Basic Shortbread

So Christmas is coming and now is the season for baking!

Thoughts Before Cooking:

This recipe comes from my a book I received for Christmas one year, Christmas Cookies. As I like to make anything Regency or tea related I thought it was no better time than now to include it as shortbread is perfect to pair with tea.

Background on the Cookie:

“Shortbread is made with a few basic ingredients, and the results are sensational. The key to success with this thick shortbread is baking it slowly so it doesn’t brown.”

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Butter, Softened
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 2 1/4 Cups of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Salt

Directions:

1. Beat the butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well.
2. Stir in vanilla.
3. Combine flour and salt, gradually add to the butter mixture beating on low speed until blended.
4. Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
5. Cut with a 2.5 inch round cutter or Christmas cookie cutter.
6. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
7. Bake at 275 degrees F for 50 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown.
8. Cool 2 minutes on a baking sheet; remove to wire rack to cool.

Thoughts After Baking:

These were delicious and so buttery good.  A perfect compliment to tea, Christmas, or anytime/anything. 🙂

For more recipes, go to Baked Apple Slices

For more recipes from Christmas Cookies, go to Aunt Neal’s Old-Fashioned Tea Cakes

For more cookie post, go to Tea and Biscuits

Aunt Neal’s Old-Fashioned Tea Cakes

Thoughts Before Cooking:

This recipe comes from my sister blog, MysteriousEats.wordpress.com. I like to include ay recipes that go well with tea and books.

Even though Christmas is eight months away, I don’t care. I’m making them anyway.

Truth be told I don’t

Background on the Cookie:

“These delicious tea cakes were made by an Aunt Cornelia (“Neal) on special occasions and holidays, using hand-churned butter and eggs she gathered from the hen-house. This southern Georgia version dates back to the turn of the twentieth century. “

**Dough has to be chilled**

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Butter, Softened
• 1 Cup of Granulated (White) Sugar
• 1 Large Egg, Lightly Beaten
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 3 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Cup of Milk
• White Sparkling Sugar

Directions:

1. Beat the butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Add one cup of sugar, beating well.
3. Add the egg and vanilla; beat well.
4. In a separate bowl: combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the flour mixture and the milk to butter mixture, alternating between the two. Begin with adding half the flour mixture, then add the milk, and finish with adding the flour mixture.
6. Mix at a low speed after each addition, until just blended.
7. Shape dough into two discs.
8. Wrap the discs in wax paper and chill for at least one hour.
9. After having chilled, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
10. Roll each disc to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.
11. Cut with a 3.5 inch round cookie cutter; and place one inch apart on lightly greased baking sheets.
12. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
13. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned.
14. Cool for one minute and then remove to wore racks to cool.
15. Makes about two dozen.

Thoughts After Baking:

When I took it out of the fridge it was super hard and I was unsure if it would come out okay.

Not good

But after being in my hands it quickly became super sticky, so make sure you flour the rolling pin and the cutting board.

But after all that this cookies were super good. Not too sweet and perfect for tea time.

For more recipes, go to Cherry-Pistachio Tea Cakes

For more on cookies, go to A Baker’s Four Dozen

A Baker’s Four Dozen

So today I spent the day baking, baking Christmas Cookies!

The first were called Sand Tarts, which I got from my sister blog Mysterious Eats. They’re posting the recipe next Friday, but gave me a sneak peak. They look good, and seem tasty. You see I could only eat a little bit of each cookie as I’m still recovering from having my wisdom teeth extracted.

I was making a dozen for one of my jobs, as this Sunday is their annual Christmas Children’s Program.

After I made those I moved on to bake the Regency Ginger Cookies, also from mysteriouseats.wordpress.com, for a Christmas Cookie Party that I am planning on going to. Not only did I want to do them because I’m all about Jane Austen, but figured no one else will do that type of cookie.

So this morning as I prepared to make four dozen cookies (one for the kids and three for the Christmas Cookie party) I decided, hey I should bake in my pajamas, so I can be comfy.

And then I thought I shouldn’t put on any makeup or do my hair either.

I mean after all I was going to get ingredients all over me, was probably going to make a huge mess I’d have to clean up anyway, etc. I mean why bother?

Majorly

But it seems like no one else got the memo. I had people stopping by all day.

No one ever visits me without calling first, except on the day that I am a super mess.

It was kind of funny as they looked at me with surprise and shock and how messy and grossly I was dressed.

What are you wearing?

But that’s how it goes. And now that I am done cooking, all I want to do is lay down.

I also sampled way too many cookies.

But hey, Christmas comes but once a year, so live it up!

For more Christmas traditions, go to O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

For more Jane Austen Quotes, go to You’ve Got to Accentuate the Positive

For more stories of my everyday life, go to A Real Life Saver

So I never believed in Santa Claus when I was a kid.

It’s not like I hate him or anything or want him gone forever. My parents told me that he lived years ago and died, so the Santa that exists today is more of a feeling than an actual person. But even though I wasn’t a Santa person, I still like a few Christmas Carols that involve him.

One of my favorites is Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane). I first sang it back when I was in Girl Scouts and we went into the nursing homes to carol.

It was written in the 1940s by Gene Autry, who got the idea after he was Santa Claus in a parade. Since then it has been covered by numerous artists; like Elvis Presley, Doris Day, and Bing Crosby to name a few.

My favorite version? The one from The Year Without a Santa Claus

For more Christmas Carols, go to Hark the Herald Angels Sing

For more on The Year Without a Santa Claus, go to 25 More Films of Christmas

The 25 Carols of Christmas

Christmas is coming, and you all know how much I love it! The tree…

The parties!

The Christmas baking!

The holiday cheer!

And of course, the Christmas carols.

And I have tried to do something every year here on my blog. The only problem is that I get so busy.

So many things come up around the holidays. My first year I tried to do the 12 posts of Christmas, reviewing a different Christmas film in the 12 days leading up to Christmas. It didn’t go as planned.

Besides all the other Christmas things I was doing, I ended up getting sick doing only 7/12 posts.

The next year I tried to do a countdown, but it didn’t work out, so I did a singular post (like my Saint Patrick’s Day ones) in which I talked about 25 of my favorite films that have something to do with Christmas. I repeated it again for last year.

However, this year I decided I would try my best to do another countdown. At first I wanted to do The 25 Episodes of Christmas, reviewing my 25 favorite TV episodes. But when November 18th rolled around and I had yet to review even one, I decided it was best to scratch that idea, at least for this year.

But then I got another idea. Why not review a Christmas Carol everyday? Do the regular posting as well, but just include a carol at the bottom of the post?

So that is what I am going to try to do. Fingers crossed that I will accomplish it.

So get ready for some Christmas songs headed your way!

To read the 12 Posts of Christmas, begin with On the 12th Day ‘Til Christmas: The 12 Men of Christmas (2009)

For 2013’s Christmas post, go to the 25 Films of Christmas

For 2014’s Christmas post, go to 25 More Films of Christmas

It’s a Jolly Holiday

14) Your Favorite Holiday

Your favorite holiday? Oooh that is a hard one to answer. Choose one?

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big holiday person. I love all holidays, even those that aren’t “real” (November 5th or May 4th?). What can I say?

So if I had to pick my three favorite holidays? Here we go!

3) Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving as I love everything it stands for. I know a lot of people want to say how “the first Thanksgiving shouldn’t count” as “it opened a door to genocide” or whatever, but that’s not true. Not all relationships between the Native Americans and pilgrims (pilgrims not Puritans. Huge difference) was bad. In this case, the Native Americans helped those early settlers. If it weren’t for that goodwill, I wouldn’t be born as my family most likely never would have immigrated and met.

I also love how Abraham Lincoln recognized that in all the stress, bumble, and grind of everyday life; time should be given so that all can stop and be thankful for all they have.

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

I also love gathering with family and enjoying each other’s company. And of course, I love to eat until I explode.

For more on Thanksgiving, go to I Before E, Especially After P

2) Halloween

I know you had to see this coming. What with my Horrorfest I do every year (going on my fourth year and it is going to be good. I promise!), you had to know that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.

What can I say about this holiday? I love that it is fall and there are dry leaves and pumpkins everywhere. I love the chill in the air and that it is usually the start of rain. I love the candy. I love dressing up in a costume, I only wish I could do that more. And most of all I love the horror films that are showing everywhere and on sale to buy. I just love Halloween.

For more on Halloween, go to Beast or Man: The Wolfman (2010)

1) Christmas

I LOVE Christmas! Words cannot describe how much I enjoy when it comes around. I love how almost everyone is trying to be nice and kind, goodwill abounding; people actually going out of their way for others.

Plus I love picking out the perfect gift and wrapping it up and placing it under the tree, just waiting to see their face when they open it!

Going to church, cookie baking, carols, Christmas movies! And the tree, we go every year to chop one down and then decorate with the same decorations we’ve had every year. Pulling out our nativity and retelling the Christmas story again!

I love it, and can’t wait for it to come around!

For more on Christmas, go to 25 More Films of Christmas

To start the 30 Day Challenge from the beginning, go to Musical Madness

For the previous post, go to Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

For more holidays, go to Every Heart Beats True for the Red, White, & Blue