Mike..........thanks for the recipe!

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 08:16:21 AM

In case you guys missed it...........

Ok, here it is.

Scottish Shortbread

4 cups Flour
1 lb. Butter
1 cup Sugar
(optional) zest of lemon, orange or lime

Mix flour and sugar (and zest if additional flavoring desired) in bowl. Add butter and knead until well mixed together, dough should be light, but not crumbly. Line sheet cake pan with pastry paper and lightly press dough onto paper. A rolling pin can be careful used to smooth and even out the dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove immediately and let cool for 5 minutes. For decoration, drag a fork across the top to create a plaid design before slicing into cubes. Let cookies completely cool before removing from pan.

TerriL · December 04, 2006, 09:10:23 AM

Yummy! I love shortbread! That is going on my baking list for sure!

Mike · December 04, 2006, 11:33:19 AM

One thing I forgot to mention....

They taste better if they age a couple of weeks after baking.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 04, 2006, 02:30:31 PM

Stand back I am going to try these too! I have some new found cousins I am going to visit this weekend and was trying to come up with something to bring. This sounds like something I might be able to pull off! Few ingredients...my usual buy 4 times more than you need because I WILL ruin a minimum of 2 batches (it's a given).

Questions:
What is a sheet cake pan? Just a cookie sheet with sides?
What is pastry paper and where does one find it?
How are they aged...do you leave them in a tupperware container on the counter or in the fridge or freeze or??

And lastly...is it possible to do this whole thing with throw away items so no dish washing would be involved? :thumb:

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 02:57:11 PM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 04, 2006, 02:30:31 PM
Stand back I am going to try these too! I have some new found cousins I am going to visit this weekend and was trying to come up with something to bring. This sounds like something I might be able to pull off! Few ingredients...my usual buy 4 times more than you need because I WILL ruin a minimum of 2 batches (it's a given).

Questions:
What is a sheet cake pan? Just a cookie sheet with sides?
What is pastry paper and where does one find it?
How are they aged...do you leave them in a tupperware container on the counter or in the fridge or freeze or??

And lastly...is it possible to do this whole thing with throw away items so no dish washing would be involved? :thumb:

A sheet cake pan is a 13x9x2-inch baking pan, either metal or glass.
Pastry paper is also knows as parchment paper and is found with the foil and plastic wrap. Use enough to overlap two sides to make it easy to lift the shortbread out after it cools. Lifting it out onto a cutting board will make cutting it into uniform bars easier too.
You can lightly butter the pan, or use non-stick spray, and that will make the parchment paper stick to the pan better.
Aging.......hmmm, I would say wrap in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate.
I don't think this can be done with all throw-away items. In fact, go buy yourself a pastry blender.
http://www.kitchen-classics.com/pastry.htm
It will make it alot easier to "cut" the butter into the flour and sugar mix. Otherwise you will have to use a big fork. And its the "cutting" of the butter into the flour that gives a nice flakey result.
Hope this helps.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 04, 2006, 03:07:51 PM

Yes that helps a lot thanks Patty!! I am on a mission. I don't see how I can totally mess this one up...but I always have oreos for a back up!

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 03:09:04 PM

I wish I could come down and show you the technique. But I'm probably being too anal, you will most likely do just fine. Have you seen the movie To Dance With The White Dog? The part where he is making biscuits? Its SO funny. He keeps adding more flour, then milk, then more flour, and ends up with about 50 biscuits that end up hard as a rock when he bakes them.

Mike · December 04, 2006, 03:09:10 PM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 04, 2006, 02:30:31 PM
How are they aged...do you leave them in a tupperware container on the counter or in the fridge or freeze or??

Just let them sit in a cookie tin or wrapped in aluminum foil so they can breathe a bit. I never put them in the frig coz 1. you forget they are there and 2. butter will attract all sorts of flavors and odors (mmmm broccoli shortbread!!!) and 3. as they dry out a bit they should get even lighter.

PS the last batch I made on Friday night I just kneaded the ingredients in the bowl as though I was making bread and they turned out great.

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 03:14:53 PM

A good backup recipe (no bake):

CRISPY CHOCOLATE MOUNDS
1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch chips,
1 cup crisp rice krispies cereal, ½ cup raisins,
½ cup peanuts, ½ cup coconut

In double boiler (or microwave) melt chocolate and butterscotch
Chips, stir until smooth. Remove from heat.
Stir in cereal, raisins, nuts and coconut.
Drop by tablespoon onto foil lined baking sheet.
Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

NOT that I don't think you can handle the shortbread.

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 03:19:42 PM

Quote from: Mike on December 04, 2006, 03:09:10 PM
Just let them sit in a cookie tin or wrapped in aluminum foil so they can breathe a bit. I never put them in the frig coz 1. you forget they are there and 2. butter will attract all sorts of flavors and odors (mmmm broccoli shortbread!!!) and 3. as they dry out a bit they should get even lighter.

PS the last batch I made on Friday night I just kneaded the ingredients in the bowl as though I was making bread and they turned out great.

Good point about them attracting fridge odors! But all DD has in her fridge is Snapple and canned pumpkin.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 04, 2006, 03:41:56 PM

Ohh double broiler can you rent those?

Dang now see if you lived here I could do your photos and you could bake my cookies! Cousins may never want to see me again after this lol.

THanks Mike ok I'll keep the little boogers safe.

QuoteBut all DD has in her fridge is Snapple and canned pumpkin.

And some leftover gerkins from when Gail and Colin were here. :thumb: (what year was that?)

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 03:49:52 PM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 04, 2006, 03:41:56 PM
Ohh double broiler can you rent those?

Dang now see if you lived here I could do your photos and you could bake my cookies! Cousins may never want to see me again after this lol.

THanks Mike ok I'll keep the little boogers safe.
And some leftover gerkins from when Gail and Colin were here. :thumb: (what year was that?)

Forget the double-boiler! LOL!!! Just melt the chips in the microwave. Dee, you are too much!

I, too, wish we lived closer cause I really do need help with my Christmas photo. I would really like this scenario: Dan and I, sitting on our deck with Santa hats on. Willy, Alex and Misty on Dan's lap, and me with Neeki in her Santa hat, with the house in the background.

Brekkesmom · December 04, 2006, 05:29:45 PM

That was 2001, DD! And Patty - I make a recipe like the second one you had, but since I despise raisins 98% of the time, mine came originally without any mention of the dreaded "r" word! DD - I think you mean "double boiler" - and all you need is a pan that sits inside a larger pan of water so you can bring it to a boil and melt something indirectly... Good luck on the Scotch shortbread! The last time I had Mike's, it was aged a couple of weeks after Brenda got it and then I aged it about 3 more weeks before I touched any, and then.... YUMM-O!

Roberta · December 04, 2006, 11:53:07 PM

We actually add a bit of rice flour, when we make it.
Dee Dee please take pictures.....................
We also make another nice one highlanders (I'll use non SI units)
5oz plain flour
4oz butter
2oz castor sugar
2oz rice flour
milk and demerara sugar

1.Cream castor sugar and butter together
2.add flour and rice flour and mix well. Finally using your hands to bind it(for dee dee put (knead) it into a ball.
3.roll into a thick sausage
4. brush with milk and roll in demerara sugar
5. cut into slices(15-20)
6
bake at 375 F 0r 190 C for 15-20 minutes till golden brown.

They are divine as the sugar around the edges carmalizes.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 05, 2006, 02:23:27 AM

Ermmm... I have 5 year old gerkins in my fridge??

Struck out again on the pans I only have one...how about a stainless steel dog bowl inside a pan? I will remember to boil, not broil.

OH heavens Roberta are you telling me there is more than one kind of sugar??? The heck? Demerara? (is this where I say "gesunheidt"?) Heard of castor oil but never heard of it in sugar...uh oh I'm re reading TWO kinds of flour too? Rice flour? You're just messin' with my head now aren't you. :thinik: LOL. If I can get the box boy at Safeway to find me the stuff I just might try this. (as soon as I get confirmation that the dog bowl in the pan will work...).

Love the idea you have for your Christmas pic Patty. That would be a tough one to do on your own...do you have a neighbor or someone who can help you? Timer wouldn't work I can see horses and dogs scattering as you ran back to get into the shot!

Mike · December 05, 2006, 05:19:31 AM

The highlander shortbread sounds good, Roberta. I'll have to pass that on to my family.

PattyInAK · December 05, 2006, 08:31:31 AM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 05, 2006, 02:23:27 AM
Ermmm... I have 5 year old gerkins in my fridge??

Struck out again on the pans I only have one...how about a stainless steel dog bowl inside a pan? I will remember to boil, not broil.

OH heavens Roberta are you telling me there is more than one kind of sugar??? The heck? Demerara? (is this where I say "gesunheidt"?) Heard of castor oil but never heard of it in sugar...uh oh I'm re reading TWO kinds of flour too? Rice flour? You're just messin' with my head now aren't you. :thinik: LOL. If I can get the box boy at Safeway to find me the stuff I just might try this. (as soon as I get confirmation that the dog bowl in the pan will work...).

Love the idea you have for your Christmas pic Patty. That would be a tough one to do on your own...do you have a neighbor or someone who can help you? Timer wouldn't work I can see horses and dogs scattering as you ran back to get into the shot!

Will definitely need the help of a neighbor for this shot. OR I can anchor all pets down to the deck, set the timer and make a run for it. Naw.....that would be a disaster in the making, especially with Neeki.

Brekkesmom · December 06, 2006, 07:39:46 PM

Gosh, Roberta - yours sounds good! I dunno if anyplace around sells Demerara sugar or castor sugar, though. I'll have to ask Mrs. Martinez - she was a pastry chef before she finished her teaching credential. (That's Frida and Willie's mom, btw, who will be posting Bobo pictures soon, I'm sure!)

auntydoxzz · December 08, 2006, 02:02:13 AM

:meme:

Hopefully this works.
For those of us in the USA, castor sugar is sold as superfine granulated sugar.

the Demerara is apparently a type of "raw sugar" so you might be able to use something like either brown sugar(which is really purified sugar along with molasses) or else some of the other more basic types of sugar such as turbinado sugar. Here is a quote from a web site I just looked up.
Demerara sugar and turbinado sugar, which are both dry and coarse-textured, and Barbados sugar, which is moist and fine-textured, can certainly be acceptable substitutes for brown sugar. But all three lean towards brown sugar in taste, so you can forget them if you are trying to avoid that flavor.(the answer was what the poster could use to substitute for brown sugar besides white sugar combined with molasses.)

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 08, 2006, 11:22:51 AM

I am going to try making these today (Heaven save us all!) and am planning to use all regular sugar and brown sugar and all regular flour....???

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 08, 2006, 07:10:42 PM

OK one batch out and one still in the oven. So far, nothing has blown up and Hallie is still in the house (she usually runs outside and shakes when I turn the oven on and won't come back in. obviously, as smart as she is, she can't know to be afraid of my cooking LOL but she is just terrified of smoke I learned a couple of years ago so I can only surmise the rarely used oven is smoking to where I can't smell it but she can).

I used plain flour for the whole thing, regular white sugar and regular brown sugar. I found a big bag of flour that had expired Nov 21, 2005 but I figured it wouldn't kill anybody. :thumb:

I tasted a warm one and it wasn't half bad! I am anxious to see how a cool one tastes. Oh and a half cool one. And a really cool one.

I was going to do a batch of Mike's shortbread too but I used up the entire tub of butter-like stuff I used for Roberta's cookies so I will do a batch of shortbread for Christmas.

I feel so domestic!

That will be my domestic contribution for the year. Thanks for the recipes guys!

PattyInAK · December 11, 2006, 08:48:00 AM

CONGRATULATIONS DD ON SUCCESSFUL BAKING!!!

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 11, 2006, 01:38:33 PM

Welll it was a success in that the house is still standing. But I didn't know how big of logs to roll them into to cut them so I just rolled them into individual balls...and after they cooled, well lets just say you could throw one and knock a bird out of the sky at 20 yards.

Merion · December 11, 2006, 01:49:49 PM

My dogs don't like me turning on the oven..... :crazyeyes: but that is because they know the smoke alarm is going to go off in a little while. They hate the alarm!!!!!!!

Merion & the ZZ's

auntydoxzz · December 11, 2006, 11:37:17 PM

DeeDee are you saying they are a wee bit hard? That might be due to the age of the flour.

If so if all else fails, crumble em and use them for a cookie crust for something.

PS Merion is telling the truth!! Sometimes she even has to go in the bedroom and get poor Wacky Zack out of the round tub he seems to head for(the sides are too high for him to climb out!!

Auntydoxzz

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 12, 2006, 01:46:42 AM

Ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one whose kid is afraid when Mom starts cooking! :apls:

Wuh oh. And I was just saying that old flour wouldn't kill anyone.

Unfortunately I already gave them to my new found cousins...come to think of it I haven't heard from them since! :thinik:

Mike · December 12, 2006, 06:14:35 AM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 08, 2006, 07:10:42 PM
I was going to do a batch of Mike's shortbread too but I used up the entire tub of butter-like stuff I used for Roberta's cookies so I will do a batch of shortbread for Christmas.

Butter-like stuff????? Best use butter. It may be higher in fat, but has no trans-fat or plastics. And don't eat 11 pieces at a sitting....

PattyInAK · December 12, 2006, 11:51:15 AM

Quote from: Mike on December 12, 2006, 06:14:35 AM
Butter-like stuff????? Best use butter. It may be higher in fat, but has no trans-fat or plastics. And don't eat 11 pieces at a sitting....

LOL!!!!!!!

BUTTER-LIKE STUFF indeed! I was thinking the same thing Mike.
DD, spend the extra buck and get the real stuff.
And replace that flour!

Frankys_mom · December 12, 2006, 03:39:07 PM

Poor DeeDee! Don't feel bad, I tried to make those "break and bake" cookies (from the chilled/pre-made cookie dough) for our "cookie day" at work.
"Tried" as in ... BURNED two batches to a crisp.... gave up and ate some of the leftover raw dough.
No food poisoning yet! :thumb:
Dawn

PattyInAK · December 13, 2006, 08:58:11 AM

We love to beat DD up in the baking department. WELL!!!............she is such a fantastic, talented artist, its good to know that she has SOME faults!!! She knows we love her!

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 13, 2006, 05:46:23 PM

LOL there is a reason I ended up so close to fast food joints! Thank goodness it's easier to find healthier eats there or I'd be sunk!

Ha with the expiration date of the last bag of flour, I'll bet I bought it last year to make Christmas cookies with too! And that was the only time I used it....I will go buy a fresh bag now and you watch, next Christmas it will have just expired and I'll have to go get another one....turns into pretty expensive cookies LOL.

I think I bought the butter-like stuff the same time as the flour because it was long overdue too!

All right...sigh....looks like I will have to go stock up on fresh ingredients. Including real butter!

Does sugar go bad?

Hey Dawn I'm glad I'm not alone! (I knew I wasn't lol). What really gripes me is every time I attempt something like this I will say sternly to myself "now just stand RIGHT HERE and watch it so it doesn't burn!" No longer is the thought out of my head, I am wandering off to wash a dish or cuddle Hallie or something and whoosh....up in smoke!

Roberta · December 14, 2006, 12:40:31 AM

Dee Dee, we love you, you talented junk food addict. Patty I have the same problem trying to get people to use butter, cannot get through that it needs animal fat etc.
Roberta
ps tip shortbread and cookies can be made all year round

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 14, 2006, 02:18:00 AM

Quoteshortbread and cookies can be made all year round

LOL but I need a whole year to rest up from the one batch I make before each Christmas!

That the thing about cooking for one...you have to buy more than you'll ever use, and not only does it deter you from cooking that much more, but it gives you an awful darn good excuse too! :thumb:

I am sure my poor cousins have cracked their teeth on the cookies I tried to make like yours Roberta (I'm sure, done right they are delicious!! They tasted pretty good when they were warm, it was just after they cooled they turned into tiny boulders. I can turn the best of recipes into something scary!)

PattyInAK · December 14, 2006, 08:44:31 AM

Quote from: Roberta on December 14, 2006, 12:40:31 AM
Dee Dee, we love you, you talented junk food addict. Patty I have the same problem trying to get people to use butter, cannot get through that it needs animal fat etc.
Roberta
ps tip shortbread and cookies can be made all year round

You are right, Roberta, some things need real butter, no substitutions. Trying to make some things "healthy" just ruins them. Most people don't know that LARD makes the best, most flakey, pie crust!
People who try to make things healthy really gripe me sometime. I work with someone who thinks honey much, much better than sugar. If there is a difference, its miniscule. She claims its "natural" and thus better for you. Well HELLO!!! Sugar is a natural too.

Mike · December 14, 2006, 03:39:44 PM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 14, 2006, 02:18:00 AM
They tasted pretty good when they were warm, it was just after they cooled they turned into tiny boulders.

These are what the Highlanders used to repel the English ...

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 14, 2006, 04:10:50 PM

QuoteThese are what the Highlanders used to repel the English ...

Ah! So that is their history!

I would have been a boon to the Highlanders!

I know Patty, I have heard people say that too...I wonder how that idea ever got started that honey was more "natural" than sugar? (probably from the honey people LOL)
It's better to not know ingredients sometimes or we wouldn't eat anything!

Brekkesmom · December 14, 2006, 05:08:59 PM

Wotcher mean, DD? With a name like Murry, I didna think you were anything else!!! You probably inherited that hard-as-a-rock Scotch shortbread gene! I come from a long line of Adairs and Inmons, among other Scots names! (I'm sure Delia's Ron and I are related somewhere along the family trees!)

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 14, 2006, 07:34:47 PM

LOL Julia, wouldn't that be something?

Our last name isn't really Murry...it's Dunlap. Looooong story (Grandfather killed a guy, went on the run, changed his name every few months, mispelled "Murry" which is why we don't have an "a" in it, this is how he spelled it the month he died but my Dad and his siblings all have a different spelling of "Murry" on their birth certificates) but I'm 3/4 german and 1/4 Irish. Must be some bad cooks in the mix back there! Although I don't recall anyone in my family being a bad cook, my Mom was a wonderful cook as was my Dad, sister, brothers...I must have gotten a recessive gene from way back somewhere lol.

Brekkesmom · December 14, 2006, 11:27:59 PM

Now that is an interesting story! I am 1/4 Irish, 1/4 Scots, 1/4 Welsh, 5/32 English, and 3/32 German, if we have all the fractions figured out correctly. My Irish ancestors had names like Hart, and the Welsh were Browns - the gate to the family castle still stands - I have a photo of it taken by a fellow teacher who went on a long Celtic vacation, and then we found out it was the only thing left of the builiding!

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 15, 2006, 10:28:52 AM

That is so cool! Isn't it fascinating to learn about your ancestors. My Dad's aunt who was a nun at the Mt Angel Monestary in Oregon and died the year before I was born, was an artist. She painted their ceiling and murals on the wall, and I was just sent these two that she had done in the early 1900's. I was amazed at how good she was, there were no art lessons back then especially for a nun!

Teresa · December 15, 2006, 12:35:17 PM

Those are incredible, Dee Dee. It is so wonderful that you were able to get the pictures of the work she had done. I can see where the artist in you came from.
Thought you might like to know, I have just finished my first photo class dealing with working in the darkroom. I truly felt like I was going backwards after having taken a couple of digital photography classes. It was really interesting and lots of fun, but I can't believe how time-intensive it can be. I did, however, come out with a couple of prints of downtown Greenville I can frame for Meghan for Christmas (so she doesn't forget where home is after she graduates

). Our instructor is going to do another short course on fine tuning darkroom technique as an interim class before the advanced class. I'll definitely take the second one, but haven't decided about the advanced. Maybe... Sure wish Schatzi would decide to stay still for me...

PattyInAK · December 15, 2006, 01:24:44 PM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 15, 2006, 10:28:52 AM
That is so cool! Isn't it fascinating to learn about your ancestors. My Dad's aunt who was a nun at the Mt Angel Monestary in Oregon and died the year before I was born, was an artist. She painted their ceiling and murals on the wall, and I was just sent these two that she had done in the early 1900's. I was amazed at how good she was, there were no art lessons back then especially for a nun!

DD, those are great!!! How wonderful that you were sent the paintings! I see where you get your attention-to-detail gene.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 15, 2006, 09:49:07 PM

That is so neat Teresa! I think the darkroom stuff is so interesting, my vet takes black and white film photos and develops them in his own dark room, I have never tried it but have learned a lot from him. I wish I was close enough to come help distract the puppy kids so you could get photos of them! :thumb: My studio lights and equipment are mostly here now, just the light stands and backdrop stands need to arrive, and the gels...then I will have to face learning how to make it all work!

Patty it gave me goosebumps I keep looking for a longhaired doxie hidden in there though lol. These were just digital images I'm anxious to see the real things at the Monastery.

Roberta · December 15, 2006, 11:30:17 PM

Mike yours probably turned out like boulders as our flours etc are all sort of diffrent, plus its arecipe my mum uses from a Old flour book called Bero she brought me a copy home from one of her trips.

Highlanders are from North of a line that runs roughly from Clachan bridge accross to the east, but coming down from the highlands and Islands in the 1600 men had to change to trousers from kilts. Its other name is the brig o tros (bridge of trousers) the hotel there used to keep them till the owners came north again. the rest are what we call choochters. or sasanach's
Roberta (totally Scottish)

papbouv · December 16, 2006, 10:39:14 PM

Going to try the Scottish Shortbread have one question I have the pan but it is dark metal due I need to reduce the temperature of the oven with some dark pans you are suppose to reduce the temperature??? Thanks ahead of time for the answer.
Papbouv

Teresa · December 17, 2006, 02:39:15 PM

My pan was the darker metal and I don't think I reduced the temp when I made it about 6 months ago. You could always drop it 25 degrees F and see what happens :thinik:

Roberta · December 17, 2006, 10:02:23 PM

the pan colour is not the issue ( usually the darker the better as you want them to absorb heat) it could be between fan forced and normal ovens. Have you a thermometer ie meat one you could put in to check the temp is you are worried. I usually, with my fan forced take about 20 degrees of the temp and put the timer on for three quarters way through the cook time and watch
Roberta

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 18, 2006, 07:38:04 PM

OK I tried Mike's recipe this time. Used real butter and everything!

They actually turned out really good! And with less than the usual drama. The only touchy part was I kept dropping bits as I was wadding it up in the bowl and Hallie was lurking below the waters, snarfing up each bit I didn't want her having all that butter and sugar, but my hands were too full of "D'OH" to be able to pick it up off the floor because as I tried, even more dough would fall off, so I had to do a dance to keep Hallie back and not drop more and matters were worse because two very picky papillons were standing there next to her, who had no interest in the dough but of course Hallie didn't know that so she was going for it all the more....also it took almost an hour to cook rather than the 20-25 min in the recipe? I had it on 350. But in the end it was good shortbread!

And, so far, we have all survived and I have a nice gift for all the neighbors! I ain't doing this again until next year at least though lol.

papbouv · December 18, 2006, 10:43:24 PM

Well I tried the short bread recipe maybe I should have cooked it a little longer I think it was too thick it was light brown on top but very crumbly when I tried the fork thing.They do taste OK just crumbly on top use the orange zest how thick are they suppose to be?Used real butter my flour is up to date,guess i did cheat a little used my old Kitchen Aide mixer with the kneading attachment the dough stuck together very nicely.Would like to try it again but will have to wait till next month to get more butter.
Papbouv

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 18, 2006, 11:28:33 PM

Hmmmm that's odd Papbouv! Mine is pretty moist but firm. No clue why....first for me LOL. I don't know enough about cooking to come up with any suggestions.... Ah well as long as it tastes good....if it's crumbly maybe a good excuse to put it on top of a bowl of ice cream!

Roberta · December 19, 2006, 12:37:02 AM

Shortbeard is not meant to be dark brown just very light brown. sounds like not enough liquid or butter. when this happens we make apple crumble or bases for cheesecakes.
Roberta
Dee Dee wish we had cam vision but you can tellt he neighbors they were trialed humanely on a dachhound.

Mike · December 19, 2006, 06:50:49 AM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 18, 2006, 07:38:04 PM
it took almost an hour to cook rather than the 20-25 min in the recipe? I had it on 350.

I would have loved to see the shortbread dance going on.

Are you far above sea level (Chicago is only at about 500 feet)? Maybe your oven didn't really believe you intended to use it? It really should not have taken more than 25 minutes if your oven was at 350.

Oh, and the more you make shortbread, the easier it gets...

PattyInAK · December 19, 2006, 08:14:01 AM

I am really enjoying this on-going saga of the shortbread. I have not tried to make it yet, but plan to this weekend.

Teresa · December 19, 2006, 07:22:44 PM

I'm wondering if this is the longest running post we have so far. I think we should all be impressed that Dee Dee has succeeded in making an edible gift for her neighbors and Mike's Shortbread recipe is the reason for the success!!
I think I'm going to have to make it again myself, maybe tomorrow or at least Thursday. That way it has time to sit for a few days before Christmas.

Kari · December 19, 2006, 08:48:07 PM

I checked the status and this post has the most replies than any other post :crazyeyes:. The next closets post has 45 replies

.

Mike · December 20, 2006, 06:39:44 AM

Woohoooooo

Scotland shall rise again!!!

PattyInAK · December 20, 2006, 08:22:49 AM

I think its great that DD was able to succeed also. I've met her and been to her house. She is truly NOT a cook, she just doesn't cook, and I'm not saying that she couldn't be a good cook. As I recall, her fridge looked like it had just been delivered from Sears.......clean and new-looking. She had Snapple and canned pumpkin inside. I remember her eating habits at one time being air-popped popcorn around noon each day, and a veggie burger from the local hamburger shop down the street for dinner. No wonder she is skinny as a rail. Oh yeah, her Levi's..........how about 28/34? Skinny AND tall. I wish..............

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 20, 2006, 01:14:08 PM

QuoteMaybe your oven didn't really believe you intended to use it?

LOL! The poor thing is in oven therapy now.

I think it is planning an intervention for me so I won't get the urge to cook in it again. I am not sure why it took so long either, I'm not at a high elevation. The first one, I had to take out at 48 minutes because a client was calling from back east and we were to have a 2 hour phone conference....I had put it in the oven thinking I had time to spare with the 20-25 min time. It was pretty much done but not 100% so I stuck it back in after the conference and it turned out great in spite of me! The second one, I got a call again after it was out so I forgot to slice it right away, it is much harder to cut once it has cooled. But again it turned out ok. Go figger! :thumb: Great recipe Mike, I will be curious to hear who else tries it and how it turns out.

I'm sure Roberta's recipe would have been great too had I done it right! :thinik:

LOL Patty you have a good memory! The canned pumpkin would have been for the kitties. There is still canned pumpkin in there for Hallie. The fridge looks about the same as it did back then except the snapple has been replaced with Sobe and there is a lot more food in there now, most for Hallie. (canned food, supplements, fish oil, etc). Some we both eat though she makes me eat healthier! Yogurt, carrots from our garden, fruit, broccoli...and my aunt makes us a big batch of wonderful low salt veggie soup with home made bread each week yum! I had that veggie burger from Burgerville three times this week though lol. Some things never change...

Teresa · December 20, 2006, 02:22:19 PM

I know why Dee Dee's batch took so long to cook-her oven had to remember how to heat up, so it took awhile. Maybe it didn't know what it was like to actually work, especially more than once in a month. Since she had already tried the Highlanders, the poor appliance was in shock!!!

Dee Dee, you really make our lives so much more fun on the board!!!