Fresh Approach Cooking

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The plainest looking foods can also be the tastiest, but a purdy picture sure does make a dish look more appealing and drive us to want to make it, am I right? That being said, it's so totally unfair to the less photogenic dishes out there! We shouldn't shy away from a recipe just because we know it won't turn out red-carpet ready.

Which of course, brings me to my own consistantly unappealing looking baking. Tragic, but alas, true. Not being a baker-kinda-girl, but being all about a pretty presentation, I shy away from home made desserts because I just can't abide shrinking violet foods. Even feeling that way, I still had to make these utterly divine little cookies for Sugar High Friday/Is My Blog Burning.

They are the simplest sort of treat, not requiring much in the way of equipment, just a few minutes of your time, and voila, something buttery (dee-licious), something crumbly, (quick, lean over your plate!) sweet (hey sugar!) with just a hint of sophistication. (That's you Rosemary baby. All sophistication all the time. Yeowza) A grown up cookie that compliments that glass of wine, shot of Ouzo, your cuppa tea or even paired with some apples a cheese. Trouble is, as you can see, they are a bit on the Plain-Jane side, looks wise. Then again, while they may not be the mostest fancy sweets at the ball, they sure do hold their own taste wise. This is the perfect recipe to play with. Try it, and enjoy.

2 cups white flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon minced rosemary
1 cup highest quality butter, cut into pieces


Preheat your oven to 300F

In a medium bowl stir together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and rosemary. Using your hands quickly mash the butter into the flour mixture until it just comes together as dough. Pour that into a well buttered 9x9 glass baking dish (glass works best here, the size is negotiable) and smoosh down (that's right kids, smoosh) to make an even layer.

Using a fork, perforate the dough into small squares.

Bake for 20 minutes or until just slightly golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool. Remove carefully from the pan, they are super duper crumbly.

Keeps up to a week in a covered container.

Makes about 36 shortbreads

Variations: Add chopped nuts, lemon zest, ground cardamom, nutmeg or coarse black pepper. You can also top the cookies with sanding sugar.

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Tagged with: IMBB + Food

"Heavy rain in Hawke's Bay (New Zealand) over the weekend has wiped out a large portion of the region's cherry crop. Summerfruit sector chairman Brian Fulford says a third of the crop has already been picked but about a third of what is left on the trees will now be ruined." - Newstalkzb.co.nz

The value of all Danish dairy exports totals EUR 1.6 billion annually. The industry accounts for approx. 10,000 jobs. Denmark is the first country in the world to have banned the use of hydrogenated fat. Since the beginning of last year it’s been illegal to sell products in which trans fat is more than 2% of the total fat.

Shortbread was/is the original Girl Scout Cookie

Labels: Dessert, IMBB