Cinnamon Roll Murder is a cozy mystery with plenty of turns, suspects and fabulous recipes. Hannah becomes involved with trying to find who the killer is of one of the band members, and she must determine if Norman is making the biggest mistake of his life. The Cheese and Green Chilies Biscuits recipe made the best soft savory biscuits I have ever tried.
This is book 15 of the Hannah Swensen Mystery Series. Hannah’s large group of family and friends always make these novels both interesting for the mysteries and entertaining for the family/friends dynamics. Hannah’s love life (or lack there of) is highlighted in this installment.
Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke
Cheese and Green Chilies Biscuits
from a cozy mystery:
Cinnamon Roll Murder
by Joanne Fluke
Book Outline and Tone:
Author Joanne Fluke does a fantastic job of intertwining two main plots. There is of course a murder victim. A member of The Cinnamon Roll Six jazz group is involved in a bus crash on an icy Minnesota highway, but murder only comes when the band arrives at the local hospital. The other plot involves Norman. He is engaged to a woman, but it is not Hannah! Now Hannah has to not only work to solve the murder, she also has to find out if Norman is actually a baby daddy!
The will they/won’t they of Hannah, Norman, and Mike is a long and winding plot line. Sometimes I find myself rooting for Mike and Hannah to tie the knot, and sometimes I’m hoping for Norman and Hannah to walk down the aisle. For me the plot isn’t like being team Edward (the logical choice in Twilight) or Team Peeta (the only best choice in The Hunger Games). Prior to this novel, I could imagine Hannah happy with either man. Now, however, I have become Team Norman. As Hannah fights to keep Norman in her life, surely even she will see that he is the right man for her. Time, storyline, and plot development will tell.
Point of View:
The story is told in third person limited, the audience knows what Hannah is thinking but not what other characters are thinking.
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 Twitter and her Facebook accounts.
What is not to like?:
For a strong and independent woman, sometimes Hannah makes choices that surprise me. I think it might reflect on the more old fashioned values that are common in this series.
The verdict:
If you are lucky enough to get fresh peaches, you simply must make this cookie recipe with them. I’m sure canned peaches will be fine, but the fresh are just a touch more firm and they make the cookies wonderful!
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).
Cheese and Green Chiles Biscuits
Assemble the Ingredients
FIRST STEP: Preheat Oven 425
Use a medium-size mixing bowl to combine the flour, salt, cream of tartar, baking powder, and baking soda.
Stir them all up together.
Cut in the salted butter just as you would for pie crust dough.
Baking Bonus Tip!
Grate the butter with a box grater for easier mixing.
OXO Good Grips 3- Piece Plastic Mixing Bowl Set LInk
***Hannah’s 1st Note: If you have a food processor, you can use it for the first step. Cut 1/2 cup COLD salted butter into 8 chunks. Layer them with the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. Process with the steel blade until the mixture has the texture of cornmeal. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl and proceed to the second step.
Stir in the 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and the drained, chopped green chilies. Mix everything up thoroughly.
Add the beaten eggs
and the sour cream, in that order. Mix everything all up together.
Add the milk and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
Drop the biscuits by Tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet or a sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Place 12 biscuits to a sheet.
This set has small, medium, and large scoops. Perfect for even cookies or filling cupcake liners.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: I use an air-bake cookie sheet lined with parchment paper when I bake these. I measured the cookie sheet and it’s 14 inches by 15 and 1/2 inches. It works perfectly for 12 large biscuits. If you want smaller biscuits, use 2 cookie sheets and make your biscuits smaller. If you have only one oven, bake one sheet on the upper rack and the other sheet on the lower rack, switching places halfway through the baking time.
Once the biscuits are on the baking sheet (or sheets if you decided to use two) you can wet your fingers with a little water and shape them if you like. (I leave mine slightly irregular so everyone knows they’re homemade.)
Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with the 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
Bake the biscuits at 425 degrees F. for 12-14 minutes, or until they’re golden brown on top. For 2 sheets of smaller biscuits, reduce the baking time to 10-12 minutes. They’re done when they’re golden brown on top.
Cool the biscuits for at least five minutes on the cookie sheet, and then remove them to a wire rack. Let them cool for at least another 2 minutes before you serve them. (I place mine in a towel-lined basket so they stay warm.)
Yield: Makes 12 large Cheese And Green Chiles Biscuits, or 18 to 24 smaller biscuits that are equally delicious.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: When I make these for Mike, he really likes them with diced Jalapenos instead of green chiles. He takes the leftovers home and eats them for breakfast. He says eating something spicy for breakfast really perks him up. He’s the only man I know who carries around a bottle of “Slap Ya Mama” Cajun pepper sauce in his Winnetka County cruiser to sprinkle on his scrambled eggs when he goes out for breakfast.
Hannah’s 4th Note: If there are any leftovers that Mike doesn’t get, they’re wonderful to use for sandwiches. Just split them in half lengthwise, slather them with mayonnaise, and put some sliced lunch meat in the center. Cheese And Green Chiles Biscuits will make an ordinary sandwich into a special treat.
Cheese and Green Chilies Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3½ cups all purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cream of tartar (this is important)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup salted softened butter (1 stick, 4 ounces, 1/4 pound) *** (See Hannah's 1st Note)
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 4oz can diced green chiles; drained and patted dry with a paper towel
- 2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
- 1 cup sour cream (8 ounces)
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Use a medium-size mixing bowl to combine the flour, salt, cream of tartar, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir them all up together. Cut in the salted butter just as you would for pie crust dough.
- Stir in the 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and the drained, chopped green chilies. Mix everything up thoroughly.
- Add the beaten eggs and the sour cream, in that order. Mix everything all up together.
- Add the milk and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Drop the biscuits by Tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, 12 biscuits to a sheet.
- Once the biscuits are on the baking sheet (or sheets if you decided to use two) you can wet your fingers with a little water and shape them if you like. (I leave mine slightly irregular so everyone knows they're homemade.)
- Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with the 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
- Bake the biscuits at 425 degrees F. for 12-14 minutes, or until they’re golden brown on top. For 2 sheets of smaller biscuits, reduce the baking time to 10-12 minutes. They’re done when they’re golden brown on top.
- Cool the biscuits for at least five minutes on the cookie sheet, and then remove them to a wire rack. Let them cool for at least another 2 minutes before you serve them. (I place mine in a towel-lined basket so they stay warm.)
- Yield: Makes 12 large Cheese And Green Chiles Biscuits, or 18 to 24 smaller biscuits that are equally delicious.
What would I do differently next time?
These are great! Next time I may try to roll them out and cut them. They would make great biscuits for egg sandwiches.
Here are some other great biscuits from cozy mystery novels.
Cheesy Biscuits from Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day
Maple Curry Biscuits from Biscuits and Slashed Browns by Maddie Day
Bolos Lêvedos, Portuguese Bread from Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay
