Warning! Don’t read this book when you are hungry! There are so many recipes in this book it feels like a cookbook with a side of murder. Hannah Swensen hosts a potluck that turns into a murder investigation.
This is book #6 of the Hannah Swensen mystery series. Hannah hosts a potluck for testing recipes that will be in a local Lake Eden cookbook. This book has an abundance of recipes perfect for holidays from appetizers to desserts.
Sugar Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Cozy Mystery Novel with Recipes for the Holidays
Book Review
Murder Mystery Books🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪
Book Review Outline and Tone:
Hannah is creating a Lake Eden cookbook. She is using recipes that local friends and neighbors have given her. To help her test out the recipes she organizes a Christmas potluck. Yet another reason that I wish Lake Eden was real and I could visit.
The potluck is a smashing success and people rave over the wide variety of dishes. A crime is committed at this potluck and the killer used Hannah’s mom’s regency area antique knife. Hannah has to determine who has the outright gall to not only ruin the potluck but use an antique knife to do the job.
The mystery begins and ends at the potluck making the list of suspects limited. In spite of that, there are several possible suspects and author Joanne Fluke has created another mystery that is both clever and not easy for the reader to solve.
The author:
Joanne Fluke published her first Hannah Swenson novel, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, in 2001. Since then she has been a New York Times bestselling author several times. She is a popular guest on her local television station and she always uploads her interview to her Youtube Channel. She even has many interviews organized by the book. Some of her books have been made into movies on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery can be found https://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/. Joanne Fluke will interact with fans on her Twitter and her Facebook accounts.
What is not to like?:
The concept is great, host a potluck to review recipes for a cookbook. The book’s pages are half mystery and half recipes. Is that a reason not to like the book? The mystery seems to be solved quickly, but that is mostly so the back half of the book can be filled with recipes.
The verdict:
I highly recommend this book. The mystery may be short, but the recipes in the back are great!
Book Club Recommendation: 3.5/5 Books 📚📚📚
Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).
Magical Christmas Date Cake
Assemble the Ingredients
Easy to make dessert: 4/5 on the Easy as Pie scale 🥧🥧🥧🥧
Dessert Recipe 📖📖📖📖📖
Hannah adds the note “This recipe is from my Grandma Ingrid. She used to make this cake every Christmas.”
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Measure 2 cups chopped pitted dates (you can buy chopped dates, or sprinkle whole pitted dates with a bit of flour and then chop them in a food processor.)
After cutting the dates in the food processor, the works great for measuring anything sticky. As you twist the bottom, it scrapes the sides and pushes out the contents.
This recipe has 2 magic elements. The first one involves the dates and baking soda.
Pour the boiling water over the dates, add the soda (the magic is it foams up) and set them aside to cool. While they’re cooling, cream the following ingredients together in a large mixing bowl
Allow the date mixture to cool.
This is a great time to chop you nuts (if you bought them whole). I am not a fan of pecans or walnuts, so I decided to use pistachios. I love the flavor of them and the green color adds to the festiveness of the holiday cake.
Combine the sugar and butter in a stand mixer.
Then add the eggs one at a time until combined. I like to crack the eggs into a
and then pour out one egg at a time.
Once the above are thoroughly mixed, add the cooled date mixture to your bowl and stir thoroughly. Here is the second magical element. Add the dates and all of the liquid. Does it seem like you are adding too much liquid? It certainly does, but the magic is in the baking, there is not too much liquid.
The recipe calls to butter and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular cake pan. However, in an earlier novel, Chocolate Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke, she give the recipe for Pan Coat. This is a shelf stable flour and oil mix that is perfect whenever a recipe says to butter and flour a pan. I reviewed this recipe as a Baking Bonus.
This cake rises about an inch and a half, so make sure the sides are tall enough.) Pour the batter into the pan. Then sprinkle the following on the top, in this order, BEFORE baking: chocolate chips, granulated sugar, and chopped nuts.
Bake at 325 degrees F. for 80 minutes. A cake tester or a long toothpick should come out clean one inch from the center when the cake is done. (If you happen to stick the toothpick in and hit a chocolate chip, it’ll come out covered with melted chocolate-just wipe it off and stick it in again to test the actual cake batter.) Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. It can be served slightly warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Taste: 5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was amazed at how wonderful this is!
So delicious 😋😋😋😋😋
Magical Christmas Date Cake from a Hannah Swensen Mystery
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped pitted dates
- 3 cups boiling water
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup 2 sticks softened butter
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups flour (you don't have to sift it)
Instructions
- Pour the boiling water over the dates, add the soda (it foams up a bit) and set them aside to cool.
- Chop nuts while dates cool.
- Cream the following ingredients together in a large mixing bowl the butter, sugar, eggs, salt, and flour
- Once the above are thoroughly mixed, add the cooled date mixture to your bowl and stir thoroughly.
- Butter and flour (or use Pan Coat) a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular cake pan.
- Then sprinkle the following on the top, in this order, BEFORE baking:12 oz. chocolate chips (2 cups)½ cup white (granulated) sugar1 cup chopped nuts (use any nuts you like I prefer pistachios, the original recipe calls for walnuts or pecans)
- Bake at 325 degrees F. for 80 minutes.
- A cake tester or a long toothpick should come out clean one inch from the center when the cake is done. (If you happen to stick the toothpick in and hit a chocolate chip, it'll come out covered with melted chocolate-just wipe it off and stick it in again to test the actual cake batter.)
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack.
- It can be served slightly warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
What would I do differently next time?
If I was making it for someone else’s family, I would try walnuts and ask them what they think of the cake. I will stick with pistachios.
Will I make it again?: Yes! 😋😋😋😋
Try these cakes too.
Here are some more cakes to try.
Ultimate Fudgy Chocolate Bundt Cake from Raspberry Danish Murder by Joanne Fluke
Cherry Cola Sheet Cake from The Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee
Dreamy Orange Dreamsicle Cake from Death of a Cupcake Queen by Lee Hollis
Ultimate Butterscotch Bundt Cake from Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
