Sunny and 66 Degress... Time to Shoot!!!

Happy Saturday... LOTS of work to do today... today's big event will include two loaded guns!

Jake, his loaded guns and personal assistant - Bunny!

Yes, tis true... Jake has a new camera! It's a scary looking professional Canon 7D; Jake says the red stripe around the circumference of the lens will cause those in the know to swoon! This is good news for me and YOU! If you've been enjoying Jake's shutter bugging so far... JUST YOU WAIT!

So, as you may have surmised... I have a kid in a candy shop chomping-at-the-bit to get out there and SHOOT!!! He's waiting patiently at the top of the LOFT stairs... so off we go....

Oh and I get the Nikon D5000 - YAY!!!

AFTER THE JUMP... A sweet treat to keep you busy until tomorrow's post!

One of my favorite (as well as many of my friends') holiday treats is a trio of shortbread cookies I make every year.

Today is the first of the three recipes - CLASSIC Scottish Shortbread...

Scottish Shortbread

It's crazy how some butter, sugar and flour can meld into probably the most basic and yet utterly delicious little bite of comfort! One (or two or three or four) of these melt-in-your-mouth cookies with a good cup of coffee or tea is probably one of life's great simple moments!

Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

·      4 sticks of butter

·      1 cup powdered or super fine sugar

·      4 cups all-purpose flour

Embellishments: This very basic dough is a great platform for creativity. Add extra flavors or melt chocolate and dip one end of each cookie after they are baked and cooled, etc. PUT your culinary expression in them or let them remain the classic cookie they have been for ages and ages!

·      Citrus zest

·      Anise or fennel seeds

·      Cayenne powder for dusting

·      Chocolate for dipping

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter in mixer on med-high speed; continue mixing while adding ¼ cup of sugar at a time until thoroughly incorporated and creamy-smooth. Next, add flour one cup at a time – mix on low speed. Continue with each cup until the last cup. Take the last cup and add a bit at a time until the dough is solid and holds together, but not too dense. YOU may not use the entire last cup, or you may depending on density of dough

When done mixing, roll out on a floured surface until the dough is about ½ thick. Cut into desired shape and arrange on baking sheet.

NOTE: I generally cut mine into squares or rectangles, but sometimes I do a wheel (like in the photo) and cut into wedges.

Once the cookies are arranged on the baking sheet take a fork, or knife tip and simply poke each cooking to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake for about 12 -15 minutes or until cookies are starting to turn golden brown.