Chocolate Shortbread
In typical overachiever fashion, last night I whipped up a batch of Chocolate Shortbread from my new favorite cookbook -- Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
These are very good and well they should be with three sticks of butter going into one pan of them! And speaking of pans. I consider myself a reasonably decent baker. I have *numerous* baking pans and cookie sheets, but no Martha, I do not have a 8" X 12" pan. I have 4 - 9" X 13" pans and even a 7" X 11" pan, but I do not have an 8" X 12" pan. Am I the only one? (BTW, the recipe did just fine in a 9" X 13", thank you very much!)
Conversation in our kitchen as I was feverishly whipping these up while Pete cooked dinner (read microwaved Stouffer's & Kid Cuisine - god love him for putting up with me!):
Maddie: Mommy, why are you doing that?
Pete: Because she likes to do that kind of stuff.
Me: Because I'm having a crisis.
Pete: And she's eating her way though it.
You remind me of me in such a big way! I have a million and ten things to do at the moment and am working on a go to bed at midnight and up again at 5 to fit everything in. I have a new MagKnits issue going live tomorrow which needs the coding finishing adn then checking and double checking but I just decided that I was going to cook a "proper" roast dinner and bake a pie for dessert. Why do we do it? I love Pete's comment, I thought I was the queen of eating my way through a crisis but you may just be my equal! Is there a support group for overachievers that we could join!?
Posted by: kerrie | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 11:12 AM
I make shortbread all the time and my favorite pans are the glazed ceramic shortbread pans that have raised designs on the bottom. Just spray with Pam and press the dough into the pan and prick all over with a fork. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes. Flip out of pan and cut along the lines. They look impressive. Your 3 stick butter recipe would make 3 pans. The pans are made by: BROWN BAG COOKIE ART. They come in round and square pans and have different designs: hearts, thistles, bunnies etc. etc. Aren't we knitters an eclectic bunch? I am always amazed by the number of people who say to me: "You knit, and read, and cook and play golf?" Yeah!!!
Posted by: Rosemary C | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 11:25 AM
I don't own an 8x12 pan, in fact, I've never heard of a recipe calling for one until now! I used to bake cookies at 2 or 3am in the dorm kitchens. Because that was the only spare time I'd have, so I'd bake cookies for an hour, then sleep for 3, then get up for another day. I don't know why I thought that cookies were more important than a 4th hour of sleep though!
Posted by: TheBon | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 12:33 PM
Of *course* you're going through a crisis if you don't have a spare eight ounces of dark chocolate.
Posted by: j. | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 01:30 PM
Those look yummy. I think you've convinced me I'm going to have to go out and buy that cookbook!
Posted by: Kelly | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 02:57 PM
Well if you're going to overachieve, at least it involves chocolate! That can never lead to bad things.
Posted by: jillian | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 04:16 PM
Ok, I am just going to have to buy this baking book!
Posted by: Michele | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 05:16 PM
At 8oz of chocolate AND 3 sticks of butter, heck yeah I'd term that a bit of stress baking.
But the crucial part- were they super yum?
Posted by: freecia | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 07:33 PM
The chocolate scones came out great. I'm making the shortbread tonight! A word of warning - the mocha roulade was a disaster. It tasted wonderful but totally fell apart. And this weekend I'm making the apple pie - yummy!
Posted by: Linda | Wednesday, February 01, 2006 at 07:04 PM