(Adapted from “Candy Cane Murder,” by Joanne Fluke)

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (4 ounces)

1-1/4 cups chilled butter

2 cups sugar

2 beaten eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup corn syrup

2 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon vanilla

4 cups flour (pack it down in the cup as you measure it)

Topping

1/4 cup white (granulated) sugar

1/4 cup finely crushed mint candy canes (about 12 mini candy canes)

Melt the butter and the chocolate squares together, mix thoroughly, and set them on the counter to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the white sugar and the eggs. Beat the mixture until it’s a uniform pale yellow color.

Add the baking soda and salt. Mix them in well.

Mix in the corn syrup, water, and the vanilla.

Mix in half the flour. Then add remaining flour and mix thoroughly.

Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest on the counter while you grease cookie sheets and crush your candy canes.

Measure out a quarter cup of the finely crushed candy canes and place them in a small bowl. Add a quarter cup white granulated sugar and mix it all up with a fork. (The goal is to get equal amounts of sugar and crushed candy cane on each of the dough balls that you’ll make.)

Roll the dough into one-inch diameter balls with your hands. This dough may be sticky, so roll only enough for the cookies you plan to bake immediately and then put the bowl in the refrigerator.

Roll the dough balls in the bowl of topping and place them on the greased cookie sheet, 12 balls to a standard sheet. Flatten slightly.

Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool for a minute and then remove the cookies to a wire rack to complete cooling. (If you leave them on the cookie sheet for more than a minute, they may stick. It’s not the sugar—it’s the crushed candy canes. They melt and then stick to your baking sheets.)

Yield: approximately 8 dozen