Candied Buddha’s Hand-Olive Oil Shortbread for #fbcookieswap v.2014

When I was trying to decide what cookies I would make for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap of 2014, I raised the question of cookie flavor combinations to social media. I received lots of great suggestions from matcha-toffee to rose-ginger and from pumpkin-cranberry to peanut butter-pretzel. But, in the end, my cookie was determined by this...

Buddha's Hand Citron are just too cool not to incorporate into a cookie! Have you ever used a Buddha's Hand? Here's a brief intro to Buddha's Hand.

Ingredients

• 3 C flour
• 1 C organic powdered sugar
• ¼ C organic granulated sugar
• 1 T limoncello
• ¼ C chopped candied Buddha’s Hand citron*
• zest from 1 organic lemon
• 1/2 t fleur de sel
• 1 C good quality olive oil

Procedure

*Candied Buddha's Hand Citron (do this ahead of time)...

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, limoncello, candied citron, lemon zest, and fleur de sel. Pour in the olive oil and stir until the dry mixture is completely incorporated into a cohesive ball.

Transfer the dough to a baking dish. My stoneware didn't require greasing, but you might want to grease your dish first. Use your fingers to press the dough into an even layer. Prick the surface of the dough all over with a fork; I also cut score marks for the squares.

Bake until the surface feels firm to the touch and is slightly golden around the edges, approximately 50 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven, re-score the shortbread, and let cool for 20 minutes.

Using a very sharp knife, slice the shortbread into the pieces. Let cool completely before removing from the pan.

This was such a fun project...and for such a great cause. I will definitely participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2015! Be a good cookie and join the fun next year.

Here's a special message from the Cookies for Kids' Cancer team:

"The Cookies for Kids' Cancer team wants to extend a big thank you for participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. By simply swapping cookies, you helped raise funds for pediatric cancer research, bringing HOPE to children battling this ruthless disease. Being a Good Cookie does not have to end here. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a 365-day a year non-profit, with bake sales happening in all 50 states. Simply go to cookiesforkidscancer.org to learn more about the cause, to register to host an event or  send cookies to your friends and family this holiday season. And thank you for being a Good Cookie!"

For this year's Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I was assigned to ship to Sonja of Ginger & Toasted Sesame, Kelsey of Taste for Trouble, and Robin of A Shaggy Dough Story. I hope they enjoyed these. I'll post links to the entire round-up later. Look for it. You'll have plenty of inspiration for those holiday cookie platters!

And if you want to join the fun next year, visit this link and sign up for a notification. I know I'll be doing this again.











Thanks, too, to the gals who baked for me. Alice of Dining with Alice. Heidi of Awesome with Sprinkles. And Rebecca of BakeNQuilt. My family and I really appreciated the sweets...and I loved the inspiration to log a few extra miles on my running shoes.