“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, and sometimes some photos of family fun. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!

My birthday buddy gave me a tin of yummy cookies she made for me… this week’s recipe… it’s hard to believe we have been celebrating together for nearly 40 years! Two interesting house listings… one on the Mississippi River that sold right away with multiple offers, and one a unique ‘Walker House‘ about 130 years old that will be on the market soon.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
My birthday buddy Linda is a super baker, and I was the lucky recipient of a tin of pecan shortbread cookies for my birthday… I am so glad she agreed to share her recipe!

PECAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES
makes about 3 dozen cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour, minus 2 tablespoons
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (toast them slightly in a pan on the stove before chopping; can also be ground into a flour consistency)
Combine the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla. Add flour and ground nuts. Mix until dough sticks together.
Squeeze dough together with your hands so it forms a ball. Divide the ball in two and place each one on a large square of plastic wrap.
Shape each ball into a long, wrap plastic around it and roll about 2″thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut dough into 1/4″ slices and put on baking sheet about 1″ apart.
Bake 12-15 minutes until edges are golden brown but not dark. Cool and store in an airtight container. They also freeze well.