Pumpkin Pied Read online

  “You Lucy Resnick?” he asked.

  “I am,” I said, putting down the bucket. Chuck growled again and put himself between us.

  “Butch Simmons, Lone Star Exploration,” the man said, squinting at me.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, extending a hand. Chuck yipped, and I apologized.

  “Good doggie,” the man said, reaching down to let the poodle sniff him. Usually, that was all the little dog needed to become comfortable, but something about the man upset him. He growled, backing away.

  “I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” I said, scooping him up in my arms. “Can I help you with something?” I asked again, holding the squirming poodle tight.

  “Mind if I take a few pictures? We’re surveying the property before we start the exploration process.”

  “Exploration process?” I asked. “Didn’t anyone tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  He turned his head and spit out a wad of snuff. I wrinkled my nose, revolted by the glob of brown goo on the caliche driveway. “We’re drillin’ for oil.”

  * * * * * * * * *

  Want to read more? Killer Jam is available now at Amazon.com.

  Charlene’s Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

  Cookies:

  1 1/2 cups flour

  1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

  1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

  1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

  1 cup packed light brown sugar

  1/2 cup vegetable oil

  1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

  1 large egg

  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  Filling:

  6 ounces cream cheese, softened

  3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

  Pinch of salt

  1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1/2 teaspoon almond extract

  Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients.

  Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop a scant scoop of batter or 2 scant tablespoons of batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to form 1 mound. Make 15 more mounds, arranging them 2 inches apart until baking sheet is full (you will have batter left over). Bake until cookies spring back when touched, 12 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack to cool, then form and bake remaining batter on the other parchment-lined sheet. You should have a total of 32 cookie-cakes.

  While cookies are baking, beat cream cheese, butter, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and almond extract and mix on low speed until smooth.

  Chill filling until firm 30 minutes to 1 hour. When filling is cool enough to keep its shape, spread 1 heaping tablespoon of filling each on flat side of half the cooled cookies, then top with a second cookie. If necessary, chill whoopie pies just long enough to firm up filling again, about 30 minutes.

  Prize-Winning Turtle Pumpkin Pie

  2 eggs

  1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

  1/2 cup half-and-half

  3/4 cup sugar

  1 tablespoon flour

  1 teaspoon lemon zest

  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

  1 9-inch prepared pie shell, either butter crust (below) or store-bought

  3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

  1 cup chopped pecans

  3 tablespoons butter

  Preheat oven to 375. Combine eggs, pumpkin, and half-and-half in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Stir in the sugar, flour, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, then pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared pie shell. Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil strips to prevent burning, and bake for 20 minutes. While pie is baking, mix the brown sugar, pecans, and butter together in a bowl until evenly blended. Carefully spoon over the top of the pie and continue baking the pie until the topping is golden and bubbly, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes more. Cool on a wire rack.

  Buttery Pie Crust

  2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

  1 tablespoon sugar

  3/4 teaspoon salt

  1 cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

  6 tablespoons (more or less) ice water

  Combine flour, sugar, and salt in food processor, then add butter and pulse until coarse meal forms. Gradually blend in ice water, tablespoon by tablespoon, to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball and divide in half. Form dough into 2 balls; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; chill 2 hours or overnight. Makes two 9-inch deep-dish pie crusts.

  Karen MacInerney

  Book List

  The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries

  Murder on the Rocks

  Dead and Berried

  Murder Most Maine

  Berried to the Hilt

  Brush With Death

  Death Runs Adrift

  Whale of a Crime (coming February 2016)

  The Margie Peterson Mysteries

  Mother's Day Out

  Mother Knows Best (coming April 2016)

  Mother's Little Helper (coming April 2017)

  The Dewberry Farm Mysteries

  Killer Jam

  Fatal Frost (coming October 2016)

  Tales of an Urban Werewolf

  Howling at the Moon

  On the Prowl

  Leader of the Pack

  For more information and to buy go to www.karenmacinerney.com.

  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks to all of my wonderful readers and my fabulous Facebook community, as well as my sharp-eyed early readers and editors: Olivia Leigh Blacke, Barbara Cowman, Shelley Giusti, Karen Kenyon, Rudi Lee, Abby MacInerney, Samantha Mann, Priscilla Ormsby, and Kay Pucciarelli. Thanks also to Kim Killion for the beautiful cover and Pam Headrick of A Thirsty Mind Book Design for the formatting. And huge thanks go to the MacInerney Mystery Mavens for their unflagging support. Evidently it takes a village to put together a short story. I am grateful to all of you!