A new culinary hobby has found its way into my writing life.

I’ve always been attracted to baking. I love the science of it. The exactness of the measurements required for a recipe to turn out correctly.

I learned in high school Home Economics class the importance of placing flour into a measuring cup by the spoonful instead of scooping it out of the bag with the measuring cup, which packs in too much flour.

As a child, I enjoyed making peanut butter cookies, brownies, and Christmas cookies with my mother, as well as pies with the neighbor’s apples that fell over the fence into our yard.

As I grew older, I regressed to box mixes for most of my baking. In fact, it wasn’t until I met my now husband and his foodie friends that I rekindled my love of baking from scratch.

And now, I even have a specialty.

About three years ago, my husband mentioned that he likes shortbread cookies, and the thought struck me that I might be able to accommodate that particular desire. I’d hesitated to bake as an adult because I didn’t like having the sweets around the house, tempting me to eat them. But since I’d given up sugar and flour as part of my keto diet, and the sugar cravings had all but subsided, I looked up a few recipes online and surprised him with a fresh batch of homemade shortbread cookies.

He loved them and said that, in his opinion, they were better than Walker’s Shortbread, which is high praise. When asked if he’d like to have them around on a regular basis, he said yes.

After looking around at the mess from making one batch, I realized that it was more efficient to make five batches of cookie dough at a time, since the dough needs to be refrigerated before slicing anyway. The remaining four blocks of dough go into the freezer. Now, once the dough is softened enough to slice, I can have a batch of fresh shortbread in and out of the oven in less than 20 minutes. Interestingly, my husband tells me that these are one of the few types of cookies that don’t taste good warm.

If my shortbread cookie-making had ended with that—baking cookies for my husband and friends—I would have been satisfied, but life had other things in store.

I recently attended the Scottish Highland Games in Itasca, Illinois. The festival’s organizer, a friend of mine, had heard rave reviews about my cookies from my husband and encouraged me to enter my cookies in the shortbread cookie contest. Long story short, I did, and I won!

I was honored that my cookies were deemed yummy enough to win, but the first thought that popped into my mind was that I now have something fun to add to my otherwise rather pedestrian author bio—award-winning baker.

And the funniest part is that I’ve never had a bite of one of my own cookies. I know myself too well and I’m much better at abstaining than moderation. I am, however, thinking about creating a keto version.

Here’s my award-winning recipe if you’re interested. I recommend using the best unsalted butter you can find (I use Kerrygold) and add kosher salt to provide a pop of flavor in every bite.

Jennifer’s Shortbread Cookies

Servings 16-20 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

10 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature (142g)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (optional)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 180g

INSTRUCTIONS:

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and vanilla extract until creamed.
• Add confectioners sugar and salt; mix until combined.
• Scrape bowl down and add flour while beating on low. Scrape bowl once more and mix until combined.
• Shape the dough into a rectangular prism, wrap in plastic and chill until firm. At least an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350F. Use a sharp knife to cut 1/2 inch thick slices.
• Place slices, spaced at least an inch apart, onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Use a fork or skewer to indent a pattern onto the top.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet in the oven halfway through.
• Transfer to a wire sheet to cool.

NOTE: I slice my cookies a bit thinner and get 24-28 cookies per batch.