Bring the milk to a boil and add the sugar, cocoa, and butter. Stir until the butter melts. Turn the heat down and cook for one and a half minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and peanut butter. Stir and add the oatmeal. Mix well.
Drop teaspoons of the mixture onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Refrigerate until firm. Makes four dozen cookies. Store in a tin, the layers separated by waxed paper, in the refrigerator or in a cool place.
Small children, and other free spirits, enjoy mixing the oatmeal and dropping the mixture onto the wax paper with their hands.
LIZZIE’S SOUR CREAM BROWNIES
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour an eight-inch-square pan. Melt the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Cool to room temperature.
Beat the eggs and sugar together until they form a lemony ribbon. Add the vanilla. Fold the chocolate and butter into the egg mixture. Then fold in the flour, salt, and sour cream. Add the nuts if using.
Bake for thirty minutes in the middle of the oven.
Do not overcook. Let cool for thirty minutes before cutting. Cooking at 325°F will give you very moist brownies, which Faith likes to do sometimes.
This is a very rich, dense brownie, similar in texture to flourless chocolate cake. It’s sinfully good with ice cream on top. Makes sixteen good-sized brownies. You can’t double the recipe; you have to do it in two batches.
Note on the Recipes:
As with all of Faith’s recipes, heartwise substitutions can be made—Egg Beaters, margarine, low-fat milk and low-fat sour cream, for example. Also, the rum and port may be eliminated or nonalcoholic rum and sherry flavorings used.
I would like to thank Elizabeth Samenfeld-Specht for her cookie and brownie recipes; Dr. Robert DeMartino for his medical advice; my agent, Faith Hamlin, for her years of support; and my editor, Zachary Schisgal, for his regard for language—and plot.
Our home was burglarized in 1995, cleaned out in much the same way as Faith’s. Friends and family provided loving gestures—none more than my husband, Alan, and son, Nicholas.
About the Author
KATHERINE HALL PAGE is the author of thirteen previous Faith Fairchild mysteries. Her first book in the series,
Praise for Agatha Award-winner KATHERINE HALL PAGE
and
THE BODY IN THE BOOKCASE
“A best bet.”
“Peopled with entertaining and resourceful characters and sprinkled with mouthwatering recipes.”
“Page’s take is tightly written, with strong characterizations and delightful descriptions of its New England setting. The author braids her various storylines neatly and briskly, right up to the enticing conclusion.”
“Page’s literary concoction is satisfying and surprisingly delicious . . .
The plot is clever and the characters ring true.”
“An expert at the puzzle mystery.”
“Katherine Hall Page has found a great recipe for delicious mysteries: take charming characters, mix with ingenious plots, season with humor.
Bon appetit!”
Nancy Pickard
Katherine Hall Page
THE BODY IN THE BASEMENT
THE BODY IN THE BELFRY
THE BODY IN THE BIG APPLE
THE BODY IN THE BOG
THE BODY IN THE BOUILLON
THE BODY IN THE CAST
THE BODY IN THE FJORD
THE BODY IN THE KELP
THE BODY IN THE VESTIBULE
THE BODY IN THE MOONLIGHT
THE BODY IN THE BONFIRE
