One of the best holidays as kids was Easter – the easter baskets, decorating real eggs, filling plastic ones with all the chocolates, marshmallow peeps, jelly beans, and other goodies we could get our hands on, and then the actual day-of – conducting the most elaborate hides and hunts of all of the easter goods in our backyard. When we were really little, we’d go to our friend Nathan’s house out in the hills above Ashland, where he and his family would host a massive egg hunt every year in the forests, tumbled trees, creek, and hillsides surrounding their home. We’d dress up in spring florals, do our hair, wear…
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Gluten Free Pink Lemonade Bars
Today is the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. and of Kamala Devi Harris – both titans in their own right, and people who will put the needs and hopes of a country before their own. It’s been a long four years, an even longer four years for those who do not look like me – I’m one of the lucky ones, despite Trump’s (and the entire GOP, let’s be honest) attempts to disenfranchise and demean women wholeheartedly. Today is a new day, one that will not mark immediate change, but one that will put us on a path to righting so many of the egregious wrongs that have occured,…
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Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread
Thin Mints were my absolute favorite Girl Scout cookie. Samoas were a close second, but Thin Mints won every time. I’d definitely sell more than I ended up eating, thank goodness, but there were a few boxes of those buttery, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate shortbready cookies waiting for me every year when I donned my saleswoman attitude and took to the streets of Eagle Point neighborhoods, heralding the springtime revelation that is all Girl Scout cookies. I was a proud scout for 10 years, starting with Daisies, then graduating to Brownies, then Juniors, then Cadets, then Seniors (for those who aren’t familiar with the Girl Scout organization, there are different titles/names for…
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Black Lives Matter Glazed Gluten Free Chocolate Shortbread with Cacao Nibs
Black Lives Matter. Breonna Taylor was 26 when she was murdered. If any of you are parents, let me ask you – if your child was killed by police, what would you do? How would you feel? While she was sleeping. I’d hope you’d want your child, presumably one of the people you hold most dear in this world, to sleep safely every night of their lives. What explanation would placate you if you were told your child was now dead, having been shot to death by people (police – those meant to “protect and serve”) entering her home while she slept and firing into her sleeping body? Would there…
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Gluten Free Raspberry Glazed Shortbread Cookies
That special day is right around the corner, and no matter who or what you spend it with (a partner, a puppy, a good book, or just yourself!), you most certainly deserve something packed with punchy raspberry notes and crumbling with browned butter and sugar. And in that spirit, here are probably the cutest cookies I’ve made thus far. I’ve never been a big sugar cookie person, and definitely not a glazed sugar cookie person, though I’ll admire the handiwork of a good glazer any day. Despite what I deemed a lackluster appeal of these simple cookies, they’re absolutely worth having in your repertoire and are sometimes the perfect pick…
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Gluten Free Browned Butter Millionaire Shortbread
If you’ve never heard of millionaire shortbread (or gluten free millionaire shortbread, for that matter), you’re in for a real treat. The fanciest, most indulgent treatiest treat out there (maybe not but they’re not called millionaire’s for nothing). The theme of these decked out shortbread bars is: why not? Why not slather half an inch of perfectly squidgy caramel over the perfect slab of shortbread, and why not, on top of that, smear the most luxurious dark chocolate you’ll ever snap into? Why not, as a millionaire would say. So why not be a millionaire for a day and make these incredibly rich, melt-in-your-mouth squares to complement your lavish post-college…
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Gluten Free Brown Butter and Pecan Shortbread
When I was first diagnosed as Celiac in 2004, life as a 10 year old seemed immeasurably miserable: no more Oreos, sourdough toast, mac and cheese, Costco croissants, or hotel danishes. No more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! (my staple for packed lunches). It was a rough few months, to say the least, and those few months getting used to the new diet and figuring out what few items in the pantry I could still eat felt like a LIFETIME. Bowls of hot rice with butter felt like the best I could ever do, simply because the few brands in the US that were producing anything gluten free were woefully…
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Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread
Shortbread always used to puzzle me – as a kid it seemed far more exciting to go for something richly chocolate or raspberry or creamy, not a dry square of short bread (what a name!) with no added flavor. Who in their right mind would choose such a thing over a brownie? Very very recently, upon the discovery of incredibly good butter (once you taste it you can’t go back), I reneged on my avoidance campaign of the crumbly British dessert and jumped on the shortbread train. This was particularly helpful as well because shortbread is remarkably easy to make gluten free. Many recipes, Scottish shortbread specifically, even add in…
