Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Oh.

No, really, oh. Oh as in “Oh my, these brownies”  and “Oh damn, these brownies.”  Oh as “Oh I can’t believe this recipe is so amazing” and “Oh there goes any bit of self control I had.”

Get the picture?

You can roll your eyes a bit when you say “Oh”.  It helps.

Even though I don’t claim to have the world’s largest sweet tooth and go for salty over sweet most days, I can’t help but claim this brownie recipe as one of the best I’ve ever tasted. Because to me, brownies seem like the perfect treat in theory. Chocolately, studded with fun things like nuts or fruit, small and compact and enough to satisfy thanks to their rich nature. But sometimes, well, you can’t help but feel let down sometimes when you bite into a brownie that’s dry, too moist or not moist enough, tastes like a mix or worse, doesn’t resemble a brownie at all.

I love dessert but who can wait till the end of the day to have it?  Not me.  I refuse to live that way.

That's why I love having this shake for breakfast.  It tastes like you are having dessert and I am all about that kind of livin'.  I love tricking myself into thinking I am getting a treat before 9 am.  With this shake, it's not far from the truth.

As we were high-tailing it out of town on Sunday I made these to celebrate the beginning of our vacation.  Of course it delayed us from leaving for about three hours but who cares right?

These Buttermilk Citrus Shakes are a wonderful combination of fresh orange and lemon juice.

This evening I heard a news reporter on television say Minnesotans are embracing the cold temperatures. Are you kidding me?

I’m a Minnesotan. Tuesday morning the thermometer here showed 35 degrees below zero. It doesn’t warm up much during the day. And tonight it’s expected to be 25 below. Do I embrace this? No. I deal with it.

When the temperature drops to way, way below zero I can hunker down in my home office and work in my flannel jammies with a big pot of hot dark coffee at my side. All seems quite normal until midday. My body begins to react to the frigid temps. The cravings begin. My brain sends a signal. It’s time to start eating if I want to stay warm. I want sugar. I want carbs. I need fat. And they're all so easy to get. A kitchen full of food is just steps away.

Like a mad woman, I dug through the freezer until I found a box of Thin Mints left from last year’s stash of Girl Scout cookies. I ripped open the two foil packages inside the box and before I knew it, I’d eaten all of those crispy little fat- and sugar-laden rounds.

Traditional shortbread should really be called “several sticks of butter – cookies”. The butter could very well be what makes them so additively mouth watering. Shortbread is not something that could linger around my house. If it does, I end up consuming 98% of it. With the weather shifting into summer and tank top season upon us, eating a large batch of shortbread would most likely keep me in turtlenecks and long sleeve t’s rather than a cute maxi or simple sun dress.

I have been  wanting to recreate this favorite, household cookie, yet in a gluten free version. Playing with ingredients has become my new hobby (or obsession) and when something hits and comes out right, the kitchen dance begins! The neighbors up the street can hear me singing with joy as the kids wait patiently by the oven door. I found, rolling out the dough and letting it rest in the fridge before shaping helped the cookies not spread when baked. In addition, cut dough can be flash frozen and saved for another day.

Making shortbread was a high priority. It’s, yet another one of those freezer friendly doughs, and when baked not only does the house smell divine, but the rich, buttery biscuit easily melts in ones mouth. Using ingredients on hand; macadamia nuts, limes, and coconut, a successful cookie was born. This basic dough could easily find a home with lemon, almonds, bittersweet chocolate, dried fruit, and a host of other pantry staples. I am going to experiment. You can too! Then come back here and tell me what you come up with!