Aunt Addie's Shortbread

This is the story of Aunt Addie that accompanied the packages of shortbread that I made for the attendees of the Freedom Frontier National Heritage Area in our town on the prairie.

Beloved Aunt Addie ran a boarding house in Fort Acott in the era before The War. Aunt Addie never married but instead stayed in her childhood home after her parents died and to make ends meet, she opened her home to boarders. She was "Aunt Addie" to the whole town and her home was always opened to the neighborhood children. She was always a soft touch offering a glass of milk and a cookie. the cookie was often this wonderful shortbread.

These are the packages of individually wrapped shortbread tied with either blue or gold ribbon and placed in the "goodie bags" that each participant received. A nice nosh on what was, for most, a long drive home after a morning of meetings.
Each shortbread was impressed with FT SCOTT -- a reminder of not only our brick streets but also of the town where the cookie came from!
A lot of cookies for a lot of participants!!!!

The Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area (press play to hear the story) tells the story of the shared heritage of Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri -- and an interesting story it is in those years before "The War" broke out. If you're visiting any portion of the area, visit these historic sites and learn the stories on both sides of the conflict.

This is the recipe that accompanied the cookies that went into the goodie bag for the FFNHA attendees took home. It's a good shortbread! And for this meeting, it is known as Aunt Addie's Shortbread!

AUNT ADDIE'S SHORTBREAD

3/4 pound butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 t. vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 t. salt

Preheat the oven to 350.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt; then add them to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. dump onto a surface dusted with flour and roll shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2 inch thick and cut with your favorite cookie cutter. (I used my Brigitte cutter which also pressed "FT SCOTT" into each cookie.) Place the cookies on an ungreased sheet pan (you can sprinkle with sugar if you wish). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

It's Friday -- which means that it's Foodie Friday. So visit Michael at Designs by Gollum and see what other foods there are this Friday!