Shortbread

I made these wonderful shortbread a week ago and forgot to post it!! I think I am running out of steam. But everything is under control. I have been using this recipe for quite a few years now. It is buttery and not cloyingly sweet, and that is how I like my shortbread.


I am posting the basic recipe here and the variations are endless really. The angel shaped ones are pine nut and rosemary shortbread. I love how the fragrance of rosemary fills the house when it is baking in the oven. The plain ones are anything but. Don't like rosemary in your treats? What about candied ginger or espresso and hazelnut? Delish... Word of caution here. The dough is very soft and needs to be refrigerated. It does take some time to make these. I also prefer to refrigerate the cut shortbread on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before I bake it in the oven. I find that they hold their shape better when baked.

Basic Shortbread

8 oz unsalted butter- room temperature
2 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup confectionery sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

* no need for salt if you are using salted butter*

I use always use a mixer to mix my dough. Good old elbow grease works well here too. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla extract in high speed till mixture is pale and creamy. Scrape down the bowl and cream the mixture again.

Add sifted flour slowly to the creamed butter mixture. Mix until the flour is just incorporated. Wrap dough in parchment paper or cling wrap and refrigerate till firm. I usually form the dough into disks before chilling it. It makes rolling out the dough much easier.

Once you are ready to bake the shortbread, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper and set aside.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface around 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Chill baking sheet with the cut out shortbread for 7-10 minutes. Bake till slightly brown around the edges - this really depends on your oven. - 15 to 25 minutes. You can figure it out with the first tray of shortbread. Mine took 20 minutes.


Cool on a rack and embellish it as you wish.
Merry Christmas!!

Pistachio Tea Cakes

This is my twist to this well known Mexican tea cake/ Russian Tea cake.

The traditional recipe calls for vanilla and (usually) finely ground pecans. I switched it up with freshly ground pistachios and orange blossom water to perfume this delectable cookie. It does not even take ten minutes to make the dough and then in the fridge for it to chill and firm up. You could use the freezer to speed things up if you are in a hurry.

One bite is the way to go with this buttery and rich cookie, otherwise you'll end up wearing confectionery sugar!

The dough is simple and straightforward. I made double batches of these at one go and it turned out fine. Read more about orange blossom water here.

No lovely anecdotes here, just plain baking madness!

Pistachio Tea Cakes

½ lb unsalted butter - softened

½ cup confectionery sugar - sifted

2 tsp orange blossom water

2 ¼ unbleached all purpose flour- sifted

¾ cup freshly ground pistachios

½ tsp salt

Cream butter, orange blossom water and confectionery sugar with a mixer on medium speed until butter is pale and fluffy. This usually takes around five minutes.

Add in flour, ground nuts, salt and mix till well combined. Refrigerate dough covered for 4 – 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift 3 cups of confectionery sugar and set aside.

Take dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit for 10-15 minutes so that the dough will be pliable. Roll out teaspoonful of dough into little balls and arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat.

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Roll hot cookies immediately in the pre sifted confectionery and cool completely on a rack ( if you have one). Roll in sugar again when the cookies have cooled. Trust me, it is worth it!

Chocolate Cashew Brittle

My holiday dessert tray will not be complete without this delectable and crunchy nut brittle. I have already made a few batches of these. The variations are endless - roasted cashews with vanilla, peanuts paired with lightly toasted sesame seeds or even almonds with freshly ground cardamom.


Some of you may find brittle making rather daunting but this is a fool proof recipe. And no candy thermometer is required. Just don't walk away from the kitchen when attempting these crunchy delights because you could end up with bitter tasting brittle as the sugar will burn very quickly once it starts to turn amber. I had all my ingredients ready and prepared the baking sheet with Silpat before I started the whole process. Parchment paper will work as well.

A note about the butter - I always get unsalted butter . If you prefer salted butter that is fine too, just omit the salt. I bought pre-roasted, unsalted cashews.



Cashew Brittle
1 1/2 cup roasted cashews - roughly chopped
4 Tb unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 Tb pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tb corn syrup
1/3 cup of water

Optional:
3/4 cup finely chopped semisweet chocolate

Roughly chop roasted cashews.
Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper and set aside. If using parchment paper lightly grease it with butter.

Have butter, baking soda, vanilla and salt ready in a bowl and set aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, bring sugar, water and corn syrup to a boil on high heat. Boil sugar till it turns amber. It took me around 12 - 15 minutes. It will also start to get a little smoky at this point.
Remove pot from heat and stir in the ingredients that was set aside earlier. Stir quickly and add in the chopped nuts. I used my sturdy wooden spoon. Baking soda will make it foamy, so don't be alarmed!

Pour brittle onto prepared baking sheet and spread out as thinly as you can. Word of caution, DON"T lick the spoon, put it away in the sink..seriously, burnt sugar is VERY hot. If you want chocolate on it, sprinkle 3/4 cup of finely chopped semisweet on the brittle after the brittle is spread out. The hot brittle will melt the chocolate. Wait for 7 minutes and spread out the melted chocolate with a knife or a silicone spatula

This whole cooking process takes only 20 minutes tops. Can't beat that this time of the year.It makes a wonderful gift and it travels well.

Let it cool completely, break it into shards and enjoy!

Gingerbread Men

I kicked off my Christmas baking by making this perennial favourite. This delicious cookie fills the house with spicy perfume while baking in the oven. This recipe is much simpler than many other recipes out there because it does not require any chilling of the dough prior to baking. It is wonderfully crisp, not too sweet and delightfully spicy.

Gingerbread People
2/3 cup molasses
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 Tb ground ginger
1 1/2 tb ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 lb unsalted butter
1 large egg - lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
3 3/4 -4 cups unbleached all purpose flour


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place baking rack on the upper levels of the oven. Prepare cookies sheets with parchment paper ( I used Silpat - non stick silicone mat - nothing sticks to it).

Combine molasses, brown sugar and spices in a large, heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil. Use medium heat and stir occasionally.

Remove from heat and add baking soda ( don't be alarmed when mixture foams vigorously - it is supposed to do that). Add butter and stir in till melted. Pour in beaten egg, salt and mix till well combined. Add in 3 3/4 cups of flour and mix well. This was a cinch to make in my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Knead in extra 1/4 cup of flour if mixture is sticky.
Roll out dough and cut into desired shapes and place on prepared cookie sheets an inch apart.


Bake cookies 10 - 12 minutes and turn cookie sheets halfway through baking. Cookies are also done when the edges starts to brown. Re roll scraps once.


Decorate with royal icing.


Royal Icing

This is an all purpose icing recipe and it hardens quickly. It will be especially easy if you use a mixer (the whole thing will be ready in three minutes). The trick here is to whip the egg whites.

3 1/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar
2 large egg whites
1 tsp lemon juice

Whip all ingredients in a mixer for three minutes till stiff and glossy. Use immediately.

Roasted Parsnip Soup With Lemongrass

There is nothing more comforting in the colder months than a pot of soup simmering gently on the stove . I try to make a different soup every week and freeze the leftovers whenever possible.

I adore the subtle aroma of parnips when peeled and the sweetness of the pale root vegetable when roasted tossed in some olive oil and a pinch of salt. I decided to put my twist to this soup by adding some of my favourite ingredients from my mom's kitchen. I used galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.


Galangal/lengkuas is also known as blue ginger. It is a rhizome related to ginger. It has a gentle gingery and citrusy flavour and aroma, usually sold fresh, dried and in powder form. I usually have a stock of dried galangal slices in my pantry. It is used in Southeast Asian cooking especially in Malay, Laotian and Vietnamese cuisine.

I brought back fresh kaffir lime leaves from home...in my hand luggage. You can also get it here in the US but I could not resist a fistful of these fragrant leaves for a dollar! I froze the fragrant leaves and it will keep for awhile . Kaffir lime leaves/limau purut is widely used in South East Asian cooking as well.. including Sri Lanka ( I did not know that before). This is a must have for Tom Yum soup.

The wonderful aroma of lime leaves, galangal and lemongrass made me smile as I walked into the kitchen with the soup simmering away on the stove. It reminded me of home. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I did.

Roasted Parsnip Soup With Lemongrass
3 - 4 medium sized parsnips
1 carrot
1 Tb olive oil
1 medium onion- quartered
2 stalks fresh lemongrass - minced
1 slice dried galangal
5 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tb coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel parsnips and cut thickly on a bias. Do the same with carrots. Toss parsnips, carrots and quartered onions in olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast on a cookie sheet till the vegetables are perfectly bronzed -30 to 45 minutes.

Bring the rest of the ingredients and roasted vegetables (except coconut milk) to a boil. Pick out lime leaves and galangal slice before you give it a whirr with an immersion blender. Process till smooth. I returned the galangal and lime leaves to the pot of soup . Stir in coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Adjust seasonings. Enjoy!

Zucchini Pancake

This is a good side dish to make or in our case this what what we had for dinner after much turkey feasting. Simple ingredients come together in less than half an hour. This is a straightforward and delicious recipe to have my repertoire and easy enough to make for any night of the week. These savoury pancakes are wonderful hot off the pan.

You will notice that there is no salt in the list of ingredients. Salt draws moisture and will turn the grated zucchini soggy . Besides Parmesan cheese is salty enough and does the trick. And it is not a good idea to make the pancakes too big as it will be tricky to flip it over. I made generous tablespoonful at a time and it worked out fine.

Grate 2 zucchini ( large hole). Add freshly ground black pepper as much as you want, 1/2 freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 tablespoon of flour, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons of finely minced onion. Mix it together in a bowl.


I used my well seasoned cast iron skillet to cook the pancakes. A non stick pan would work. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan on medium high. Mound one generous tablespoon and slightly flatten it. Cook till bottom is browned ( 5-7 minutes) and flip over. Repeat. This was enough for the two of us. Great with sour cream!