In Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop, after Lindsey Bakeswell catches her celebrity chef fiancé sizzling in the arms of another woman, Lindsey leaves Wall Street and the big city for small town Beacon Harbor, Michigan, to pursue her own passion as a pastry baker—and gets mixed up in someone’s sweet taste of revenge. More interested in kneading dough than adding it up, Lindsey’s breakup inspired her to set up the shop she always wanted in a place that always made her happy. She’d spent many childhood summers near this beach community and converting the old run-down lighthouse into a bakery café and home offers a perfect fresh start for Lindsey and her devoted Newfoundland dog, Wellington. But not everyone in town has a sweet tooth. The preservation society won’t have the lighthouse’s history sugar coated by lattes and cakes—and a protest group crashes Lindsey’s Memorial Day opening. Then her ex-fiancé Jeffrey Plank and his girlfriend Mia Wong arrive to trash the place. In the ensuing chaos Mia chokes on a donut and dies. An autopsy reveals cyanide in Mia’s bloodstream and Lindsey is the police’s prime suspect. To clear her name, she’s going to need to combine ingredients found in the town’s checkered past to uncover the identity of a desperate killer. Add this page-turner to your reading list and enjoy it with a cup of a beloved tea and Cherry-Chocolate-Chunk Cookies during the sunny and bright days of spring.
- 1 cup pecans
- 1¼ cups unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dried tart cherries
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*
- Preheat oven to 350°. Place pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Line several other rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Bake pecans until lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before chopping.
- In large mixing bowl, beat together butter and both sugars with a mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating until blended.
- In a large bowl, whisk together oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to butter-sugar mixture, 1 cup at a time, until dough is well blended. Stir in cherries, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans. (Dough will be thick). Drop ¼-cup portions of dough 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake until cookies are golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before serving.
Get Your Copy of Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah Here!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darci Hannah grew up in the northwest suburbs of a Chicago, is a graduate of Indiana University, and currently lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband, three sons and two dogs. She has lived around the Great Lakes all her life and considers them a source of inspiration. When she’s not engaged in a rollicking family adventure, walking her dogs, or working at the historic Howell Carnegie District Library, she’s either baking up a storm or hard at work on her next Beacon Bakeshop Mystery. Visit her at DarciHannah.com.
I really enjoyed finding more wonderful mysteries written around baking/bakery themes. I am a former bakery owner/pastry chef. . .now semi-retired. During my long career I owned a French bakery and later a very sucessful Bakery Cafe. I also was a Food Editor at a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper as well as winner of many Purple & Blue ribbons at County and State Fairs for my pies in 8 states.
I very much enjoy reading stories that I can relate to… also comung from a family of Police officers’ judges and attorneys makes mysteries that relate to my craft even more fun! Keep up the very good writing. I always told my employees that we were in the Happiness Business. . I hope that you realize that YOU are in that business too! Thanks so much for what you do ,