Something Fattening For Fat Tuesday

My Dad's Famous Shortbread Cookies on Fat Tuesday

Dreamy!!!

My dad was a master baker from Norway. In order to become a master baker one attends school for four years; two years in bread making and two years in pastry making. He owned a bakery in Norway and then when he immigrated to the USA he opened a bakery from 1973-2009. He passed away in 2001, but my mother and brother carried on the business until 2009. I miss him so!

My dad was locally famous for several baked goods, with the marsipan cake on top of the list; however, my personal favorite was his shortbread cookies. Being the only "openly admitted" coffee drinker in the family, coffee with these cookies was and still is one of my favorite treats.

Ahhhh....coffee, shortbread cookies and some relaxing crocheting time. The only thing that tops that is sharing coffee, shortbread cookies and a good conversation with the NVO. It is so fun to chat with the NVO; he makes me laugh-out-loud every single day! So back to the "Fat Tuesday" cookie. (Thoughts of the NVO always distract me and I could go on and on about him, but I will refrain. ;-) )

The best part about this cookie is that it is super simple!

Asbjørn’s Shortbread Cookies

Mix the following ingredients in a stand-up mixer:

1 # (2 c.) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. powdered sugar
4 c. flour
1 t. coarse kosher salt

Mix and roll into long logs, press slightly if an oval shape is desired.
Refrigerate for at least an hour. (This is the only hard part....the waiting, perhaps some hooky or bloggin' time?)
Slice and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. (Be sure to use a sharp knife, my dad used to always say "sharf" knife. I don't know why, maybe something with his Norsk accent. The NVO and I have carried on the use of this term; we don't know why we are saying it either. ;-) )

Variations:
Add almond extract and sliced almonds (Very Norsk)
Add vanilla and chopped pecans (Pecan Sandies)
Once cooled, dip half of the cookie in chocolate chips melted with a little butter. (The NVO's variation of choice.)

That's all there is to it!

Instant gratification for another day

Today I only made half of the recipe and I made the cookies tiny.
There was still plenty of dough left to freeze for another day.

Mor claims that this is not Asbjørn’s recipe, that it came from Vi and Stan, a lovely English couple that frequented the bakery and became their dear friends for many years. I will give my dad credit since he gave me the recipe. Additionally, Mor cannot correct me, as she does not use a computer; hence she does not read my blog. Tee hee.

Thank you Asbjørn, Mor, Vi and Stan for many enjoyable relaxing moments. :-)