausage stretching dough slightly to look like bandages, leaving a small area exposed to create face. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

  Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

  Draw in the open area to create face using ketchup or mustard. Serve with mustard or ketchup, if desired.

  Makes 32

  Chocolate Mummy Cupcakes

  INGREDIENTS

  3/4 cup all-purpose white flour

  3/4 cup white sugar

  1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 cup salted butter, cut into 1" slices

  2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

  1/2 cup cocoa powder

  1/2 cup milk

  1/4 cup coconut oil

  2 eggs

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

  INSTRUCTIONS

  Preheat oven 350°F.

>   Place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.

  Mix flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl.

  Place butter and chopped chocolate in a separate, large microwavable bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, mix, then microwave for another 30 seconds. Mix until chocolate is melted and smooth (keep microwaving in 30 second bursts and mixing until chocolate is melted).

  Add cocoa powder to melted chocolate and mix.

  Add milk and oil, mix, then eggs, vanilla and vinegar to chocolate. Whisk until smooth.

  Add flour mixture and whisk until completely blended.

  Pour into cupcake liners. I use an ice cream scoop for this. They should be just over 3/4 full.

  Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

  Cool on rack.

  Once cool, spread with white frosting using a flat tip to make it look like bandages.

  Frosting:

  INGREDIENTS

  1/2 cup butter, room temperature

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1/2 cup marshmallow crème

  2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

  1-3 tablespoons cream

  24 candy eyes or M&M’s

  DIRECTIONS

  Put butter in a medium bowl, and using mixer beat at medium speed until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and marshmallow crème. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the powdered sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of the cream and beat to combine. Then, on high speed, beat frosting until it is light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add more cream or powdered sugar if necessary to get the right piping consistency. Pipe onto cupcakes and add candy eyes.

  Makes 12 cupcakes.

  Slow Cooker Texas Chicken and Dumplings

  INGREDIENTS

  1 1/2 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces

  2 medium potatoes diced

  1 large carrot sliced

  2 large celery stalks sliced

  4 cloves of garlic finely minced

  3/4 cup milk

  1 cup of heavy cream

  1 chicken bouillon cube

  3 cups of chicken broth

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

  DIRECTIONS

  Put the chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery, and garlic in a 6-quart slow cooker.

  Stir the milk, cream, bouillon, chicken broth, salt and black pepper in a medium bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the chicken and vegetables.

  Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or until the chicken is cooked tender.

  DUMPLINGS INGREDIENTS

  2 cups of all-purpose flour

  1/4 cup white cornmeal

  1 tablespoon baking powder

  1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 egg

  1 cups milk

  DUMPLINGS DIRECTIONS

  Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl and make a well in the center. Add one well beaten egg into the well, add milk slowly and stir until dough is stiff enough to knead. If dough is too thin add flour.

  Place dough on a well-floured surface, sprinkle extra flour onto dough and knead it several times.

  Using well-floured rolling pin roll out dough until it is 1/2 inch thick, sprinkling more flour as needed.

  Cut dough into 1 inch by 1 1/2 inch strips

  Add dumplings to crockpot on top of chicken and vegetables. Increase the heat to high. Vent the lid and cook for 30 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked in the center. To check for doneness, insert toothpick and it should come out clean. Take one dumpling out and cut in half to make sure. This is also a great time to taste.

  Serves 8

  Spinach, Mushroom, And Egg Casserole

  INGREDIENTS

  1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

  1 tablespoon butter

  11 large eggs

  3/4 cup milk

  2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

  1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

  1 teaspoon dried oregano

  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter in skillet, and cook and stir the mushrooms until tender.

  Beat eggs and milk together in a large bowl. Stir sausage, Cheddar cheese, spinach, and oregano into egg mixture; pour into prepared baking dish.

  Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted into the center of the casserole comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

  Sausage Egg Casserole

  INGREDIENTS

  3/4 pound ground pork sausage

  1 tablespoon butter

  4 green onions, chopped

  1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

  10 eggs, beaten

  1 (16 ounce) container low-fat cottage cheese

  1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

  1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained

  1 cup all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1/3 cup butter, melted

  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat oven to 350°F.

  Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

  Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside. Melt butter in skillet, and cook and stir the green onions and mushrooms until tender.

  In a large bowl, mix the eggs, cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and chiles. Stir in the sausage, green onions, and mushrooms.

  In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the melted butter. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

  Bake 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

  Cheesy Bacon And Egg Brunch Casserole

  INGREDIENTS

  8 slices bacon

  1 medium onion, chopped

  1 loaf Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

  2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

  1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

  1 cup cottage cheese

  8 eggs

  1 1/2 cups milk

  1/2 teaspoon McCormick(R) Ground Mustard

  1/4 teaspoon McCormick(R) Black Pepper, Ground

  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble and set aside. Add onion to drippings in skillet; cook and stir 3 minutes or until softened.

  Spread 1/2 of the bread cubes in 13x9-inch baking dish. Layer with 1/2 each of the onion, bacon, Cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Spread evenly with cottage cheese. Top with remaining bread cubes, onion, bacon, Cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.

  Beat eggs in medium bowl until foamy. Add milk, mustard, and pepper; beat until well blended. Pour evenly over top. Press bread cubes lightly into egg mixture until completely covered. Let stand 10 minutes.

  Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center is set and top is golden brown.

  About the Author

  Livia J. Washburn has been a professional writer for more than twenty years. She received the Private Eye Writers of America Award and the American Mystery Award for her first mystery, Wild Night, written under the name L. J. Washburn, and she was nominated for a Spur Award by the Western Writers of America for a novel written with her husband, James Reasoner. Her short story “Panhandle Freight” was nominated for a Peacemaker Award by the Western Fictioneers, and her story Charlie’s Pie won. She lives with her husband in a small Texas town, where she is constantly experimenting with new recipes. Her two grown daughters are both teachers in her hometown, and she is very proud of them.

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