Le. Mme bakes...
Yes, I am baking (as in dying of heat) in my home, but that is not my point. I shall do my best to refrain from complaints regarding my copious glistening and inability to find somewhere to swim.
Moving on.
The other night, the proper saint wandered out of his office in search of a proper snack to accompany his proper Earl Grey.* He bemoaned the absence of tea biscuits in our cupboard. Little did he remember that he had made proper mention of said biscuit lack the week before, and I had written, "Make Shortbread" on my domestic "honey-do" list.
Normally I would refrain from baking during the summer, but this particular night was rather rainy and cold and seemed a perfect time to whip up a batch of something instead of spending the night complaining about being cold while watching some nonsense on the tele.
Obviously, I like to complain about the weather.
Moving on.
So I DID! I made the saint's mother's recipe, which really has the quaintest little story attached to it. The recipe resides in a little book she made me one year. She hand wrote many of the family's favorite recipes (one might think that a wise move on a mother-in-law's part, for surely it would decrease the frequency of annoying phone calls...but let's not forget who we are dealing with here. This is THE SAINT'S MOTHER, so she would just love it if I called frequently) so we could have them at our disposal.
Do let me transcribe it for you now.
Wait, I need to grab one to nibble.
Okay.
Scotch Shortbread Cookies
"Grandma Rosenquist's [the saint's grandmother] neighbor, Gloria Seibert, made these for our family every Christmas. We loved it so much we would hide it from each other. Finally, I asked Gloria how to make them (and she shared her recipe!)."
Ingredients:
- 1 cup real butter (NO SUBSTITUTIONS!)
- 5/8 cup sugar (that's 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp)
- 2 1/2 cup flour
Directions:
Mix together butter and sugar thoroughly.
Add flour. Stir with wooden spoon at first, but the "scotch secret" (according to Gloria) is to USE YOUR HANDS to continue kneading in all of the flour (it will be absorbed) until it forms a ball. Roll about half of it to 1/2" thickness (I like to gently roll a springerle 
rolling pin over it at this point to create shapes and designs). Cut into desired shapes (squares are traditional) and bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
rolling pin over it at this point to create shapes and designs). Cut into desired shapes (squares are traditional) and bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
So.
Darn.
Tasty.
(No matter the weather!)
(No matter the weather!)
*Joel has been reviewing old Star Trek: The Next Generation
episodes. Therefore, whenever he makes a pot of Earl Grey
tea (biweekly at the least), he is simply compelled to say, "Earl Grey, hot" in his best Captain Picard accent (biweekly at the VERY least). What an adorable dork.
episodes. Therefore, whenever he makes a pot of Earl Grey tea (biweekly at the least), he is simply compelled to say, "Earl Grey, hot" in his best Captain Picard accent (biweekly at the VERY least). What an adorable dork.
6 comments:
Yum. I will snag this recipe up and move it to the pile of recipes in my cupboard until I can bring myself to make such a treat...it may be very soon. ;)
Come visit. We have AC and you know P-town is calling your name. :)
I think the sight of you might be even more delicious than that shortbread!
Is that salted or unsalted butter?
Also, as soon as I read Earl Grey, your post was narrated by Captain Picard, and for some reason the Walker Texas Ranger theme song has just started up.
It's got to be salted right? Because salt makes things taste better.
Very entertaining way to present a recipe. Photos are great too and I'll bet the cookies are as well ;-)
Gorgeous HAIR!
True confession: there is no bready, cookie, ANYTHING in our house at the moment and I think I'm going through flour withdrawals. I got the shakes. I need your shortbread.
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