Vanilla leaves

In recent baking news I whipped up a batch of leaf-shaped vanilla shortbread for the little ones (this time deviating from heart shapes to be "seasonal"). This is one of the simplest recipes I have for a treat the kiddies go hog-wild over. It uses, um, an unhealthy amount of butter and a generous amount of sugar. I can dress them up with colored sugar crystals or leave 'em bare. It doesn't matter what they look like because they'll be gobbled up just the same.

The occasion for pulling out this recipe was girl-child's return to normal foods on the heels of nearly two weeks of a very boring low-iodine diet. The low-iodine diet was imposed for medical reasons and, thankfully, temporarily. Foods we take for granted were necessarily made scarce, such as dairy, most breads, burgers, chips, candy, etc. Girl-child was a trooper throughout yet we both counted down the days she could have her tasty favorites like potato fries, sourdough bread with loads of butter, milk, and mint chocolate chip ice cream. In the middle of her restricted diet, girl-child asked that when she returned to normal foods, could I bake her favorite vanilla shortbread. Of course I can, baby. You did good.