A delightful Christmas themed novella that includes recipes and an intriguing mystery. Hannah gets help solving the mystery with three visits from the ghost of her dad in a Christmas past, present, and future style similar to Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Even better, the novella includes a recipe for Gingerbread Pancakes. These are simple to make and simply delicious.
This is book #20 of the Hannah Swensen Mystery series. Hannah retells the events of the previous Christmas when Mayor Bascomb’s latest mistress causes trouble for the local Christmas play by kissing Lisa’s husband and wearing something Mrs. Claus would never choose.
Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke
Gingerbread Pancakes
from a cozy mystery:
Christmas Caramel Murder
by Joanne Fluke
Book Outline and Tone:
This book follows the events of the previous book, sort of. Hannah and her new fiancé, Ross, are enjoying some time together when Hannah begins to tell him the story of what happened the previous Christmas, that is before he was in town.
Hannah and her partner at the Cookie Jar, Lisa, are helping out with the big Christmas show in town. Lisa’s husband is playing Santa and Lisa wants to be Mrs. Claus, but the Mayor has set up his mistress, Phyllis, to be Mrs. Claus. But when Phyllis shows up in a costume that is described as “suitable for a strip club,” the show’s director finally puts her foot down and insists that she wear the standard costume.
There is a common pattern with cozy mysteries, someone who is rude or in some other way unlikable, is bound to be the person who gets murdered. Not only was the character of Phyllis introduced as a mistress of a married man, she was disrespectful to people in town. She seemed to like attention a bit too much to remain a background character. So it doesn’t take much to guess who the murder victim is for this novel.
What is much harder to guess in Christmas Caramel Murder is who is responsible for the murder. Author Joanne Fluke sticks to her old fashioned values as an important part of how the plot plays out.
The Best Quote:
“You’re right, Miss Bates, it certainly does fit. It’s the perfect costume for a Christmas show in a strip club. But…my dear girl…this is not a strip club. This is general entertainment for men, women, and children of all ages. And there is no way that I will allow you on my stage in a lap dancer’s costume!”
Point of View:
The novel is told in third person from Hannah’s point of view.
The Author: Joanne Fluke
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 X and her Facebook accounts.
What is not to like?:
The only way to improve this novel would be to make it longer so the mystery could be more complex.
The verdict:
I love holiday baking and these Gingerbread Pancakes are fabulous! The novel is short and an easy read. For this busy time of year it is a great story and length to read between holiday chores.
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).
Gingerbread Pancakes
Assemble the Ingredients
In a small bowl, whisk a large egg with the vanilla extract.
Add the quarter-cup of molasses and whisk that in.
Add the cup and a half of water and whisk that in.
Easy to read measure marks on inside of cup. Dishwasher safe.
Hannah’s 1st Note:
You’ll be adding the spices next, but Michelle says that’s easier if you mix them together first. She uses a disposable paper bowl. Then you can add the spice mixture to your egg mixture all at once.
Combine the ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Stir them around until they’re mixed.
Add the spice mixture to your egg mixture and whisk everything together until they’re thoroughly combined.
Hannah’s 2nd Note:
Michelle says to remind you to rinse off your whisk and put it in the sink. If you let the egg dry on the whisk, it’s really difficult to get clean.
Get out your favorite stirring spoon. You’ll be using it from here on out.
In a larger mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Mix them until they’re well incorporated.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. The batter may be a little lumpy. That’s okay. You’ll stir it again before you fry it.
Hannah’s 3rd Note:
If you’ve made pancakes from scratch before, you know that they’re tastier if you “season” them by covering the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerating the batter overnight. This is why I always mix my batter the night before.
When you’re ready to fry your pancakes, prepare your griddle or your frying pan by oiling it before you heat it, or using a mixture with equal parts of oil and butter.
Set your heat at MEDIUM-HIGH. You can test your frying surface to see when it’s ready by putting a few drops of water on the surface. If the droplets of water skitter around and then evaporate, your pan is the right temperature to fry pancakes.
If you’re using a griddle, you may want to pour on your pancakes rather than use a spoon.
Good Grips, no slip when mixing. Each bowl has a spout for easy pouring. Dishwasher safe.
Simply transfer the batter to a pitcher and use that to pour. If you’d prefer to dip a large spoon or a small cup into the bowl and transfer the batter to the griddle or the frying pan that way, that’s fine, too.
Hannah Note:
Michelle used my quarter-cup plastic measure that has a little spout on the side. I measured this once, and when she empties the cup of batter the frying pan, approximately 3 Tablespoons come out of the measuring cup.
Fry your pancakes until they’re puffed and they look a bit dry around the edges. If you look closely, little bubbles will form at the edges. If you’re not sure they’re done, lift one edge with a spatula and take a peek. It will be golden brown on the bottom when it’s ready to flip.
Turn your pancakes and wait for the other side to fry. Again, you can test your pancake by lifting it slightly with a spatula and peeking to see if it’s golden brown.
If you don’t have people sitting at your table waiting to eat breakfast, you can fry all your pancakes now and keep them warm until everyone comes to the table by separating them with layers of foil or paper towels, placing them in a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan, covering the pan loosely with another piece of foil, and keeping them in a warm oven set at the lowest temperature.
Serve with plenty of soft butter and your choice of honey, dark Karo syrup, or molasses. These Gingerbread Pancakes are also good buttered, spread with jam, and topped with a dollop of sour cream.
Gingerbread Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1½ cup water
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cardamom (if you don't have it, just add a little more cinnamon)
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (freshly grated is best, of course)
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk a large egg with the vanilla extract.
- Add the quarter-cup of molasses and whisk that in.
- Add the cup and a half of water and whisk that in.
- Combine the ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Stir them around until they're mixed.
- Add the spice mixture to your egg mixture and whisk everything together until they're thoroughly combined.
- In a larger mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.Mix them until they're well incorporated.
- Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. The batter may be a little lumpy. That's okay. You'll stir it again before you fry it.
- Chill for 2 hours to overnight
- When you're ready to fry your pancakes, prepare your griddle or your frying pan by oiling it before you heat it, or using a mixture with equal parts of oil and butter.
- Set your heat at MEDIUM-HIGH. You can test your frying surface to see when it's ready by putting a few drops of water on the surface. If the droplets of water skitter around and then evaporate, your pan is the right temperature to fry pancakes.If you're using a griddle, you may want to pour on your pancakes rather than use a spoon. Simply transfer the batter to a pitcher and use that to pour. If you'd prefer to dip a large spoon or a small cup into the bowl and transfer the batter to the griddle or the frying pan that way, that's fine, too.
- Fry your pancakes until they're puffed and they look a bit dry around the edges. If you look closely, little bubbles will form at the edges. If you're not sure they're done, lift one edge with a spatula and take a peek. It will be golden brown on the bottom when it's ready to flip.
- Turn your pancakes and wait for the other side to fry. Again, you can test your pancake by lifting it slightly with a spatula and peeking to see if it's golden brown.
- Serve with plenty of soft butter and your choice of honey, dark Karo syrup, or molasses. These Gingerbread Pancakes are also good buttered, spread with jam, and topped with a dollop of sour cream.
What would I do differently next time?
I would double to recipe to have more pancakes on hand. I am also curious bout using milk instead of water in the recipe.
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