Hi friends! Can you believe it? ALBTALBS is five! Five! I know! We’re limping along here, and I’ve got a bunch of fun guests this month. I also have to say I LOVE this post and OMG COOKIES. Thank you, Luanna!!! She’s kicking off all the wonderful festivities with delicious treats.

I’ve asked everyone participating in the blogiversary festivities to come up with a list of “Top 5” or “5 Favorite” or just anything remotely related to the number 5. 😀

My Five favourite cookie recipes:

Yes, it’s the season for New Year resolutions. But I’ve never met a resolution that hasn’t failed. Whether it’s to eat less, or exercise more, (or vice versa? I suppose there could be people who need to put on weight and slow down) I generally get to late January and my willpower goes on hiatus.

If you’re like me and need a sweetie to end a meal, or you need a mid-day boost, here are my five all-time favourite cookie recipes. The first four are from either my family or hubby’s. The last one, for which I’ve given a link, makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever invented, ever. You may notice a preponderance of butter in these recipes. That’s because, as far as my family recipes go, these were developed in the olden days, when butter or lard were the fats of choice for baking.

Shortbread Cookies
1 cup butter, softened 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 cups all purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 300 F. Cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth. Mix in flour, cornstarch and salt. Beat well. Roll on floured surface to a thickness of ¼ inch. Cut in festive shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes, or until there is barely any colour along the edge. Cool on wire rack.

Pecan Fingers
1 cup butter, softened ¼ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 Tablespoon water
2 cups all purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups pecans, finely ground
Cream butter, sugar, vanilla and water. Add flour, salt and nuts. Mix well. Chill for one hour. Preheat oven to 250 F. Form dough into small rolls, about the size of your little finger. Bake for 1 hour, dust with extra powdered sugar while still warm. Cool on wire rack.

Sugar Cookies
½ cup butter, softened ½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup powdered sugar ½ granulated sugar
1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Cream together butter, oil, sugars, egg and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar. Mix well. Chill for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 F. Scoop 1 Tablespoon of dough, roll it into ball, and place on parchment lined cookie sheet, spacing a few inches apart. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass dipped in coloured sugar. Bake for 8 or 9 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Cool on wire rack.

Currant Squares
I cup flour 1 cup butter, softened slightly
1 Tablespoon powdered sugar pinch of salt
Mix well, press into bottom of 8×8 pan. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes.

1 cup currants pinch of salt
1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla 2 teaspoons flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
Mix well and spread on crust. Bake at 350 F for an additional 25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into small squares.

Joy’s Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans

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An old crime
and an irresistible new lead…

When her wealthy art dealer father died, Heather James was expecting a fortune. Instead, his bank account was empty and Heather’s working in a bakery, wondering exactly what happened to her father’s millions…until someone tries to kill her.

Tony Simons is on the trail of an art theft cold case that’s practically giving him frostbite. He’s hoping that by sticking close to Heather – the daughter of his deceased prime suspect – he’ll find the answers he needs. Instead, he’s finding himself distracted by a gorgeous woman who drives him crazy in every way imaginable…

Now Tony’s in serious trouble. Even if Heather can’t – or won’t – tell him where the stolen paintings and money are, she may well have stolen his heart.

And now someone wants her dead…

Bio: Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. As soon as she discovered her grandmother’s stash of romance novels, all plots had to lead to a happily-ever-after.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Luanna now lives in Maine with her dear husband, two college boys, and two cats. When she’s not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious.

Writing under the pen name Grace Hood, she has two novellas published with The Wild Rose Press. She is excited to have a book published under her own name with Entangled Publishing.

Whee! Not only did Luanna share all those awesome recipes – I cannot wait to try the last one!! (Although – sans pecans, of course) – she’s also offering a prize!!! One lucky commenter will get a $5 Starbucks giftcard! … >.> Or you know, nobody comment so the prize defaults to me. *angelface*

It’s BLOGIVERSARY TIME!!!