Day 8: Shortbread and Why Martha Stewart Cannot Be Trusted

 So today I was feeling a little unmotivated, maybe something to do with rockin' all night at the Pixies concert last night...maybe. So I searched the web for a cookie to make today and stumbled upon Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies. I KNOW better than to trust Martha Stewart, but somehow she continues to suck me into her web. (Google "Martha Stewart recipes never work") Before I explain, stop reading here and visit this link. Got it? Okay, sounds simple enough, cookies look really good too. But here's the thing about Martha...she seems to leave out key elements of her recipe. Things you need to know or be shown in order to make the recipe work. I have made Martha's cakes, candies and cookies and each time I curse her name and swear "never again" This time she fails to mention there is no way possible to roll a shortbread dough into a log. (Okay, it is possilbe, but very difficult). So then you freeze the dough. And guess what is harder than molding shortbread dough into a log? that's right, slicing a log of frozen shortbread dough. And what kind of knife should I use? I somehow imagine it is some type of $500.00 special extra sharp knife made only for slicing frozen shortbread dough. In order to keep the shape and slice the dough I had to knead it several times to warm up and soften the butter which means this is no longer really a shortbread!!! In Martha's defense, she does give you the option of molding this dough into a square. If you decide to try this recipe, do the square, they will end up that way anyway. Better yet, press the dough into a tart pan, score wedges and poke holes with a fork. This will conclude the ranting portion of today's post.
 Today's cookie is actually a hybrid. The shortbread recipe above and a Spice Cookie I have been wanting to try. I took Martha's shortbread recipe and added 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. nutmeg and 1/2 tsp ground cloves. Then I added 1/2 c chopped walnuts and 1/2 chopped raisins. Not just any raisins though, Fresh and Easy's Jumbo Mixed Raisins. A mixture of golden raisins, regular and cinnamon raisins. YUM!

They didn't turn out too bad. Not really sweet and the spices are nice. They would go great with coffee as they are a little, make that alot, dry. If you decide to try this recipe, please let me know how it works out for you.