TWD-Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

When April sent out the email with the April recipes, the name of these little cookies caught my attention. I don't know why but I'm glad they did. They were a snap to put together. I didn't roll them out in a sheet as the recipe suggests, instead I rolled them into a log and then cut them before baking. The sweet, lemony smell was divine. As I write this they are cooling upstairs. I'm not sure if I will get to tasting these tonight or if it will have to wait until tomorrow. With Easter I am a bit sugared out and as lovely as these smell, and I'm sure taste, I just don't have it in me to eat anything else sweet!

If you are interested in the full recipe, head on over to Valerie's blog.

Happy Baking!

TWD-Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

I love Fall baking! I love cranberries, pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. The smell of something-warm- and-tasty-in-the-oven filling the house is heavenly. It seems that the cool Fall weather finally hit us in Utah this week. On Saturday, it was a beautiful 70 degrees and we were working in the yard in t-shirts. This morning, we woke up to SNOW! So the chilly weather was just perfect to pop this lovely little dessert in to the oven.

We had grand plans to do a double baking day at April's house today, but Lizzie's kiddos were sick so April and I got together to bake today, and we are all gathering on Friday to bake for next week. We missed you Liz!

This was a simple recipe to prepare. I made the "jam" while April made the dough. The "jam" was wonderful, a little too tart for our tastes so we added a bit more sugar when it was done cooking. I might just use it as a cranberry sauce recipe for Thanksgiving, it was that good. The dough came together quickly and it was easy to see what Dorie meant when she said the dough was a delicate one. After chilling the dough we assembled the cake in the springform pan. It was a tricky dough to work with. For the bottom layer we rolled it out a little and then pressed it into the bottom of the pan with our hands. After putting the filling in, the challenge came in putting the top layer on. It rolled out alright, but was hard to put on without having it crack. So, we ended with a bit of a rustic top layer. 

When it came out of the oven it smelled wonderful! I sent a piece with April and then kept the rest here. My hubby loved it and he isn't normally a huge cranberry fan. He said that he liked the contrast between the sweet shortbread and the tangy cranberry filling. I thought it was a wonderfully simple dessert and will definitely make it again. It will be fun to play around with the fillings too. If you are interested in the full recipe, head on over to Jessica's blog. She also did the apple version and has some beautiful pictures as well.

Next week we it is finally our week to host TWD! We are super excited and are getting together on Friday to bake up a storm. Leading up to our hosting day, we are going to post some of our favorite recipes. So, until next week, Happy Baking!

TWD-Coconut Butter Thins

When I read the recipe I knew this was going to be a cookie I would like, possibly love. I love lime. I love coconut. And add some macadamia nuts to it and you have a little piece of heaven. 

The dough was very easy to make and rolled out perfectly in a gallon-sized freezer bag. After a little time in the fridge they baked up perfectly. Some of them seemed to brown more than others so when I make them again I think I will reduce the baking time. When they came out of the oven I felt they were missing something though. They were kind of dull looking so I decided to do a lime glaze for the top of the cookie with some powdered sugar, lime juice and lime zest. It added another level of freshness to the cookie for me.

The only complaint I have was that I couldn't taste the coriander at all. Maybe my "pinch" was too small. I was intrigued by that ingredient and hoped it would manifest itself more in the final result. 

I shared these cookies with my parents, sister and her husband, my hubby and kiddos and got great reviews. Everyone loved them. My dad requested a copy of the recipe. These will go into the rotation of great cookie recipes at the Hasler house.

If you are interested in the recipe, head on over to Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. Thanks for the great pick! We loved these cookies.

Happy Baking!

TWD: World Peace Cookies

If everyone in the world could eat these cookies, we would most definitely have world peace! This is positively my favorite TWD recipe so far! Thank you Jessica of Cookbookhabit (check out Jessica's blog for the complete recipe)!!

I knew this recipe would be a hit when I realized it was of the shortbread family! What's better than a cookie with so much butter?

The secret ingredient to these cookies is supposedly sea salt; however, I had a quiet moment Sunday afternoon and decided to make them without the sea salt (I hadn't gone grocery shopping yet!). I loved the cookies, but will definitely make them again using the secret ingredient!

In the P&Q's many people commented they had problems with their dough being crumbly, but I didn't find this to be problematic at all. The dough is definitely a different texture than the average cookie, but it rolled up just fine, sliced well, and baked perfectly. The only problem I had with my cookies...I ate too many of them! What does everyone say they want in life? World peace...cookies!