Its been a minute or two since I posted last. Life has just gotten in the way – in a good way. My mum visited from Ontario, my husband returned from a 6 month deployment (INSERT HEART EMOJI HERE), I volunteered at the local food bank with my fellow co-workers a few times, we celebrated 3 December birthdays already, and well, I am not really feeling ready for the 4th birthday being celebrated in only 5 more days.
The city was basically shut down today by snow. I heard over 40 cm in some areas, areas that generally are not accustomed to getting much, if any snow. So today was a work from home day, or a snow day if you were lucky.
I’m listening to iheart radio and Vince Guaraldi Trio is strumming – you know that music from A Charlie Brown Christmas. It can’t help but bring a smile to my face.
So lists have been made, and for the most part, food has been purchased. I have a turkey, potatoes and gravy, so we will at last have that. He will probably be pulled out for the thawing exercise in the next 24 hours to ensure he is ready for his Christmas morning stuffing.
When we moved to the West Coast over 16 years ago, it was just the 5 of us. We lost most of our holiday traditions when we moved, mostly because of the climate and the lack of family nearby. But we also created some great new ones.
Christmas Eve is filled with beverages and fondue: a cheese pot, an oil pot, and of course, a chocolate pot. Full bellies will go to dreamland on Christmas Eve, only to wake up to mimosa, Eggs Benedict and overnight waffles courtesy of Ina Garten. The bird will be prepped, stuffed and in the oven by 1300 at the latest. There will be gifts, phone calls (many of them) and probably a nap.
Because Christmas Eve will be on a Saturday this year, Christmas Eve day will probably include a batch of shortbread cookies. The recipe handed down to me by my gramma. Gramma Shoebottom gave us shortbread cookies, Christmas crackers, a red jello salad with a pineapple cream cheese topping, and her special punch. It truly warms my heart to think of her and those things, along with all our old traditions, and now new traditions.
I am sharing the shortbread recipe. Its honestly pretty fail safe and absolutely delicious.
Are there any traditions you want to share?
Gram’s Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 c cornstarch
- 1 c icing sugar
- 1 lb salted butter, softened
- 2 1/2 to 3 c flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together dry ingredients: start with 2 1/2 c of the flour.
- Add butter and mix together with your hands / a pastry cutter / or a mix master with pastry attachment.
- Create a small ball and flatten with a fork. This is the test cookie.
- Test one cookie in the oven. If the cookie falls apart, it's too rich and you need to add the extra flour.
- Once the test cookie does not fall apart, roll you into balls, place on a cookie sheet spaced apart and flatten with a fork. Decorate with holiday sprinkles or holiday fruit like candied cherries.
- Bake approximately 12 minutes until the bottoms start to brown. Cool on a cookie rack.