Short~n~Cheesy Shortbread Mini-Cheesecakes (plain, lemon, raspberry)
So today I got “cheesy” with it. I love shortbread, and I love cheesecake so I decided to combine the two, and I came up with Short~n~Cheesy Shortbread Mini-Cheesecakes. Everything about this is right! It’s not too little and not too much. It’s the perfect size. Enjoy!
Chocolate
I have a friend who is an old soul at heart, and he was born in the deep south, just like me. I state those facts just to say that if there is anyone who would know old-fashioned home cooking, it would be him, and he does not like shortbread cookies.
What I love most about shortbread is its simplicity (three main ingredients, delicate, flavorful, and not too sweet). What I have come across during my shortbread journey is that some people don’t think as highly of shortbread as I do. I think shortbread cookies are the best cookies ever (especially since they are so versatile), but my friend thinks there is no better cookie than a chocolate chip cookie, go figure. To quote him exactly, “Shortbread is the last cookie I would ever make, eat, or buy!” So when he asked me could I make chocolate chip cookies, my answer was, “I can make shortbread cookies with chocolate chips and a chocolate drizzle.” To that, he turned and walked away.
I can’t help but think that everyone should love shortbread just as much as I do, but that’s not the case. However, I have found moments of joy when grandmothers and mothers of my friends rave over the old school buttery shortbread flavor that I bring out in my cookies. That makes all the “nay sayers” opinions fade away, but one of my ultimate goals is to turn my chocolate chip cookie loving friend into a shortbread cookie fanatic, like me.
Peace & Blessings
People who know me personally not only know how much I love my baked goods, they also know that with every cookie, pie, or cake, I have to warm them up before I can enjoy them. Every time there are treats at the office, I nag everyone, “Did you warm it up?”, and they all agree that warming baked goods up does change the flavor.
Home-made cookies and cakes are my all time favorites, but when I’m having a sweet-tooth attack, I’ll eat whatever’s available. Even store-bought cakes and cookies that I’m not that fond of taste 100% better when they are warm.
© ShortbreadSwee-T’s Lemon Short~n~Sweet Baby lb. Cake
When I make shortbread and pound cakes I like to serve them and eat them when they are fresh out of the oven. Since everything I bake is made with 100% pure butter (and quite a bit of it), I believe that there is a positive correlation between butter and heat that brings all the flavors in my baked goods to life, and if you love butter as much as I do you understand. Warming not only makes the flavors more discernible, but, when warmed just right, moisture is regained, and you get all the “ooey-gooey goodness” back. On those occasions when I am serving “day old” cookies and pound cakes, I just pop them in the microwave oven for about 3 or 4 seconds. Those few seconds make all the difference in the world. It turns “day old” or “cold” baked treats into “just like fresh-baked goodness”, and I love it!
© ShortbreadSwee-T’s Mixed Shortbread
So, I have proven to people time and time again that unless you love cold butter, warming up store-bought, day old, or cold baked goods can be almost as enjoyable as fresh-baked cookies and cakes, and every time I give someone shortbread cookies or pound cake, I always remind them that ShortbreadSwee-T’s is “Best served warm”.
Short~n~Sweet lb. Cake
I beg to differ!
Creating delicious, quality, gourmet shortbread cookies and cakes is my main priority, but after I, lovingly, prepare each home-made item, the “icing on the cake” for me is how they are presented.
I am no stranger to wanting something because of how it looks, only to find out that it looked so much better than it actually tasted. My goal is to make the best sweet treats and to make them look as good as they taste.
Making home-made shortbread cookies, pound cakes, and baby pound cakes isn’t hard, but it takes patience and time, and I don’t hesitate to go the extra mile when I am putting the finishing touch on them (the packaging).
It’s been said, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, but that doesn’t apply to ShortbreadSwee-T’s. I want people to be amazed when they see my baked goods, and I want them to be awed when they taste them.
This is also a lesson for my son. I want him to, always, put his best foot forward from the beginning to the end, and I’ve learned that this is a quality that can be applied to many aspects in life.
My motto: Strive for greatness and always present well.
© ShortbreadSwee-T’s Lemon Short~n~Sweet Baby lb. Cake
To all the mothers (biological, non biological, and those of you who are filling in as mother), I’d like to wish you a fantastic day to commemorate the fantastic event that made you a mother, and for those of you who have lost a mother, may your wonderful memories fill your heart and your day with love.
Lemon Short~n~Sweet Lb. Cake and Shortbits
Being on the shortbread cookie journey has been a fantastic ride, but today I felt like baking a cake! Honestly, I haven’t baked a cake in probably 6 or 7 years, but today that’s all I wanted to do. So, I called my mom (the pound cake queen).
I had my own recipe in mind, but a pound cake is a pound cake with the usual and similar main ingredients that I use in my shortbread cookies. My mom is dedicated to and swears by cake flour (which I didn’t have and didn’t want to buy), but I did take her advice on her ratios for flour/sugar/butter, and (since I am my mother’s child) I added my own components and the rest was on me.
As I was putting it all together, it started coming back to me, and I remembered that I liked making pound cake. I wrote down my measurements (as usual) and what I ended up with was an Almond Pound Cake with a Lime Drizzle.
My son and I shared a piece of the pound cake. It was delicious (per my pickier than anyone son, and he’s not afraid to hurt my feelings). Maybe I’ll add it to my list of options, but what will I do with the rest of the cake now that my craving is satisfied? Hmmmmmm.
© ShortbreadSwee-T’s Apple Shortbread
I can recall my childhood days while playing on my street with the other neighborhood kids, there was always “the cat lady” (she must have had 10 cats) or “the car man” (I think he had 10 cars), and at church there was “the candy man” (he gave out candy after church every Sunday). If you were to ask me what any of those people’s true names were today, I couldn’t tell you. Everyone knew them by their unofficially given nicknames.
Little did I know that 30+ years later, I would be called “the cookie lady”! How funny is that? My friends tell me that their kids say, “Mom, get some cookies from your friend, the cookie lady” or people ask them, “Is the cookie lady still making shortbread cookies?” They may not remember my name, but they’ll remember what I do, and I will wear that hat with pride because I will be a memory for many for a very long time.
I envision myself baking shortbread cookies for my future grandchildren and their friends and being remembered for always having “cookies and milk” for whoever comes to my door.
I accept my new title and I am honored to claim it. It puts a smile in my heart.
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