2 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups flour (no need to sift)
package of candy corn
Melt the butter. Add the sugar and mix. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then stir in the egg. Add all of the rest of the ingredients except the flour, mixing after each addition. Add the flour, one cup at a time, and mix it thoroughly. Let the cookie dough sit for 5 minutes to "rest."
Drop by spoonful on a greased cookie sheet, 12 cookies per standard-size sheet. (If the dough is too sticky, refrigerate it for a few minutes to firm it up.) Flatten the cookies with a greased spatula. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes.
When the cookies come out of the oven, leave them on the cookie sheets and immediately press pieces of candy corn on top as a design. Do this right away, so that the candy will stick after the cookies have cooled.***
Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yield: 6 to 7 dozen, depending on cookie size.
***If you fail to put on the candy corn when the cookies are still hot from the oven, all is not lost. You can put it on later using a little dab of powdered sugar frosting (powdered sugar with a tiny bit of milk) as "glue."
Tracey’s friends really loved these cookies and they all offered to help me decorate them next year.
Chapter Twenty-Three
"She didn't!" Andrea was still sputtering when Hannah came back to the room after hanging Tracey's costume in the closet.
"She did. As I recall her description was, the most marvelous, sophisticated man. She even compared him to an older version of Kenneth Branagh. I could be wrong, but she sounded pretty smitten to me."
"Smitten? You mean, like… in love?"
"I'm not sure about love, but she was a lot more than just politely interested."
Andrea gave an exasperated sigh. "Just what I need! Honestly, Hannah, I've never felt so helpless in my life. Here I am swelling up like a toad and I'm confined to this you-know-what couch while Mother's running around town with a gigolo!"
"What's a gigolo, Mommy?" Tracey asked, coming into the living room in time to hear Andrea's last comment.
"Tracey! I didn't know you were there. Um…" Andrea turned to Hannah with a desperate look in her eyes. "Aunt Hannah will tell you what it is."
"It's an Italian word for a man who is skilled at socializing with other people, especially women."
"Oh," Tracey said and she looked wise beyond her years. "You must be talking about Winthrop."
"You know Winthrop?" Both Andrea and Hannah asked the question, almost in tandem.
"No, but he called the last time I was at Grandma's. He said something funny because Grandma's face turned all red and she giggled."
"Mother giggled," Hannah repeated, giving Andrea a look before she turned back to Tracey. "Do you happen to know Winthrop's last name?"
"Harrington. I can spell it."
"That would be good, honey," Andrea said, glancing at Hannah who was already digging in her shoulder bag purse for her notebook.
Hannah wrote down the name, and then she asked the obvious question. "How did you know how to spell it?"
"It was on the flowers."
"What flowers?" Andrea and Hannah asked simultaneously.
"The ones Grandma got. Are you mad? I know I'm not supposed to snoop."
Hannah glanced at Andrea, who was fighting valiantly to keep a straight face. "Your mother's not mad this time, but you really aren't supposed to read things like that. When a man sends a woman flowers, the card is meant to be private."
"I know," Tracey said with a sigh, "but I had to know if Winthrop was after Grandma's money."
Andrea looked shocked. "What made you think that Winthrop might be after her money?"
"I saw it on television, Mommy."
"So you think Winthrop might be a criminal?" Hannah asked.
"I don't know. All I did was read his card. It'd be naughty to tell you what it said."
"Not necessarily," Andrea blurted out. "I mean, if Winthrop is a criminal, Aunt Hannah and I should know so that we can protect Grandma."
Tracey looked confused. "So the rules about snooping change sometimes?"
"Yes," Andrea said, glancing over at Hannah. "Aunt Hannah will explain."
Hannah muttered under her breath. If she were to be absolutely truthful, she'd have to tell Tracey that the rules changed every time her mother and her aunt really wanted to know something. "The rules do change. Maybe they shouldn't, but they do. It's very complicated and I don't want to get into that right now."
"It's for later, when I'm older?"
"That's right."
"Okay," Tracey said. "The flower note started with two words I didn't know."
"Really?" Hannah was surprised. Tracey had learned to read last year and she could sound out almost any word.
"They looked like moon and cherries spelled wrong."
"Mon Cherie!" Andrea breathed, exchanging glances with Hannah before she turned back to Tracey. "It's a term of endearment in French. Was the rest of the note in French, too?"
"I don't think so because I could read it. It said, My arms are empty without you."
"Oh, brother!" Hannah muttered, trying not to frown. "Did Grandma actually fall for that line?"
Tracey shrugged. "She had this funny look on her face when she read it, like she was going to cry or something."
"Uh-oh!" It was Andrea's turn to groan. "Was there any more to the note, honey?"
"Just his name, Winthrop Harrington. And right after his name, he wrote an eleven."
"An eleven?" Andrea was clearly puzzled. "I wonder what that means?"
Hannah also looked puzzled for a moment and then she laughed. "I think I know. Was it an eleven with a line above it and a line below it?"
"Yes! How did you know, Aunt Hannah?"
"It's a Roman numeral and it stands for the second. It means his father is also named Winthrop Harrington."
"Why would he want Grandma to know that?"
"I'm not sure," Hannah said, but she exchanged meaningful glances with Andrea. Delores would be swept off her feet by Winthrop Harrington's ancestry, especially if it included a crumbling old manor house from the Regency period and a title to go with it.
"Did Grandma use any titles when she spoke to Mr. Harrington on the phone?" Andrea asked.
"Titles?" Tracey looked confused. "You mean like the names of books?"
Hannah shook her head. "No, your mommy's talking about words like earl, and viscount, and duke."
"No…" Tracey said with a frown, "but she did say something bad."
"What was that?"
"Grandma swore. And she said it right in front of me."
Hannah was shocked. Delores would rather walk over hot coals than swear in front of Tracey. "What did she say, Tracey?"
"I'm not supposed to say it unless I'm in church."
"In church?" Andrea looked thoroughly mystified.
"Your mother will excuse you, this once," Hannah said, smiling at Tracey, who looked very nervous about the direction this conversation was taking. "It's not a trap, Tracey. We really need to know."