The Best Shortbread Ever

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Hello everybody!!!! One Cake a Day is returning after a short break. I was fulfilling my duties for college, and needless to say this end of term was overwhelming. But at last I'm done (at least for this term), and I'm happy and ready to continue my passion here in One Cake a Day. 

In the lasts weeks full of stress and work i was filling at the end of the day (late night) craving for cookies. So I start to look for tasty cookies recipes, but i needed something simple to prepare because i was too tired to mix 800 ingredients and after that wait for 2 hours until the dough had cooled enough to be able to bake and after that i didn't want to wait 15 minutes until the cookies were done! 


And the solution? Shortbread cookies. easy, simple, short waiting time and semi-addictive the best solution after a horrible day pushing technology projects... 


Well then HERE is The Best Shortbread Ever
Ingredients
2 cups butter (softened)
1 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract (you can experiment with  almond, rum, orange, lemon)
4 cups all purpose flour
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 F, cream butter and sugar until fluffy,  stir in the extract, add flour and salt, mix well. 
Chill dough for 30 minutes 
Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick (do not roll very thin or the cookies will over tan)
Bake 8-10 minutes, until the edges are slightly tan.
Cool in cooling grid and enjoy!
In my one of my experiments I used a mold for mini pies and let it bake for 18 minutes ..... 
After a long day of work .....  The Best Shortbread Ever (great with ice tea)

Citrus Cupcakes Spring Ready!

This recipe is from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book but I modified for better results. The recipe allows about 24 cupcakes. (para la version en español mira el post que esta debajo de este)

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt 
• 2 cups of oil (moist but the cupcakes will not get tanned) or 4 sticks of butter (tanned cupcakes not as moist) or replace half of the butter for apple sauce (less fat, but rich and tanned cupcakes)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoon finely grated (lemon, orange and lime) zest (3 tablespoons of each)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 9 large eggs room temperature

1. Preheat oven at 325F
2. In a bowl mix flour and salt
3. In a mixer cream butter and sugar until fluffy / or if you are using oil and sugar until well mixed /  or  butter, apple sauce and sugar until fluffy
4. Add citrus zests to the mix
5. reduce mixer speed to medium and add vanilla
6. Add eggs, beat until everything is incorporated
7. Reduce speed to low and add slowly the flour and salt mix until everything is incorporated.
8. Fill the cupcake pan with the mix,  fill each tin  3/4 full (the mix does not have baking powder then is not going to raise a lot so you have to fill the tins 3/4 full! )
9. Bake for about 20 minutes until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean.
10. pull out the cupcakes from the pan and place them in a cooling rack. let them cool completely before decorating with glaze

Citrus Glaze 


1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar.
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. whisk together all ingredients until completely incorporated. place the mix in a decorating bag; poor the glaze over cupcakes tops, garnish with lime zest.

Voila! enjoy! XOXO