Roses and Bites

Despite the utter neglect of my roses this year including lack of mulch, no dormant oil spay, no Epsom Salts, sporadic watering, and minimal feeding, the faithful bushes continue to produce lovely blooms. Here are some of the last of them for the year including Mr. Lincoln, Abraham Darby, and Memorial Day:

After plucking these beauties, I enjoyed another round of baking.

I cut the recipe for Shortbread Bites out of the December 2003 issue of Good Housekeeping. Although I looked longingly at the picture for years, I never realized my dream of making them...until today.

They are very simple and quick to make. You might want to consider doubling the recipe. I could eat these in one afternoon:

Shortbread Bites

Prep: 30 minutes plus cooling
Bake: about 18 minutes per batch
Makes: 160 cookies

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick), cut up (no substitutions or don't bother to make 'em)
1 TBSP red and green nopareils or sprinkles (I used multi-colored)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In food processor with knife blade attached, pulse flour and sugar until combined. Add butter and pulse until dough begins to come together. Place dough in medium bowl. With hand, gently knead in nonpareils until evenly blended and dough forms a ball.
3. On lightly floured waxed paper, pat dough into 8" by 5" rectangle; freeze 15 minutes. Cut dough into 1/2-inch squares. Place squares 1/2 inch apart on ungreased large cookie sheet.
4. Bake cookies 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Store cookies in tightly covered container at room temperature up to 1 week, or in freezer up to 3 months.

From Good Housekeeping Magazine December 2003