Holiday Shortbread

Picture it: Rich, buttery shortbread, the edge dipped in smooth-as-silk milk chocolate, and lightly rolled in chopped pistachios.

To top off the cuteness of this dainty cookie, imagine this single-serving shortbread served in its own tiny teacup.

Was it Martha Stewart? Ina Garten? How about Paula Deen?

Nope. None of the above. Try my sweet mother-in-law.

Kathy is a sensational baker. She taught me the golden rule of baking: butter and margarine are most certainly not interchangeable. My life changed pretty drastically (for the better) after Kathy welcomed me into her bag of baking tricks.

Every year at Christmas she sends Adam and I home with a tin of her seasonal treats, and Adam knows to keep his hands off the chocolate-dipped shortbread. Simple, sweet, and oh-so-butterific, those little shortbread cookies are all mine.

Last month, Kathy put a creative twist on her holiday shortbread and converted them into favors for her soon-to-be niece's wedding shower. These sweet little tea cups sat at each place-setting, begging attendees to sink their teeth into the buttery goodness.

Make these cookies for your holiday cookie plates, and your neighbors and co-workers will certainly beg for more. They likely won't believe the cookie itself has only three ingredients. In lieu of pistachios, you can roll them in red and green sprinkles, toasted pecans, or whatever your heart desires.

Trust me: the old Girl Scout shortbread impostor "Trefoils" have nothing on Kathy's famous cookies.

Kathy's Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread

(from Miss Kathy herself)

Forget those long, complicated holiday cookie ingredient lists. These shortbread cookies are small on ingredients and big on taste. Hey--you can't go wrong with butter and sugar, right?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened (NO substitutes!)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 - 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Milk chocolate chips
• Optional: crushed pistachios, crushed pecans, sprinkles, and/or other toppings

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees and coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2) Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Gradually add in flour. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3 minutes.

3) Pat into a 1/3 inch rectangle, 11 x 18 inches. Cut into small rectangles of your desired size (for Kathy's Christmas version, she does 2" by 1" rectangles). Place about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet and prick each cookie with a fork. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until bottom begins to lightly brown. Cool for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

4) For dipping: Gently melt milk chocolate in a double boiler (I used one 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips). Dip one half of each cookie in the milk chocolate and sprinkle with nuts or sprinkles (or nothing at all if you'd like!). Place on wax paper to cool completely.