The Pumpkin Muffin Murder Read online

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Topping:

  4½ tablespoons all-purpose flour

  3 tablespoons brown sugar

  ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

  3 tablespoons chopped pecans

  3 tablespoons butter

  Muffin:

  2½ cups all-purpose flour

  2 cups white sugar

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

  ½ teaspoon salt

  2 eggs

  1⅓ cups canned pumpkin

  ⅓ cup vegetable oil

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  Instructions:

  Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners. Fill any unfilled muffin cups with water.

  Filling: In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat until mixed, then place bowl in freezer to set while mixing other ingredients.

  Topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

  Muffin batter: In a large bowl, blend flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat together until well mixed.

  Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about ½ full. Take the cream cheese mixture out of the freezer and add 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter in the muffin cups. Having the cream cheese mixture chilled will help you keep the cream cheese from touching the edges. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

  Makes 18 muffins

  Note: If you have dogs, add a heaping tablespoon of the leftover canned pumpkin to their meal. All of my dogs like pumpkin, and it’s a healthy treat.

  Carolyn’s Caesar Sandwich

  3 cups chopped romaine lettuce

  ½ cup creamy Caesar salad dressing

  ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

  6 large croissants

  1 pound cooked pork roast, thinly sliced

  Instructions:

  In a medium bowl, toss lettuce with dressing and cheese; set aside. Slice croissants. Layer sliced pork and then dressing-and-cheese-covered lettuce on croissant bottoms. Place croissant tops over lettuce.

  Serves 6

  Cranapple Breakfast Rolls

  1 small peeled apple, diced

  1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce

  ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1 container (12.4 ounces) refrigerated cinnamon roll dough

  Instructions:

  Preheat oven to 400°F.

  In a small saucepan, mix apple, cranberry sauce, and cinnamon. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, to reduce sauce and cook apples until soft.

  Set aside icing packet from cinnamon rolls. Place rolls in ungreased muffin cups and bake for 8 minutes.

  Using the back of a spoon, make an indention in the center of each partially cooked roll and fill with hot cranapple mixture.

  Bake 4-5 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes, then drizzle with the icing that came with cinnamon rolls.

  Makes 8 rolls

  Toasty Pecan Pie

  1⅓ cups pecan pieces

  ½ cup melted butter

  3 eggs, lightly beaten

  1 cup light brown sugar

  1 cup light corn syrup

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Unbaked 9-inch pie shell

  Instructions:

  Preheat oven to 400°F.

  Lay out pecans in a single layer on a nonstick cookie sheet or parchment paper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, turning the nuts over halfway through. Check them frequently after turning them over. The pecans are done when you see the color get darker and they smell like toasted pecans. Let pecans cool.

  Turn oven up to 450°F.

  Mix together the butter, eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Blend in pecans. Pour into pie shell.

  Bake 10 minutes at 450°F; then lower heat to 350°F, cover crust edges with thin strips of aluminum foil to keep them from browning too much, or use a pie shield. Bake pie an additional 40 to 45 minutes at the lower temperature. Allow pie to cool before serving.

  Serves 8

  Tart Cranberry Streusel Pie

  Filling:

  1 pound fresh cranberries

  1 cup white sugar

  ¼ cup all-purpose flour

  Unbaked 9-inch pie shell

  Topping:

  ½ cup chopped pecans

  ½ cup packed brown sugar

  ¼ cup all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon butter

  Instructions:

  Preheat oven to 350°F.

  Filling: Chop cranberries. In a medium bowl, mix cranberries, sugar, and flour. Pour filling into pie shell.

  Topping: In a small bowl, mix pecans, brown sugar, and flour. Cut butter in with fork or pastry blender. The mixture should be crumbly. Sprinkle over pie.

  Bake for 45 minutes, or until streusel is light brown.

  Serves 8

  Rich Mocha Pie

  6 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate

  1 cup unsalted butter

  ½ cup light corn syrup

  ½ cup pecans

  1 teaspoon flour

  4 eggs, beaten

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 teaspoon instant coffee

  1 (9-inch) prepared graham cracker crust

  Instructions:

  Put the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a saucepan, and cook and stir over low heat for about 5 minutes, until the chocolate and butter have melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat, and let cool.

  Preheat oven to 350°F.

  Chop pecans and put in plastic bag with the flour. Toss until pecans are lightly coated. This keeps the pecans from sinking.

  Pour the beaten eggs, vanilla, and coffee into the cooled chocolate mixture, stir in the pecans, and mix well. Pour the chocolate filling into the prepared graham cracker crust.

  Bake 30 minutes or until the pie filling is cooked and set. Let cool before serving.

  Serves 8

  Dolly’s Baked Mashed Potatoes

  5 pounds potatoes

  ¼ cup butter or margarine

  2 cups light sour cream

  8 ounces ⅓ less fat cream cheese

  Salt to taste

  Instructions:

  Wash and peel potatoes. Place peeled potatoes in a large bowl of cold water until you are ready to cook them. This keeps the potatoes from becoming brown. Use whole potatoes or cut potatoes that are similar in size so they will cook evenly.

  Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with cold water just covering potatoes. Put a lid on the pot. Bring the water to a boil. Boiling time is determined by size and freshness. Fresh potatoes boil more quickly than older potatoes. Smaller potatoes will take 10 to 15 minutes to boil. Large potatoes can take 30 minutes or more to boil. Watch to make sure the pot does not overflow. To see whether the potatoes are done, carefully poke a fork through a couple of potato pieces. If the fork slides through easily, the potatoes are done.

  Drain the pot and add butter, sour cream, and cream cheese. Mash the potatoes until smooth of lumps, or whip with mixer. Season potatoes with salt to taste. Spoon mashed potatoes into a greased 2-quart casserole dish. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, or until bubbly. The deepness of the casserole dish may cause a difference in the baking time. These baked mashed potatoes can be made days in advance and refrigerated. It’s also easy to halve this recipe to serve a smaller group.

  Serves 10-12 people

  Cranberry Stuffing Ring

  Filling:

  1 can (16 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce

  2 tablespoons sour cream

  1 teaspoon dry mustard

  Stuffing
:

  ½ cup butter or margarine

  ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  1 large chopped onion

  1 cup chopped celery

  4 cups corn-bread crumbs

  6 slices oat-nut bread, cubed

  1 tablespoon thyme

  1 teaspoon salt

  ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

  1 can (14½ ounces) chicken broth

  4 eggs, beaten

  Instructions:

  Combine cranberry sauce, sour cream, and dry mustard in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until filling begins to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.

  Preheat oven to 350°F.

  Melt butter in a large skillet over a medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion and celery, and sauté until onions are translucent. Remove from heat. In a large bowl combine corn-bread crumbs, bread cubes, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir in celery and onions, chicken broth, and eggs. Mix until blended.

  Spread half of the stuffing into a heavily greased 10-inch springform tube pan. Push an indention along the center of the stuffing ring to make a place for the filling. Bake 30 minutes. Pour filling evenly in the indention over baked stuffing. Spread remaining stuffing evenly over filling. Bake 45-50 minutes longer or until top is brown. Loosen sides of pan, and turn over onto a serving plate.

  Makes 12 servings

  Southern Corn Bread Dressing

  ½ cup butter or margarine

  ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  1 cup finely chopped onion

  ½ cup finely chopped celery

  6 cups crumbled corn bread

  2 cups dry bread cubes or crumbled toasted biscuits

  2 teaspoons dried sage leaves

  ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

  ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

  ½ teaspoon pepper

  1 large egg, beaten

  2 cups chicken broth

  Instructions:

  Preheat oven to 425°F.

  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onions and celery and sauté until onions are translucent. Remove from heat.

  In large bowl combine onion and celery mixture, crumbled corn bread, bread cubes, sage, thyme, parsley, pepper, egg, and broth; toss gently to mix. The mixture should be very moist; if it isn’t, add more broth or a little water. Spoon stuffing into greased 13 × 9-inch baking dish. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

  Makes 10 to 12 servings

  Author’s Note

  The city park in which the Harvest Festival in this novel takes place is based on Holland Lake Park in Weatherford, Texas, a beautiful place where my husband, James, and I used to take our daughters to play when they were young. A number of renovations to the park have taken place since then, and for dramatic purposes I’ve taken a few minor liberties with the current geographical details, describing the park as a blend of what it used to be and what it is now. To the best of my knowledge, no such Harvest Festival has ever taken place there, and, of course, the events and characters of this novel are completely products of the author’s imagination. If you ever find yourself in Weatherford, though, I recommend that you pay a visit to Holland Lake Park and enjoy a peaceful stroll through its beautiful surroundings.

  As long as you’re not with Phyllis Newsom, I think you’ll be pretty safe.

  Livia J. Washburn has been a professional writer for thirty years. She received the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award and the American Mystery Award for her first mystery, Wild Night, written under her maiden name, L. J. Washburn, and was nominated for a Spur Award by the Western Writers of America for a novel written with her husband, James Reasoner. She lives in a small town in Texas with her husband and her mutts and is very proud of her two grown daughters, who are teachers in her hometown. Livia’s Web site is www.liviajwashburn.com, and you can e-mail her at livia@ flash.net.