Scottish Shortbread Gift Tutorial

Hello! Christine from the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog.  I love a good shortbread and it seems like such a classic holiday treat.  This shortbread is easy to make, and only requires three ingredients.  Package it up, and you have an easy holiday gift.

Scottish Shortbread

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 cups (4 sticks) butter

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Cream butter and brown sugar.  Slowly add 3 to 3 3/4 cups flour.  Mix well.

3.  Sprinkle board of silpat with flour, and knead the mixture, adding enough flour to make a soft dough.  Roll to 1/2 inch thickness.  Cut into 3x1 strips.  Prick with a fork and place on ungreased baking sheets (mine worked best on parchment paper).

4. Bake for 17 to 25 minutes (check in on them, mine took just the 17 minutes, while the originally recipe recommended a minimum of 20 minutes).

Packaging:

I packed these up in a cheap, cute container that you can pick up at your local Target, Wal-mart, or dollar store.  I took a piece of tissue, but added a sheet of wax paper to separate it from the cookies (so it didn't get greasy).  Place into the container and fill with cookies.  Fold the paper over, making sure the wax paper still separates the cookies from the tissue, close and gift.

You can decorate with additional ribbon, paper, or anything else you choose based on your package.

Toffee Nut Bars Tutorial

Hello, Christine from the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog!  This week I bring you another delicious treat that can be easily dressed up as a yummy gift.  You can do this with virtually anything, but I like these bars because they hold their shape well, and they look great all  packaged up.

The recipe calls these toffee bars though there isn't actually any toffee inside.  The buttery, sugary, shortbread does have a nutty, toffee taste, without the actual use of toffee or having to caramelize anything.

Toffee Bars

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

6 (1.55 ounce) milk chocolate bars

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar.  Beat in egg yolk and vanilla.  Gradually add flour and salt, beating until smooth.

2. Press into greased 9x13in baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 17-19 minutes, or until light golden brown.

3. Immediately place chocolate bars on top (it will not cover the top fully) and place pan back into the oven for 1 minute.  Remove from oven and with an offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate over the shortbread.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Cool, then cut into bars.

Packaging:

When the bars were completely cool, I layered them, separating with a piece of wax paper.

Wrap with cellophane or put into a decorative bag.

Tie with ribbon, add a tag, and you have a delicious gift!