Shortbread is such a nice little cookie to improvise with.  Starting with a basic short cookie dough, you can gussy it up with any number of things.



Basic Shortbread recipe
10 tablespoons softened butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a mixer bowl beat butter and sugar, salt and vanilla until fluffy.  Mix in flour.  Press into a buttered and floured 8" round cake tin or 8" sq. pan (I use a tart pan with removable bottom) and sprinkle with additional 2 tablespoons sugar.  Cut into wedges or squares and pierce with fork tines. Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes or until lightly browned.  While it is still warm,  re-cut the wedges or squares along the scoured lines.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Sprinkle with sugar, score and pierce with fork tines before baking.

Just out of the oven, recut along scored lines.

For a change, in addition to the all the ingredients in the above recipe I add:

Lemon Shortbread:  Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lemon zest (I like it lemony!)
Chocolate Shortbread:  Add cocoa and shaved bittersweet chocolate
Pepper Shortbread:  Add 1-2 teaspoons of black pepper, depending on taste (sweet and peppery!)
Toffee Shortbread:  Add 1/3 cup or more of Heath Toffee Bits
Cashew Shortbread: Add 1/3 cup chopped roasted and salted cashews and 1 tsp. almond extract.

I've read that shortbread has a long shelf life but it never seems to stay around long enough for us to test that out even though I always double the recipe.

This is my 3rd Water's Edge.  Right now I am at the applied i-cord bind off, my chosen method to finish off the edge.

As for knitting, I'm working on an Easter sweater for my 11 year old granddaughter.  Her dress has yellow and white flowers on a black background so I choose a black cotton/wool blend to make a mini Water's Edge sized down for her little self.  I'm keeping notes if anyone is interested, but yesterday I found out that the girls behind Coastal Knits, from where this pattern comes, are sizing the patterns down for a new book for little ones!   Great idea!

Garden displays are lovely.

I want each and everyone of these.

Lacey ferns.

Redbud maybe?

Step inside and their displays are even prettier.

A wall of orchids!

Freeze dried boxwood displayed in a vintage toy truck.

And excellent selection of Arte Italica.

Itty bitty glass bottles that sell by the scoopful!

It's hard to tell between the faux and the real.

Pineapple jugs.

And a pineapple plant.

Fresh tulips and runuculus.

I loved the fresh protea.

Freeze dried boxwood topiaries for the mantel.

Fresh green protea for St. Patty's Day.  They said it would last several weeks.

Massive and comical faux succulent on a stem.