Well, it is. My mother brought me some this weekend. She spoils me, still, at age 30. Along with the butter, she brought her favorites from the Greek market — a tin of olive oil, a branch of dried oregano, a block of manouri cheese — along with some pantry items she knows I hate spending money on (cheesecloth and parchment paper). Of course, there were some baked goods in the mix, too: Bakery Lane’s honey-whole wheat bread and toasted coconut-raspberry jam bars. Delicious. As my mother says, I felt like a bride. But the butter — the gold foil-wrapped bars of Kerrygold Butter — which is made in Ireland from the milk of grass-fed cows is truly special. It’s definitely a splurge, too, best saved perhaps for spreading on good bread or topping simply with radish slices and flaky sea salt. Or, if you’re feeling luxurious, you could use it to make shortbread. Several months ago, after watching Thomas Keller make polenta waffles and fried chicken on tv using his new Cup4Cup flour — a gluten-free mix that can be subbed one-for-one with all-purpose flour — I immediately ordered a bag. Beyond curiosity, I didn’t have a reason to buy this gluten-free flour, but I’m so happy I did. So far, and I’ve only made a couple of things (shortbread and waffles), I’m impressed. It’s pricey, certainly, but it’s a good product — worth it for the mere convenience of being able to use it in nearly any pastry, dessert, or quick bread. Inspired by a recent visit to 2Amys, where a wedge of lemon shortbread stole the show (after the pizza of course), I used the Cup4Cup to make a gluten-free shortbread using my favorite Melissa Clark recipe as a guide. A few simple adjustments to the recipe — lemon-thyme for the rosemary and the addition of fresh lemon zest — produced a lemon shortbread to swoon over. I can’t stop eating it. PS: One of my favorite things to make for my gluten-free friends is my favorite brownie recipe but with the flour substituted by almond flour. So simple and delicious! When making shortbread, it’s important to not over pulse the dough. This is about what the mixture should look like: 5 from 1 review A few notes: The thyme or lemon-thyme is purely optional. It’s a very subtle flavor, one I really like, but if you’re not into herbed sweets, just leave it out.
