Book #22 ending with a cliffhanger. Book #23 was an unexpected prequel. Finally book #24 is back to the original time line. But will there be a resolution to the cliffhanger from #22? I won’t tell!
This is the 24th book in the addicting Hannah Swensen cozy mystery series. Author Joanne Fluke does a great job creating characters we care for. What will happen in Hannah’s private life? Readers need to know! Oh and a murder mystery too.
Chocolate Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Cozy Mystery Novel with Recipes Book Review
Outline and Tone:
This is book #24, book #23 turned out to be a prequel and now we are back in the original timeline. Which is a good thing because book #22 ended in a cliffhanger! Confused? Don’t be. I’ll get you caught up without spoilers. Book #22 ended with a loved one gone missing. Book #23 was a prequel to the entire Hannah Swenson series, it tells the story of how Hannah came to open her bakery, The Cookie Jar. Book #24 picks up where #22 left off. Now the reader finds out what happened to the missing loved one, and we are disgusted! How dare someone hurt our red headed protagonist Hannah Swensen. This strong, independent woman does not let anyone keep her down for long. She even tells her entire church what she has been through. And just when it seems she is ready to move on to the next chapter in her life (pun intended), the betrayer comes back into her life. This is a murder mystery and strangely enough the murder doesn’t happen until 75% of the way through the book. This is probably because the murder mystery is not that difficult to solve. It is great to see Hannah’s friends and family support her through all of this. It is a good thing she has this support because this book ends in a cliffhanger that is even bigger than the one in book #22. Joanne Fluke has done a wonderful job hooking her readers back into this story that has been going on for more than 19 years of real life time (I’m not sure how much time has passed in Hannah’s world).
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. 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 online with Hallmark Movies. Joanne Fluke is active on Facebook and Twitter. She does many interviews with her local news station and posts them on her Youtube channel.
What is not to like?:
Since the novel before this one was an exception to the expected in this series, and there wasn’t a murder until so late in the book, I kept wondering if Fluke had changed the story structure for good. I am glad to say that with the exception of a new structure of using cliffhangers, the rest of the story reflected previous books.
The verdict:
I thought I was excited to read and find out how the cliffhanger ended from book #22, I’m even more excited about the cliffhanger from this book. Read this book when you have time to read the next book right after.
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).
Assemble the Ingredients
CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES by Hannah Swensen.
Hannah has several notes to make these the best. I included all of her notes here. Anytime I have a note from me, Molly, I will put them in brackets.
DO NOT preheat the oven yet. This dough must chill before baking.
Hannah’s 1st Note: This recipe is easiest if you use an electric mixer, but it can also be mixed by hand.
Place the 3 sticks of salted butter in a microwave-safe container. (I used a quart Pyrex measuring cup with a spout.) [I use the OXO Good Grips 2 2-Cup Angled Measuring cup with a napkin over the top so it doesn’t splatter in my microwave.]
Easy to read measure marks on inside of cup. Dishwasher safe.
Heat the butter on HIGH for 1 minute. Let it sit in the microwave for an additional minute and stir it with a heat-resistant spatula to see if it has melted. If it hasn’t, heat it on HIGH for another 20 seconds, let it sit for 20 seconds, and stir it again. Repeat in 20-second intervals until your butter is melted.
Pour the melted butter in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder and mix it in. 
Mix in the 2 cups of brown sugar. Make sure the brown sugar is completely incorporated.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: If your brown sugar has hard lumps in it, remove the lumps, then add more brown sugar until you have a full 2 cups.
Add the baking soda and salt to your mixing bowl. Mix until they are completely combined.
Add the vanilla extract and the mint extract. Mix them in thoroughly.
I absolutely love these OXO Good Grips 7-Piece Nesting Measuring Beaker set.
Feel the sides of the mixing bowl. If the contents are so hot that it might cook the eggs if you add them now, let everything cool to slightly above room temperature.
If you haven’t yet beaten the eggs, put them in a glass and whip them up until they are completed blended. (I still use a fork from my silverware bowl to do this the way my great-grandmother Elsa used to do.) [I just whisked the eggs in my OXO Good Grips Measuring Cups 1 cup size]
Add the beaten eggs to your mixing bowl. Mix them in thoroughly.
Add the flour to your mixing bowl in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you’re using an electric mixer and you add all the flour at once, it will poof out all over your counter and floor when you turn on the mixer.
Once the flour has been thoroughly incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a butter spatula and take the bowl out of the mixer.
Set the bowl on your counter and give it another stir.
Add the cup of mini chocolate chips and stir them in by hand. Make sure they’re evenly distributed.
Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. (Overnight is fine, too.)
Once your cookie dough has chilled and you’re ready to bake, take the bowl out of the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
While your oven is preheating, prepare your cookie sheets by either spraying them with Pam or another cooking spray or lining them with parchment paper. [I prefer to use a silicone baking mat like this OXO Good Grips Silicone Baking Mat]
Roll the Chocolate Mint Cookie dough into walnut-sized balls with your impeccably clean hands.
Working one dough ball at a time, roll the dough balls in the bowl of white sugar and place the balls on your prepared cookie sheets, 12 to a standard sheet.
Hannah’s 4th Note: This dough may be sticky, so roll only enough cookie dough balls for the cookies you plan to bake immediately and return the bowl to the refrigerator.
Flatten the dough balls a bit with a metal spatula (or with the heel of your hand if the health board’s not around).
Press one Peppermint Pattie in the center of each cookie.
Bake your cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes.
Warning!
The first round of cookies that I baked I placed the York Peppermint Patty on the top of the cookie and then baked them. The peppermint patties melted and lost their shape, although you can still see a bit of the star pattern. The next round and all subsequent rounds, I flattened the cookie before I baked it, but then pressed in the York Peppermint Patty as soon as I took the cookies out of the oven. Both tasted great, so it it up to you for how you prefer them visually.
Take your cookie sheets out of the oven and cool the cookies on their cookie sheets for 1 to 2 minutes.
When the cookies have cooled for a bit, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to metal cooling racks on your counter. If you leave them on the cookie sheets for too long, they may stick and fall apart when you try to transfer them.
Hannah’s 5th Note: If you used parchment paper, let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets a bit and then pull the (Don’t forget to use oven mitts or pot holders to do this! Metal cookie sheets take longer than 1 or 2 minutes to cool parchment paper, cookies and all, over to the cooling racks. enough to handle with your bare hands.)
Yield: 4 to 5 dozen deliciously minty cookies that everyone who enjoys chocolate-covered mints will love.
Hannah’s 6th Note: Chocolate Mint Cookies are a big favorite at The Cookie Jar, especially around the Christmas season. Be sure, however, to serve them with tall glasses of icy cold milk, cups of strong coffee, or mugs of hot chocolate.
Chocolate Mint Cookies from: Chocolate Cream Pie Murder
Ingredients
- 1½ cups salted butter (3 sticks, 12 ounces, ¾ pound)
- 2 cups cocoa powder unsweetened
- 2 cups brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp mint extract [I used peppermint extract]
- 3 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass [or 1 cup measuring cup] with a fork
- 3 cups flour (not sifted - pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips (½ of an 11 or 12-ounce bag).
After the dough has chilled
- ½ cup white granulated sugar in a bowl [for rolling the dough balls before you bake them]
- 1 large bag of Mini York Peppermint Patties
Instructions
- Place the 3 sticks of salted butter in a microwave-safe container.
- Heat the butter on HIGH for 1 minute. Let it sit in the microwave for an additional minute and stir it with a heat-resistant spatula to see if it has melted. If it hasn't, heat it on HIGH for another 20 seconds, let it sit for 20 seconds, and stir it again. Repeat in 20-second intervals until your butter is melted.
- Pour the melted butter in the bottom of a mixing bowl.
- Add the cocoa powder and mix it in.
- Mix in the 2 cups of brown sugar. Make sure the brown sugar is completely incorporated.
- Add the baking soda and salt to your mixing bowl. Mix until they are completely combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and the mint extract. Mix them in thoroughly.
- Feel the sides of the mixing bowl. If the contents are so hot that it might cook the eggs if you add them now, let everything cool to slightly above room temperature.
- Add the beaten eggs to your mixing bowl. Mix them in thoroughly.
- Add the flour to your mixing bowl in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.
- Once the flour has been thoroughly incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a butter spatula and take the bowl out of the mixer.
- Set the bowl on your counter and give it another stir.
- Add the cup of mini chocolate chips and stir them in by hand. Make sure they're evenly distributed.
- Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. (Overnight is fine, too.)
- Once your cookie dough has chilled and you're ready to bake, take the bowl out of the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
- While your oven is preheating, prepare your cookie sheets by either spraying them with Pam or another cooking spray or lining them with parchment paper [or a silicone baking mat].
- Roll the Chocolate Mint Cookie dough into walnut-sized balls with your impeccably clean hands.
- Working one dough ball at a time, roll the dough balls in the bowl of white sugar and place the balls on your prepared cookie sheets, 12 to a standard sheet.
- Flatten the dough balls a bit with a metal spatula (or with the heel of your hand if the health board's not around).
- Press one Peppermint Pattie in the center of each cookie.[See my warning and pictures above, you may want to put the York Peppermint Patties on AFTER baking the cookies, but still press down the dough balls before baking].
- Bake your cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes.
- Take your cookie sheets out of the oven and cool the cookies on their cookie sheets for 1 to 2 minutes.
- When the cookies have cooled for a bit, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to metal cooling racks on your counter. If you leave them on the cookie sheets for too long, they may stick and fall apart when you try to transfer them.
What would I do differently next time?
As you can see in my notes and display pictures, I preferred to add the peppermint patties AFTER baking. I think the cookies are more visually appealing that way. Otherwise, there is nothing I would do differently.
Looking for more Joanne Fluke novel reviews? Or more recipes from her character Hannah Swensen? Try these Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies from Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, or Ultimate Chocolate Fudgy Bundt Cake from Raspberry Danish Murder, or Cocoa Snaps from Strawberry Shortcake Murder.
We tried these cookies and they were amazing! Loved all the tips you posted here