Grandma's Scottish Shortbread with Amazon Gift Card Giveaway for #ChristmasWeek

Scottish shortbread made the way my Scottish grandma made it--3 to 4 simple ingredients, small pieces, and plenty of time to ripen before serving. This is the ultimate make ahead Christmas cookie.

 Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

Are you wondering what happened to the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share-centric recipes you've come to expect when stopping by the blog? I've been taken over by pod people in the form of joined with Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Kiss My Smoke, who is hosting #ChristmasWeek. Head on over to the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient for veggie-centric recipes, and scroll down for holiday sweets!

Many folks get their ethnic on especially during the holidays, and I am in this crowd. No matter if it's a new tradition or an old one, this time of year is the time to celebrate my heritage through food. Most of the holiday-specific recipes I've shared on the blog are Scandinavian [I even have a Scandinavian Holiday Pinterest board--follow me!] because 75% of my grandparents trace their lineage back to Scandinavian countries. The other 25% is my mom's mom. Alison Brown Grant emigrated from Scotland to Canada when she was 13, and from her I have my tradition of shortbread at Christmas time.

Shortbread is a pretty simple cookie--it's just flour, sugar, and butter. My aunt Ruth (mom's sister) added in the cornstarch, but My Mom's Sister's Version of her Scottish Mom's Shortbread is just not really an SEO friendly title. The key with shortbread is that it needs to ripen. Do not bake it and plan to serve right away. It will taste utterly boring and bland and is probably why so many people are in a rush to doctor it up with chocolate or nuts or something, which is silly. Appreciate shortbread for what it is, and be patient. If you put that plain cookie in an airtight tin and stick it in a cool dry place for a while . . . well, when you bring the tin back out a magical alchemy will have occurred and those 3-4 ingredients will have aged into a lovely little bite.

Growing up, my mom would bake shortbread around Thanksgiving weekend and store it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in coffee cans in the coat closet. She'd bring it out for the Christmas Eve smorgasbord and we'd enjoy it on the cookie tray alongside a bowl of Scandinavian Fruit Soup. One year she forgot about a tin, and she swears those 13 month old shortbread cookies were the best ever. Any cookie that gets better with age, that I can make in the early stage of the holiday rush, is a win in my book.

Maple Doodles with an Amazon Gift Card Giveaway for #ChristmasWeek

Pure maple syrup sweetens these seasonal treats. Rolled in a maple sugar and cinnamon coating, this refined sugar free version of the classic Snickerdoodle celebrates the bounty of a northern winter. A perfect recipe for #ChristmasWeek.

 Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

Regular readers will notice that I've taken leave of my senses a departure from my usual recipes celebrating farm share produce. It's #ChristmasWeek, hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Kiss My Smoke, and I'm sharing 6 days in a row of sweet treats.  If you came here looking for some local produce recipes, please check out my Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient.

I went on a cookie quest for "something maple" at my library. I had a small jar of granulated maple sugar from my daughter's French class trip to Quebec. I associate maple with winter, so I wanted a maple contribution to #ChristmasWeek. Since I like to support local business and keep my cash in my local economy, I buy my maple syrup at the farmer's market. It's delicious and affordable. If you don't live in a place that produces maple syrup, I'll recommend Barn2Door where you can buy direct from the producers and have maple syrup delivered to your door!

Spiked Hot Cocoa Gift Mix and Giveaway for #ChristmasWeek

Give the gift of hot cocoa to the entire family with this allergen-friendly mix. Add a bottle of the spike of your choice so that the entire family can enjoy a treat. This post is the start of #ChristmasWeek, a sweets-filled extravaganza hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Kiss My Smoke. 

 Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

Note: I am taking a break from my usual routine of posting recipes using local produce from my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, the farmer's market, and the garden. If you've got a pile of veggies you're looking to use, may I suggest checking out my Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient? 

Does this photo look like the chaos that ensues during tree trimming time?  It's supposed to. Or maybe that's just my house.

I'm going to come across as a total booze hound in this post and I apologize in advance. I know that turning to alcohol will not solve any of life's petty little annoyances nor cure any chronic behavior issues. I know that alcohol is not a long term coping solution for any of life's stressors. If you are concerned about giving a gift with alcohol, please feel free to substitute any of the flavored syrups posted below as your spike of choice. Those flavored syrups are going in our Christmas stockings (and hopefully my kids aren't reading this).

With that caveat out of the way . . . it can be pretty damn hard to solo parent teens, or really kids in general, and the extra activities of the holidays make it doubly hard. Please consider giving the gift of a jar of Spiked Hot Cocoa Mix to anyone you know who would enjoy it--even yourself. What a wonderful way to unwind after a busy holiday than with a cup of hot cocoa--spiked with a little something for mom & dad, [mom & mom, dad & dad, solo parent] left plain for the kids. I've had such fun working on this recipe and I looked forward to my nightly recipe testing!

You'll notice a couple of subtle changes from the standard hot cocoa gift mix recipe. First off, there is no powdered milk in this recipe. That means you need to get to mix it with the milk of your choice. An extra step to be sure, but I have my reasons. I grew up drinking the occasional milk-stretched-with-powdered-milk and personally can't stand the taste of reconstituted milk. I'll bake with it no problem, but I will not drink it by choice. I'd rather literally walk a mile down the street to pick up a gallon of organic milk for me and my kids. [It's good exercise for the dogs, too.] If you have a dairy allergy or are avoiding cow's milk, this mix is for you as it is dairy free. Please feel free to mix up your hot cocoa with the rice, soy, or nut milk of your choice.