From the heart shortbread
Today, I could not help but want to repost this old Valentine’s day blog. It truly is one of my fondest memories of William. Thinking back on that visit with him always makes me smile. He was the master of fun surprises.
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I continue to be inspired by his amazing brave and caring energy which brings me to this weekend’s TEDx talk. Truth be told I wasn’t exactly sure what a TEDx talk was when I accepted the invitation. I just knew it would be one more way to celebrate Will’s life, so of course I said, “yes”.
Little did I know that being invited to do a TEDx talk is kind of a big deal. Little did I know just how terrified I would be as I prepared for it. In between panic attacks over the last several weeks I prepared 7 pages of my thoughts. Too much I fretted, so whittled it down to 4. I attempted to memorize a speech. Practice, practice, practice. It felt like I was jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. It felt all wrong.
Several supportive friends suggested, “just speak from your heart”. I am taking their advice and feeling less anxious. To just simply speak from the heart feels right.
To further ease my anxiety I thought it a good idea to bake cookies for all 300 people in the TEDx audience. Baking cookies is much more therapeutic than public speaking. Just sayin’. In addition, to bringing the original Sweet William’s Inspired and Spirited Chocolate Chip Cookie I’ve added a Salted Chocolate Whiskey Shortbread because I wanted a heart shaped cookie. From the heart shortbread turned out perfectly.
The cookie dough for the shortbread contains no salt, so don’t hesitate to generously top each cookie with a good sprinkle of finishing salt. I highly recommend The Spice & Tea Exchange Chocolate Sea Salt for its sweet smokey flavor.
PrintSalted Chocolate Whiskey Shortbread
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Description
Spirited with whiskey these are full of flavor.
Ingredients
Salted Chocolate Whiskey Shortbread
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon whiskey (Jack Daniel’s recommended)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
Chocolate Sea Salt or your favorite finishing salt
Instructions
- In large bowl, beat butter and sugar for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. On low speed, add egg, vanilla and whisky; blend well.
- Gradually add flour until fully incorporated.
- Stir in chocolate.
- Dump dough out onto some plastic wrap. Gather it up into a flat disk. Wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a silicone mat or lightly floured surface roll dough to 1/8-1/4-inch thickness. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. Re-roll dough scraps as needed to cut out more cookies.
- Place cookies on baking sheets. Sprinkle generously with finishing salt. Gently press salt into cookie with your fingertips.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes for 1 1/2-inch size cookies or until edges brown. Cool.
Notes
I made about 200 cookies with a small heart shaped cutter.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: shortbread, whiskey, heart-shaped, sweets
On this Valentine’s Day I hope you are surrounded by those you love most. <3
I can’t wait to hear your TedX talk! You are brave! And a tremendous role model. XO
Your story is a powerful one of healing and has inspired me to speak out <3
Those cookies are fantastic. I hope your talk goes well. Wish I could hear it.
The good news (or maybe the bad-depends how it goes) is that the talk will be available on the college web site, Furman University. I will let you know when the link is up.
Awesome! Can’t wait to hear it
It went surprisingly well Whew!
You got this! I have to bake these cookies! They look amazing ❤️
Thanks always for your encouragement. Veronica gifted me that delicious salt and makes the cookies extra special. <3
Lisakeys#amazing. You are loved by many, on heaven & earth.Enjoy your next adventure.
Could not have done this without you and Paul holding me up 💕
You’ll do great, can’t wait to hear it! You’ll have the audience in the palm of your hand with your story (spoken from the heart) and lucky for them to each get a delicious treat. William will be right there with you so no worries mama… <3
I pretty much can hear is voice saying OMG mom not again 😂
Yup…maybe an eye-roll too lol
You are incredibly brave and inspiring Lisa! I know the audience will love you and your delicious cookies. I can’t wait to watch. xoxo
Thanks for listening to my talk and helping me get ready