Traditional Shortbread
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This is a tale about Traditional Shortbread, Bigelow Tea and College…and how they belong together. My daughter Cassi is attending college in Florida, and school is about to start. So like any loving mother who’s child is a million miles away would do, I am putting together a Back to College Care Package to help her get through those crazy college study sessions…..
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It all started on a hot and muggy day in Iowa, when a mom headed out to a wonderfully air conditioned Target store nearby. Because she has the store memorized, she was able to head straight to the Coffee/Tea aisle and find a collection of Bigelow Teas that would be perfect for her care package!!
The mother had a plan in mind, and bought every flavor that she could. It has been many years since the mother attended college herself, but she remembered those late nights cramming studying for tests. Lots of caffeine was going to be needed! Being a mother, she knows that there are times that you also need a good night’s sleep, so decaffeinated tea was going to be needed as well…..
Since this mother had been raised by British parents, she knew Traditional Shortbread would be perfect along side her daughter’s tea…..
So she finished her shopping trip at Target, where she also found a travel mug {for the daughter that is late for everything}, a Spanish to English dictionary {because her daughter is fluent in French, NOT Spanish}, some ink pens, some of her daughter’s favorite treats {to keep her going late into the wee hours of the morning},and a dinosaur {because her daughter hates Jurassic Park…and dinosaurs 😉 }
The mother then came home and started to prepare the delicious Traditional Shortbread.
How to make Traditional Shortbread:
First she preheated the oven to 350 degrees. Sprayed the shortbread pan, or 9-inch baking pan, with cooking spray and beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy…..
Then she added the flour, and mixed it together until it held together…..
Then she placed the dough into the prepared pan, and pat it down until smooth…..
It was then baked for 25 to 30 minutes until set and lightly browned…..
She allowed the shortbread to rest in the pan for 5 minutes. She then ran a thin knife around the edges to loosen them, and flipped the shortbread out onto a wire cooling rack…..
She then cut the shortbread into wedges using a sharp, chef’s knife. The mother’s shortbread is already scored by the pan, so that made things easy. She allowed the shortbread to cool, and then tried a piece with her favorite Bigelow Tea {for quality control of course}…..
Once the mother knew that the Traditional Shortbread was perfect, it was time for her to assemble the care package for her daughter. She wanted the tea to be stored in a cute container that her daughter would enjoy, one that would take up less space than all of those boxes! So she bought a cute tin and placed lime green stickers on top… CASSI’S TEA {just in case any of the villagers were confused}…..
She then started placing all of the items together in a box for shipping {thankfully, not by horse and carriage}…..
The mother so wishes that she could be there to see her daughter’s face when she finds the dinosaur underneath the Earl Grey Tea!! No matter, she is sure that she will hear all about it…..from her daughter’s roommate. 😉 THE END
How to decorate traditional shortbread:
The end of the story, but not this post. If you would like to decorate your shortbread like I did above, simply sprinkle some edible glitter into a small bowl and add a small amount of vodka to create a thin paint. You want it thin enough to spread, but not so thin that the color disappears…..
It is a tiny amount of vodka, and it is used because it evaporates very quickly! Use a clean paint brush {mine is specifically for painting cookies}, and paint your design onto your shortbread. My pan made the design, I just followed along with the paint…..
Just have fun with it, it doesn’t need to be perfect. 😉 Now grab a cup of your favorite Bigelow Tea.
more delicious cookie recipes that travel well:
- Nocciolata Tea Cakes
- Russian Tea Cakes they are Princess Cassi’s favorite.
- “Clean Eating” Lemon Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Baklava Cookies
Enjoy!!
Traditional Shortbread
Ingredients
- ¾ cups unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- edible glitter and vodka paint optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a shortbread mold or 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray, and set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl.
- Cut or beat in the flour. If dough is too crumbly, add an additional 1 to 2 Tablespoons of softened butter until it holds together.
- Place dough into pan and smooth out evenly.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until set and lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Run a thin knife around the edges to loosen them, then flip shortbread out onto a wire cooling rack.
- Using a sharp chef knife, cut into wedges.
- Allow to cool and serve with your favorite tea.
Oh, wow. Now the next part of the story is that SOMEONE (who might just live in the same city as your daughter) 😉 will wait patiently and intercept this fabulous package in order to have that amazing shortbread AND all of that awesome tea.
But if she DOES do that, she’ll leave the dinosaur on the doorstep. 😉
Pinned!!
Oh NO…we must alert the castle to be prepare to battle the diabolical Queen Claire who is trying to steal the treasure!! Perhaps a fairy Godmother will appear and turn the dinosaur into a fire breathing dragon that will protect the treats and the princess from the Queen…..
What a fun story! Your daughter is very lucky to have such a great mom and generous care package. The shortbread looks absolutely perfect to serve alongside a big cup of tea!
Thank you so much Ashley!!
These cookies look fab, Lisa!!! Pinning
Thank you Paula! 🙂
Awww your daughter is incredibly lucky!! I am a tea addict and would love all those boxes!!
Thank you so much Zainab!!
So cute! I too am a mom of a college student and understand the need of GOOD care packages and this one is wonderful!!! She is going to love it!!
Thank you so much Diane! She was so excited when it arrived. 🙂
what a fun care package Lisa! This shortbread looks delicious, Cassi is one lucky college kid 🙂
Thank you so much Emily! 🙂
Awwwww…. I love this care package and those shortbread cookies look so fancy and fabulous too! Where did you find that fancy baking pan?? I love it! 🙂
Pinned & sharing.
Thank you so much Carrie! I bought that shortbread mold several years ago on ebay. It is a discontinued pan, but there are several other really pretty designs on Amazon. 🙂
This has to be the prettiest shortbread I’ve ever seen! I love the knotwork design, and I can’t even decide what’s nicer- the plain or the painted! What a nice mom you are… Pinning!
Thank you so much Allie. She was so excited when the box arrived, so that makes it all worth it! 🙂
Lisa, what a fun story and such a great college care package! I love shortbread and yours looks so fantastic, absolutely perfect with a cup of tea! Thanks so much for sharing – pinning and tweeting! Have a happy Friday!
Thank you so much Cindy! I had a lot of fun putting it together. 🙂
Your daughter is one lucky student! The shortbread is beautiful and I’m sure is delicious! I love that you sent an assortment of Bigelow tea to help her get some rest too! #client
Thank you Heather. She was glad that I sent both, because she never would have thought of it herself! 🙂
Great care package Lisa! I used to do that too for my girls – I especially love the dinosaur – LOL! Pinned!!
Thank you Deb! She was really excited when it arrived…even with the dinosaur! 🙂
What a cute post, Lisa! That shortbread is beautiful! I would never have the patience to paint on the glitter, but I love looking at the finished product in your photos 🙂 Pinning!
Thank you so much Andi. 🙂 I actually have more patience for painting, than for cooking. 🙂
Aww, this is such a cute story, Lisa! I love that you put this care package together for your daughter. Shortbread cookies are always a win, especially when they are as cute looking as yours! I love that mold.
Great recipe. Pinned! Hope you have a great weekend, Lisa!
Thank you so much Julie!! She loved it. 🙂
Hahaha – you are evil!!! I love it!! 😀 I can’t wait to hear all about her finding that dinosaur!! That shortbread looks so awesome – and I love the ones you put glitter on! So cute! Cassi is gonna love that care package – minus the dinosaur, of course! 🙂
I can be a bit demented at times! 😉 She thought it was really funny, and claims to not be scared of Jurassic Park anymore…we’ll have to see about that. I might have to send her a movie poster for her room for Christmas, LOL. She did love the shortbread and was so excited about the box…so that made me really happy!!
How funny and how pretty (cookies). I love shortbread so will have to try these 🙂
They look so pretty! I love shortbread and with a cup of tea sounds perfect right about now.
I love shortbread, Lisa…this looks so delicious to me! I have to try this soon…thanks for sharing!