54 Comments

Hi, my only question about the placement of your stand mixer is how far do you have carry it? They are not lightweight!!! Am definitely going to make these cookies. In the course of reading this article,I bought copies of Room for Dessert and Ripe for Dessert! I scored on Amazon and added to collection of your cookbooks, both in and out of print!

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...married into? I did not know you and Romain were married? Congratulations! Also, this sounds delicious. I am far from a millennial, but I had never eaten shortbread until a year or two ago either.

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The dark brown sugar that is pictured looks like the organic brown sugar I have on hand, but in reading about using this type of sugar in baking, the advice is not to use it because the crystals are too large to break down. Stick to regular dark brown sugar?

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I love this…

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I was eating my way through Scotland with lots of shortbread when you posted this recipe. I knew I had to make the cookies as soon as I got home. And I’m glad I did! Easy and delicious! Reminds me of pecan sandies. Thanks!

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Could these be made without nuts? Would any adjustments need to be made to keep the flavor?

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Sure, feel free to leave out the nuts. You obviously won't get the pecan flavor but the cookies taste good without them.

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In the article you wrote: I called for light brown sugar, but here I used one-third dark brown sugar and two-thirds light brown sugar. That equals 1 cup of sugar, i.e., 1/3 dark + 2/3rds light brown = 1 cup.

Recipe printed calls for 2/3rds cup of sugar. Which is it?

CoriV

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The recipe uses a total of "2/3 cup packed (140g) light brown sugar"

You can replace one third of that with dark brown sugar. I didn't measure the exact amount, as mentioned, but you can eyeball it. It's a little complicated to break down in cups but in metrics I used around 45g dark brown sugar, 95g light brown sugar. (2/3 cup is around 10 tablespoons.)

As long as you have a total of 140 grams (2/3 cup) that's what you need

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I'm getting too old to say OMG but OMG 😍

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These sound and look wonderful. My dad makes delicious shortbread, he went through a phase of adapting and perfecting his great aunts recipe. The best version had the edges coated with crumbled toasted (of course!) almonds and maybe brown sugar.

Given the recommendation they are best eaten on the same day I think I’d need to give lots away!

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I guess I’ll be making shortbread cookies today!! Oh, and I use mostly salted butter. I like the taste and also I like to leave it out so it’s soft.

The shortbread looks yummy!!

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These look delicious! Though I laughed about the stand mixer - I have one but I don't often use it. But I'm European and I don't understand the American bakers seeming need to use it for everything!

Also I'm curious about the oyster rye bread with butter thing: were you talking about Brittany specifically as I'm a big oyster lover (Cancale no. 3 are my all time favourite) and in the 12 years my parents lived there I never once saw them served with rye bread and butter?

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The Brittany Tourism website had a take on what's traditionally served with oysters and shellfish platters: https://www.brittanytourism.com/matching-what-i-want/food-drink/fish-and-shellfish/seafood-platters/

I've never *not* had it served with oysters so surprised that you or your parents were never served it.

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Seafood platters too? I'm genuinely fascinated that I never have now, and they're zeroing in on the exact area I used to go oyster seeking! Though, probably unsurprising for a tourism website, they've typically gone for the most touristy - not the best - place to get a seafood platter on the waterfront around the corner from the Cancale oyster market...

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Will do! I have another recipe for this type of cookie, an anise seed sugar cookie that is baked flat. I will do that one first and see what I have to change up for the shortbread.

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Ok, these look great, but it’s rhubarb season!! I will have to tuck this away for fall as I am so excited to bake with fruit for the next 4 months!! I do have your old cookbooks and maybe I need to start working my way through all those recipes...

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Just after I read this I got an e-mail from Amazon offering me a $5 credit on several of your books! Are they spying on me? So I've just bought "Ready for Dessert."

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Is this close to the best cookie ever? The Pan 'd amande? Look is similiar bur I can't imagine anything better. I make friends all over the world with those cookies - even made them for the vendange (grape harvest) in our Dordogne neighborhood and get invited back every year - with cookies in hand. Friends in St. Louis are hooked as well.

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This recipe looks delicious. I live close to where the KitchenAid company is located here in Ohio. Dad got a mixer and offered to buy me one back when they were still made by Hobart. Unfortunately, I was young and didn’t realize the mistake of declining his offer. I bought one last year...not the same quality since Hobart doesn’t make them anymore.

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I went to the factory a few decades ago in Ohio: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/inside-kitchena/

At the time, they told me they were the last small appliance made in America, the mixer. They also had a group of women, who previously worked in the factory on the line, who were customer service reps who anyone could call to answer questions or diagnose problems with their mixers.

Some have said the quality has slipped but I haven't noticed that. I do always get the mixers that go up and down, rather than the tilt head (which are smaller and less-expensive) so I wonder if the cheaper ones they sell aren't as well-made. But I saw people making them by hand which was really interesting.

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They also told me the reconditioned mixers were a very good deal since they were scrutinized by the factory workers when they were returned. Not sure how true that still is, but I remember the prices on those were very attractive.

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