Punch, Pastries, and Poison Read online

  She looked at me. I smiled and shrugged. I’d just gotten the skillet back from the local metalsmith that morning. I knew what he’d done, but she didn’t.

  The mayor turned the skillet over in his hands so that the back was facing the public. “It’s engraved. Can you all read what this says? It says Sammy’s Sledgehammer, and it has the date right here that she saved Fran. Let’s all give Sammy a round of applause!”

  The townspeople clapped for Sammy. Ryan and Matt contributed a little gratuitous cheering that soon spread until everyone was on their feet, applauding Sammy.

  We both had tears in our eyes as she turned to hug me. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “People will know better than to mess with us again,” she whispered back.

  “I sure hope so.” I hugged her tight, feeling safe and blissfully happy. Everything was right with the world. Except for the sticky issue that I still had to hire more staff.

  Recipe 1: Cream Horns

  Makes 16-18 cream horns

  * * *

  Ingredients:

  • 1 pack puff pastry sheets

  • Cream horn molds

  * * *

  Cream ingredients:

  • 8 oz. whipped topping, thawed

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

  • ½ cup powdered sugar

  * * *

  Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out each sheet of dough into a square on a surface dusted with flour. Cut dough into ¾-inch-wide strips. Wrap each strip around the cream horn mold, overlapping so there are no gaps.

  Place them on a greased pan or baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven. Using gloves or a towel to hold the ends of the mold so you don’t burn your hands, remove each horn from the mold to prevent them from sticking together. Let horn cool completely before filling with cream.

  * * *

  For Cream:

  Beat Cool Whip and cream cheese in a medium bowl until well combined. Add powdered sugar and increase mixer speed until combined and smooth in texture.

  Fill a decorating bag with cream mixture, using a size-appropriate attachment to squeeze the cream into the horns. Pipe cream into each horn.

  Recipe 2: Shortbread Cookies

  Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter, softened

  • ½ cup icing sugar

  • ½ cup cornstarch

  • 1 pinch salt

  •2 cups all-purpose flour

  * * *

  Preheat oven to 325°F. In a medium bowl, beat butter for about 3 minutes, until cream. Sift in icing sugar, cornstarch, salt, and flour. It’s better to do this in four parts, using a wooden spoon to mix in ingredients in between. Knead.

  Roll dough onto a surface dusted with flour, with a rolling pin dusted with flour. Roll to desired thickness and cut using the cookie cutters of your choice. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, but don’t let cookies get brown. Let cool on rack before moving them to a wire rack.

  Recipe 3: Raspberry Punch

  Ingredients:

  • 1/2 gallon raspberry sherbet

  • 2 liters lemon-lime soda

  • 4 cups pineapple juice

  • Optional: fresh or frozen raspberries for garnish

  * * *

  In a large punch bowl, add half of the sherbet and all of the soda and juice. Stir the sherbet with a wooden spoon until it combines with the liquid. Scoop out balls of the rest of the sherbet and include in the punch. Garnish with berries if desired.