From Soup to Cookies
Decoupage isn’t the only thing I like doing during the holidays. Though it’s pretty much fun to do ANY time of the year, making cookies at the holidays is somehow extra terrific. Maybe it’s that you finally have an excuse to have sixteen different cookies around, all at the same time. (Okay maybe not sixteen, but we have three varieties in the house already, with more to come.) It might also be because, when you make so many different cookies, you have more to give away, and the smiles on people’s faces when you hand them a plate of baked goods are certainly good for the soul.
I have very, very many cookie recipes. Some are in cookbooks, some have been scrawled on paper from friends’ kitchens, some are memorized. (Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip, for example.) Some are complicated and some are easy. All of them are, of course, delicious. This one in particular is one of my favorite recipes, because it has three important elements: 1. It is very easy to make. 2. It comes from a friend. 3. It is a great combo of classic, as well as unusual and surprising. I hope you enjoy it, and the rest of the cookies in your own house!
Rosemary Pine Nut Bars (aka, “Adult Shortbread”)
1/3 c. pine nuts, toasted
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter
1/2 c. powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried)
1 c. all purpose flour, mixed with 1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove pan from heat, and stir in powdered sugar, rosemary and pine nuts. Then stir in the flour. Spread in 8″ square baking pan.
Bake until bars are golden and firm around the edges–about 20 minutes. Let bars cool in pan 10 minutes. The bars can be stored, tightly covered, for up to 5 days or frozen for 1 month. Makes 16 bars.
Songs In My Head Upon Waking in the Last Week
“Topaz,” by the B-52s; “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” by the Jackson 5; “Goodbye Girl,” by Squeeze; “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” by John Denver and Rowlf the Dog; “Yesterday When I Was Mad,” by the Pet Shop Boys; “Rumor Has It,” by Adele; “A Little Soul,” by Pulp