Category: Food&Recipes

My second batch of Shortbread was a learning experience, mostly about ingredients. I wanted to find a traditional Scottish shortbread recipe that was simple to make and still used authentic ingredients. Since there were really only three major ingredients…flour, butter and sugar…I could see how just a few changes could affect the final product…or not! My one adjustment to all the recipes was to start with melted butter instead of cutting it into the flour. By starting with melted butter, I found regular granulated sugar worked just fine and dissolved easily (which was the point of using the fine ‘castor sugar’ in the first place).

Basically, some recipes called for all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of corn starch, or finely-milled flour with some rice flour added and powdered sugar instead of granulated. Since I was starting my batch with melted butter (which really wasn’t “traditional” compared to cutting the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, I wanted to keep the rest of the ingredients plain and simple.

Here is my final recipe for Shortbread:

Finally, the last ingredient I added was Almond extract (vanilla would be good also.) Some traditional recipes suggested caraway seeds or candied citrus peels for flavor. Not what I had in mind!

So, here are the steps to make this batch of shortbread. I made a double batch so I could share them at a meeting, but it was still pretty simple.

Making Mary’s Highland Shortbread (see the recipe above for ingredients for a single batch):

1. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees F. and prepared a 9″ x 13″ cake pan with spray oil.
2. I measured out the sugar and salt into a medium bowl.

I did buy some ‘castor sugar’ from King Arthur’s website, but I don’t think it was necessary. In the future I’ll use regular granulated sugar.

It was pretty lumpy but dissolved easily in the melted butter. Regular sugar would also melt in the hot butter.

3. I melted the butter and added it to the sugar and salt. It stirred up easily.

I added the Almond extract to the melted butter/sugar mixture.

4. I measured out the flour and added it to the butter/sugar mixture. This made a very stiff dough but was easy to mix by hand.

5. I scooped the thick batter into the prepared pan and pressed the pile into the corners and flattened the top with a spatula.

6. I pricked the top with a fork and actually sprinkled some coarse sugar on top just for fun. Certainly not a necessary part of the recipe!

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and firm.

8. While warm, cut the shortbread in the pan with a table knife into 1″ x 3-4″ pieces but leave them in the pan until cool.

9. When cool, remove the pieces to a plate for serving or store in an air tight container. May be frozen.

Regardless what size pan you use the final pile of shortbread looks pretty yummy!

I was just reading a novel set in the Scottish Highlands and came across this recipe online. I had to give it a try. My maternal grandfather’s line did go back to the Irish coastal region and my mother always said his lineage was ‘Scotch-Irish’ but I don’t recall ever tasting shortbread like this! I’m thinking I could add a batch of this shortbread to the offerings at our next bake sale…next to the pile of scones I bake!

Just a thought…this was my first try. They tasted good. However, I did another search for ‘authentic shortbread’ and found another recipe. I’ll try it next. Stay tuned for my second try.

This recipe appealed to me because I could melt the butter instead of having to cut it in to the flour.

The recipe called for cornstarch, sugar (or a mix of regular and powdered sugar) and flour.

First, I measured out the cornstarch, sugar, salt and flour.

Then, I added the dry ingredients to the melted butter.

This made a nice dough, easy to mix.

I patted the dough into an 8″ x 8″ pan that was sprayed with oil.

About halfway into the baking, I realized I had forgotten to poke holes in the dough, so I pulled it out of the oven, poked holes and sprinkled coarse sugar on top (I had forgotten to do that too!).

It baked about 45 minutes at 300 degrees F. After removing it from the oven, I cut the pan into small finger-sized servings with a table knife and let it cool in the pan.

When completely cool, I scored the servings again. They easily lifted right out of the pan. They were delicious! I shared them with Kathy’s family last weekend. They were a hit! I still plan to try the other ‘authentic’ recipe, which cuts the butter into the flour and uses regular sugar that’s been buzzed in the blender to make it finer. I’ll post that next…after I try it! I think some form of shortbread will make an appearance at the next bake sale! Enjoy!

If you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.

Two weeks ago, our Ladies Auxiliary to the Boalsburg Fire Company had a very successful Yard and Bake Sale for the community. My huge pot of Sweet Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini was very popular and we sold it down to the last drop! You can read about the recipe at https://marykisner.com/making-italian-sausage-soup-with-tortellini and try making it yourself! For the sale I tripled the recipe, so it was quite a pot of soup!

Today, Bert and I made a single batch of Chicken Tortellini Soup, hoping to see if it would be acceptable as an additional soup for the second day of the sale. This time, instead of Italian sausage, I bought a rotisserie chicken. I picked off all the meat and cut it all into bite-size pieces. I put the cut chicken (4 cups) into a quart-size zip bag and put it in the freezer. It was easy to just take it out of the freezer and dump it into the pot today.

Of course, the left-over chicken carcass is always tricky to dispose of…since we’ve learned we can’t put smelly stuff like that in the garbage cans outside until the morning of garbage pickup. (Thanks to roaming animals…like bears…we’ve had to clean up the toppled trash cans and garbage more than once! No problem! I just put the whole mess of skin and bones into a big zip bag and put it in the freezer! We’ll add it to the garbage next Wednesday morning. [Note: If I was in the mood, I could take the chicken carcass and boil it for a few hours and make my own stock…but for now I can let it go.])

Here is the recipe for the Chicken Tortellini Soup:

This soup can all be made in one large pot. Start by sauteing the onion in butter.

While it was warming up, we chopped up all the vegetables and measured out the spices. We decided to add 2 tsp of chicken bouillon for flavor and we didn’t need to add salt to the recipe.

The carrots we dug up from the garden are BEAUTIFUL!

Celery

Garlic, Italian seasoning, Parsley

We wanted a meaty soup, so we used the whole 4 cups of chicken. We had to thaw it out to get the pile out of the zip bag!

Since it was too early for supper, we put the whole soup pot in the refrigerator. When it was time for supper, we heated it up and added the tortellini.

This recipe made a great soup! Give it a try! I think if I triple the recipe, I will feed lots of people at next spring’s bake sale! Enjoy!

If you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com

I’d like to share a recipe that makes a delicious, hearty soup! I needed to find an alternate soup to make for our Yard Sale/Bake Sale next weekend (Sept. 11 & 12). If you are local, come join us at the Boalsburg Fire Hall Friday (9-2) and Saturday (9-1).

In the past we had offered a Chicken Corn Noodle Soup and it just didn’t seem as popular as in the past. So, I decided to try this Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini instead. This recipe is from https://allrecipes.com.

This first batch was just for us to see if it would even work. I’ll triple the recipe if the tortellini holds together. I needed something that could simmer for 3-4 hours and still look like tortellini. Usually, noodles worked well, but I knew fresh tortellini just got HUGE and then fell apart if simmered too long. I had corkscrew pasta ready, but I thought I’d try dried tortellini first.

Here is the recipe:

We started with 1-pound of sweet Italian sausage…loose like a package of hamburger. Bert cooked it and drained it in a bowl lined with paper towels. (Sorry…I didn’t catch a picture of the frying pan!)

While Bert was cooking, I chopped up celery, carrots and onions. We decided to skip the zucchini. We didn’t think it would be sturdy enough to simmer for 3-4 hours.

I measured out the minced garlic, basil, parsley and oregano:

I got the Beef Broth and cooked tomatoes out of the pantry:

Bert donated a bottle of red wine (we needed 1/2 cup!). If this works, we’ll save the rest for the triple batch of soup next week (at least another cup and a half!)

This all got assembled in our 5-quart pan and was brought to a boil.

When the vegetables were soft, we dumped in an 8-oz bag of dried tortellini.

Once stirred up, we let it simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Wow…it made a huge pile of soup!

This soup needed no additional seasoning, but it could have used more liquid…or less tortellini. It really sucked up the juice.

Finally, we let the soup simmer for several hours, just like it will at the Bake sale. It still tasted great. The best thing…the tortellini held together! I’ll take an extra box of broth to add if necessary after simmering for 2-3 hours, just in case!

We now have a great recipe to make soup for a crowd…or at least a hearty soup for us this winter! Enjoy!

If you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.

While it has been many years since I made Rice Krispies squares for my kids, I’ve noticed that this treat has been popular at various bake sales. I’ve also seen these treats packaged for lunch boxes in the cookie/snack aisle at the store and even sold at the local Sheetz convenience store! After making several batches lately for our local bake sale, I thought I’d share a few tips to make the process easier if you’d like to do it yourself.

Supplies

You will need (1) a 9″ x 13″ cake pan for one batch, sprayed with oil; (2) a large spoon to mix the Rice Krispies into the melted marshmallows; (3) a sturdy silicone spatula that is strong enough to press the mixture into the cake pan; (4) a table knife to cut the Rice Krispies apart when cool.

Ingredients

You will need only three ingredients: 6 cups of Rice Krispies, 5 1/2 cup small marshmallows, and 3 Tablespoons of butter.

Luckily, the recipe is on every box of Rice Krispies!

And the marshmallows are sold right across the aisle in the baking section!

And butter:

Making the Rice Krispies Squares

I measured out the Rice Krispies and the marshmallows:

I melted the 3 Tablespoons of butter in a large pot on medium low.

When the butter was almost melted, I dumped in the marshmallows:

When the marshmallows were almost all melted, I dumped in the Rice Krispies and mixed it up.

It didn’t need to be smooth, just so most of the Rice Krispies had some sticky marshmallow on them.

Then, using the sturdy silicone spatula (sprayed with oil) scoop out the mixture into the cake pan.

Use the spatula to press the mixture into all the corners and continue to flatten the mixture. I had to use both hands on the spatula to get it pretty flat and even across the whole pan.

At this point, let the pan sit for an hour or so, just to make sure it’s completely cool.

REMINDER: Soak your pan with hot soapy water until the bits of Rice Krispies can be loosened from the pan. I think melted marshmallows could be a great glue substitute!

The final step is to cut them apart into squares. I can never cut them straight so they are all the same size, so I asked Bert for help. Remember, he’s an engineer so of course it took a little planning to finish the batch! (smile) However, I ended up with 6 beautiful squares from each 9″ x 13″ pan. I now have 24 big Rice Krispies Squares to sell at the Memorial Day Bake Sale!

So, don’t be afraid to make Rice Krispies Squares for a bake sale…or for your family! The sturdy, oiled silicone spatula was key to easily spreading out the sticky pile of Rice Krispies and marshmallows!

Please email me directly if you have comments or questions: maryjkisner@gmail.com.

I posted about making ANZAC biscuits last August, 2025 (see https://marykisner.com/making-anzac-biscuits/). I recently saw a note on my paper calendar that reminded me of this national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga. It’s close enough to our Memorial Day festivities that I thought I’d revisit that blog entry from last year. Of course, it’s a reminder just in time in case I want to make these cookies for the Auxiliary Bake Sale next week. Enjoy!

Here’s a repost of that story!

Making ANZAC Biscuits

What in the world is an ANZAC biscuit? These cookies (or “biscuits” as they are called in the UK and Australia/New Zealand) are considered a traditional cookie to honor ANZAC day in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga.

“Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served”. Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).” (See more at https://anzacspirit.com.au/blog/the-traditions-of-anzac-day/)

Several sources online suggest wives and mothers would mail these cookies to their soldiers in ANZAC, because without eggs and being quite sturdy, they traveled and kept well. Other sources said, “Contrary to legend, Anzac biscuits weren’t sent to our troops serving overseas in WWI. However, they were commonly sold at church fetes and galas to raise funds for the war effort. They didn’t get their name until peacetime, with the first Anzac recipe appearing in about 1919.”

You can see, the history of the ANZAC biscuits has been around for over 100 years! Whether they were popular in Australia and New Zealand because they traveled well, or they made a good baked item to raise funds, I might have to bake some to sell at our Boalsburg Fire Company Auxiliary Yard Sale in a few weeks. If I include the recipe and a little history, they might generate some interest and sales!

Because they were popular in Australia, they are called biscuits…like cookies are called in the UK. However, they are basically a simple Oatmeal Coconut Cookie. They are sturdy and could travel well in the mail.

Here’s the recipe I followed. I added vanilla and cinnamon to my recipe just because!

The ingredient list is pretty simple. After making 2-3 batches and reading several variations of the recipe at various sources, already I can see a few simple changes.

Making the ANZAC Biscuits:

1. Assemble the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

(This is when I added cinnamon…to the dry ingredients.)

2. Melt 1 stick of butter and add 2 tbsp of honey and mix well. (This is when I added the vanilla.)

3. Put the baking soda in a small cup and add 2 Tbsp. boiling water. This was a real pain in the neck…next time I’ll add the baking soda and water to the melted butter and just mix it up.

4. Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients to make a moist batter. Scoop about a tablespoon or two into your hand and form into a ball. Place on cookie sheet and flatten gently with your hand. They will spread and flatten as they cook.

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes (to make firm chewy cookies) or about 18 minutes to make them a little crunchy. Rotate trays as needed midway.

This made 14-16 cookies…each 3-4 inches across! They can be made smaller and the recipe can be doubled. Might be the perfect cookie to sell at our bake sale! Enjoy!

Please email me directly if you have comments or questions: maryjkisner@gmail.com.

This last week has been intense while I’ve been tracking all the food I’m eating and testing my blood sugar four times a day! Next week I meet with a specialist to discuss everything about the meds I’m taking and the food I should be eating to manage my blood sugar. So far, I’m doing well at tracking and I can see the immediate results of the benefits of low-carb eating on my blood sugar. My health care providers (April and Laura, who both read this blog…smile) would be very proud of me! You are my inspiration to tackle this issue!

Several weeks ago a young neighbor girl came to our door selling hoagies as a fund-raiser for her school. We always try to help. Of course, the hoagies arrived yesterday afternoon! I knew I could not consider the bun part of my new food plan! So, I opened the package to see what I could salvage for supper.

The meat and cheese were in the bun, with all the other components shrink-wrapped and laid inside. Very easy to deal with.

I started by putting the lettuce and tomato slices in my salad bowl. I usually like more tomato and lettuce in a salad, so I added some:

I set aside the mayo, dressing, pickles and chopped onion…Bert often uses my onions! Then I chopped half of the turkey and cheese. The other half went into the fridge for my next salad!

Finally, I wanted more vegetables in my salad, so I added some chunks of yellow sweet pepper and a few sugar snap peas.

This all made a great salad!

So, what happened to the rest of the hoagie? The other half of the meat and cheese went into the refrigerator.

The mayonnaise also went into the refrigerator. Bert liked the idea so he deconstructed his hoagie and added my onions, pickles and dressing to his salad. We were left with two buns. Bert ripped them apart and put them near the bird feeders. They are visited by various animals during the night. So, no waste!

This is helping me think about the challenges of eating at a restaurant. Most places have some kind of garden salad. I should be able to order a plain hamburger or meat entre and put it on top of a salad, right? I usually bring my own dressing so that works!

Anyway, while I’m staying out of the kitchen, I seem to be able to really crank out greyhound coats. It keeps my hands busy and Nittany Greyhounds is grateful for the coats! Enjoy!

If you have comments, questions or ideas for low-carb meals, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.