Cookie of the Month: Shooting for the stars

By rahoward, on July 1st, 2020

The Fourth of July has always had even my reclusive nature upended, getting into the spirit of potlucks and family or community gatherings. For the last several years, I’ve trotted out some dessert recipes with Independence Day flair and ventured out of my house for a neighborhood potluck, resplendently held in the beautiful . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Shooting for the stars

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Cookie of the Month: Calming up shortbread

By rahoward, on June 13th, 2020

Shortbread is pretty much my favorite cookie. Just a few ingredients (usually a basic blend of butter, sugar flour and salt), it’s easy to make and despite its simplicity, rewards with rich flavor and isn’t too terribly sweet. It’s virtually fail-proof, too. I’d say over-baking is the biggest risk to good shortbread, which . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Calming up shortbread

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Cookie of the Month: Dusting up celebratory tradition

By rahoward, on May 4th, 2020

I never needed a wedding (or any special occasion) to enjoy a Mexican wedding cookie. Just eating one of these buttery little orbs, its crumbly texture dusted with the cooling sweetness of confectioner’s sugar, was cause alone for celebration.

Long a fan of this cookie, a tradition in Mexico (and other places) at . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Dusting up celebratory tradition

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Baked Sunday Mornings: Feeling like a Millionaire’s Shortbread

By rahoward, on January 27th, 2019

I don’t need much encouragement to make shortbread. Even after a busy cookie-baking holiday season, the chance of making this simple, homey, buttery favorite treat — whether it comes in a pan or sliced from a roll — appeals to me because making it is simple; eating it is another reward altogether.

The . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Feeling like a Millionaire’s Shortbread

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Lifting the senses with lavender

By rahoward, on June 16th, 2014

We all know of lavender’s aromatherapeutic and cosmetic advantages. Try pulling yourself away from a lavender-scented candle or just dare yourself to be stressed out when you have the soothing fragrance of lavender on your skin. It’s heavenly. But if you have never tried eating lavender in some form, now’s the time, as culinary lavender . . . → Read More: Lifting the senses with lavender

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Baking cookies, short and sweet

By rahoward, on December 21st, 2013

One of my earliest kitchen memories is of lying on the linoleum floor, being fanned. Not fanned exactly, but taking full advantage of the warm, sweet wind made by my mother waving a cookie sheet back and forth to cool it before she loaded it with a new batch of dough. The aroma of butter . . . → Read More: Baking cookies, short and sweet

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