Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

  Butter-Scotchies

  Candy Cane Cookies

  Chocolate Pecan Roll

  Chocolate Mint Softies

  Fudge-Aroons

  Three-Way Fudge

  Baking Conversion Chart

  These conversions are approximate, but they’ll work just fine for Hannah Swensen’s recipes.

  Note: Hannah’s rectangular sheet cake pan, 9 inches by 13 inches, is approximately 23 centimeters by 32.5 centimeters.

  KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  850 Third Avenue

  New York, NY 10022

  Copyright © 2000 by Joanne Fluke

  “Candy for Christmas” copyright © 2006 by Joanne Fluke

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  ISBN: 978-0-7582-5295-1

  *** To measure molasses, first spray the inside of a measuring cup with Pam so that the molasses won’t stick to the sides of the cup.

  *** There’s no need to keep brown sugar in stock. It can be easily made with white sugar and molasses, 1/8 cup molasses for every 3 cups of white sugar. (That’s how they manufacture it, really. And it’ll save you from having to deal with all those lumps.) Just add the molasses to the white sugar and stir until it is thoroughly and evenly mixed in.

  *** For those who don’t like cherries, substitute well-drained pineapple tidbits, using the juice to thin the frosting. You can also use pecan halves or macadamia nuts and thin the frosting with cold coffee or water. If you don’t have anything to go on top, just glob the chocolate mixture into the indentations. That’s good, too.

  *** There are three packets in a 16-ounce box of Club Crackers. You’ll use only one packet. You can buy a smaller box if you can find it, but you can always use extra crackers, right? If you can’t find Club Crackers at your store, you can use any brand of salted soda crackers. Your goal is to cover the bottom of the pan as completely as you can with something both crispy and salty.

  *** You can use round red-and-white peppermint candies that look like buttons, regular candy canes, or any other peppermint candy that you can crush into small separate pieces. You could even use pastel mints, the tiny little “pillows” you’ll find in a pretty bowl right next to the mixed nuts at almost every Lake Eden wedding reception.

  *** You can use almost any dried fruit in this candy. Lisa tried it with dried sweetened pineapple and pineapple extract, and it was delicious. If there’s an extract that matches your fruit, you can use it instead of the vanilla.