Pistachio Cranberry Shortbread

These shortbread cookies are so delicious! They melt in your mouth! I'm sure you have all ingredients on hand, all you need is flour, salt, butter, powder sugar and pretty much any mix ins you would like. This recipe is super versatile, I chose to add pistachios and cranberries to my dough and I've also made them with chocolate. Super simple and highly recommended! You can dip half of the cookie in chocolate if you would like, I dipped the chocolate batch in melted peppermint bark but left this one as is. Both were great!

Shortbread
slightly adapted from: Martha Stewart living, December 2012

Ingredients:
- 2 c. flour
- 3/4 t. salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 c. confectioners sugar

Mix ins of your choice, I used 1/2 cup of chopped pistachios and 1/2 cup of dried cranberries.
You could use chocolate chunks, dried fruit of your choice and nuts. Martha does a coconut-
pecan combo that sounds absolutely delicious.

Directions
1. Sift together flour and salt into a medium bowl.

2. Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
Add sugar gradually, beating between additions, continue to beat until
mixture is very pale, about 2 minutes total.

3. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beat until just combined.

4. Add mix-ins of choice and beat on low once again, until just combined.

5. Press dough evenly into a parchments lined 9 by 13 inch rimmed baking sheet,
refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

6. Cut dough in eights lengthwise then quarters crosswise, making 32 rectangles.
Evenly pierce all over with a fork.

7. Bake until shortbread is firm in center and golden brown, about 45 minutes.

* If dipping in chocolate; Melt chocolate, Dip bars in chocolate then refrigerate
until chocolate is set about 10 minutes.

Enjoy XOXO,

Lidia

2013, be good to us

Happy New Year fellow bloggers!!!

Hope all of you had a great time ringing in the new year.

I had a nice night in, in company of family and friends.

Ate dinner that consisted of tamales and menudo, 

donuts for dessert, waited for the countdown and 

watched reservoir dogs.

How was your new years eve?

xoxo, lidia

Maximiliano Abishai

Maximiliano Abishai's Birth Day: June 27th 2012

2 days old

first day home

6 days old

12 days old

 

2 weeks old

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

first halloween

5 months old

I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, happy, healthy, beautiful baby.

I couldn't have wished for anything more.

He is perfect in every way. 

Maximiliano will be 6 months the 27th of December.

You never understand just how fast they grow when you hear

mothers use that expression, but oh man is it true.

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Donuts

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and to be honest this is probably the first thanksgiving day
that I will actually sit down and genuinely be thankful for all the good things in my life instead of just
rushing my thankful words and thoughts in order to get to eating some really great food.
Being a mother changes you so much and it makes you appreciate things a thousand times more,
you stop and appreciate the simple things in life... or at least that is what happened to me.

Although my dad is still not with us and this thanksgiving day we will be separated as a familiy,
two of my sisters going over to my dad's in Mexico and two of us staying with my mom, this
is the first thanksgiving day that I will be spending as a mother of a baby boy and wife of a
wonderful man and I am very grateful to have them in my life.

I've never been a black friday fan. I remember going to black friday a few times with
my dad. He would take my mom and sisters and buy us shoes, sweaters and some other
winter essentials... I really never did see much of a difference between shopping on
black friday and any other day... except for the massive amount of people up so early
on such a cold morning just to get their shopping fix.

I'm not judging any of you that do take advantage on black friday and get yourself some
sweet deals, go for it! But, as of me, hearing about the horrible stories of people actually
dying at such events last year, being married to a non-consuming anarchist, not agreeing
to the fact that a day that used to be a day where everyone would gather around the table
with their families and give thanks for everyone and everything that they have in their life
is now a day of eating as fast as you can so you can rush to the mall, and most importantly
being a mother and wanting to my son to grow up being a grateful family oriented man
instead of a consumer, I will not be supporting black friday.


That being said... It's pumpkin season. And I actually baked these mini donuts back in May!
I was pregnant and craving pumpkin donuts in May. I have a pumpkin doughnut w/ a cream-
cheese icing recipe on the blog already but this one is a bit different and actually the one I prefer!

They are melt in your mouth delicious, perfect to bake on these cold autumn days and these
are better warm out of the oven with a glass of milk.

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Donuts

slightly adapted from blue-eyed bakers
makes 24 mini doughnuts

Ingredients

for donuts

- 1 3/4 c. flour

- 1 1/2 t. baking powder

- 1/2 t. salt

- 2 t. pumpkin spice

- 1/3 c. veggie oil

- 1/2 c. brown sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

- 3/4 c. canned pumpkin

- 1/2 c. milk

for coating

- 1/2 c. butter, melted

- 2/3 c. sugar

- 1 1/2 T. cinnamon


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter mini doughnut pan & set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix: flour, baking powder, salt & pumpkin spice, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together: oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin
    & milk just until combined.
4. Using a pastry bag or a spoon, fill doughnut pan with the batter.
    Bake for 8-10 minutes, until donuts spring back when gently touched.
5. Quickly dip warm (not hot) donuts into melted butter, then coat in the
    cinnamon sugar mix. Enjoy Immediately!


Notes:
- Don't dip donuts in butter and coat in sugar until you are going to eat them
or they will be soggy.
- You can make this recipe using a regular sized doughnut pan or a mini
muffin pan, bake for 10-12 minutes instead.

xoxo

Absent

Hi. Fellow bloggers.

I'm back.

I had a baby. A really cute one. Not to mention healthy and happy.

I'm all for attached parenting which is mostly the reason for the lack of posting.
With on demand breast feeding, diaper changing, bathing, playing, reading and
other parenting duties; I'm lucky if I have time to shower, get dressed or try
to tidy the house a bit let alone bake anything! Plus I don't want any of those
extra calories for I still have about 5 pounds of baby weight I need to shed.

Though I have treated myself with chocolate chip cookies, cranberry pistachio-
chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake and the best banana bread bars with
browned butter icing you will ever have! (I must share that recipe with you guys
but they were so good, they didn't last long enough to be photographed. though
the recipe is floating around pinterest... that's where i stumbled upon it.)
I've decided enough is enough and will only be treating my sweet tooth to such
things once in a blue moon.

Also. I will like to share with you guys that I will be posting here more often
when I get the chance. Which will probably be once every week to once
every other week.

My blogs theme will focus on other things now as well, instead of mostly baked
goods I will be posting about healthier options in the kitchen, fitness tips,
breast feeding support posts (for all of you that may need it), parenting and some
style posts as well... well I must say some indulging baked goods will still make
appearance... So the blog will be very open, focusing on different subjects.

Hope you guys enjoy the feed. Questions and comments are always welcome!

p.s. you can always catch a glimpse of what I'm up to on Instagram.
username: sugar_rabbit