The Story
While I was growing up, one thing that I remember about Mom is that she loved strawberries. As a little girl, I was told time and time again that while Mom was pregnant with me, she would eat chocolate ice cream with strawberries from Friendly’s nearly every day. That intense love of the combination must have been passed on to me, because to this day, when given the chance, I will inhale chocolate ice cream with strawberries on it, (great for the waistline, thanks, Mom)!
This love of strawberries could be found in nooks and crannies throughout the Duclos home...a little pink cook book written about all things strawberries, painted strawberries decorating a wooden trivet hanging on the kitchen wall, sliced strawberries sprinkled with sugar in the refrigerator.
Strawberries even popped up during Christmas-time, when sparkling strawberries hung in our tree and Nova Scotia Shortbread cookies were cut into strawberry shapes, and dipped in chocolate, without fail, each year.
When I was in second grade, my teacher asked each student in the class room to contribute a recipe of their favorite Christmas cookie for a class cook book. There was no question as to which recipe was, and still is my favorite.
Nova Scotia shortbread cookies are one of my essential holiday traditions. Though I do not decorate them with sugar, as Mom always did, I will always cut them with a strawberry-shaped cookie cutter. And I will always think of Mom when I do.
Ingredients
1 lb. butter
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups flour
bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)
Directions
Soften and cream the butter in a bowl, then add sugar and corn starch. Continue creaming the mixture, adding salt and vanilla. Start adding flour until the dough becomes too heavy for the mixer. Knead the remaining flour in by hand.
Pat out onto a cutting board until the dough is 1/4 to 1/2 an inch thick. Cut out into any shape and bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.
If you would like to make your shortbreads as I do, cut them into strawberry shapes (strawberry cookie cutter available at Bake It Pretty), bake, cool, then dip the cookies into melted bittersweet chocolate. Place the cookies on parchment paper, until the chocolate hardens. Enjoy!
