Innkeeper Industry Blogposts

Most of my posts on the Eight Broads Blog involve significant amounts of butter and sugar. I admit it: I love to bake. Quite often, I've felt guilty about this love of baking with an underlying thought that I should be making healthier dishes. Until recently.

"Confections of a Closet Master Baker", by Gesine Bullock-Prado is a must read for all who love to bake! The memoir is a funny, reflective, and touching story of a woman leaving Hollywood business (Gesine was her sister's, Sandra Bullock, business manager) to open a bakery in Vermont.
Gesine openly describes her love of butter and sugar, baking wonderful confections. And she's a thin woman! So here's a delightful tart well suited for a special candlelight dinner. Cheers to all bakers out there.

INGREDIENTS
Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Filling:
1 cup wild huckleberry jam (raspberry or blackberry jam may be substituted)
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Glaze:
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup icing sugar

DIRECTIONS
To make crust: Mix together flour, baking powder and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat in the egg and lemon peel until just blended. Do not overmix. Pat dough onto bottom of a greased 10 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. Allow crust to cool.

To make filling: Stir together jam and 1/2 cup pecans, and spread evenly over the crust. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla and pecans until blended. Pour nut mixture over jam. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool.

To make glze: Whisk together sour cream, vanilla and icing sugar. Drizzle over tart.

Makes 8 servings.

Lookout Point Lakeside Inn
http://www.LookoutPointInn.com
Kristie Rosset
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

Spiced Pancakes aka Dave's Favorite Pancakes

If there is any pancake batter left over, thin with a bit more buttermilk and a bit of club soda and make as crepes. Delicious with sauteed apples.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups sifted flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup Club Soda

DIRECTIONS

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl. Combine eggs, buttermilk, club soda and oil in another. Mix together and let sit for about ten minutes before spooning onto a hot griddle.

The William Henry Miller Inn
http://www.millerinn.com
Lynnette Scofield
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

Eggs Benedict different from the most well known version but these are soooo good!
INGREDIENTS

6 slices of bread cut thickly (we use our homemade Country White)
6 slices of a ripe tomato
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 and 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup Half and Half
3/4 cup milk (we use skim)
4 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

This dish is so versatile, you can prepare most of it the day before serving or the morning that you will set this magnificent dish before your family and guests.
"Shingle" the bread in a greased 9 by 13 baking dish. 
Mix liquids together and pour half of those over the bread and sprinkle with half of the grated cheeses.
Top with the remainder of the egg mix.

Bake uncovered 15 minutes and then remove from the oven.  Top with the tomato and the remaining cheese.
Bake 12-13 minutes longer.

Top with a poached egg and Hollandaise if desired.
The William Henry Miller Inn
http://www.millerinn.com/
Lynnette Scofield
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

That combo is Austin Texas and five hundred innkeepers!
March 8-11 and Austin Texas may never be the same!  What a wonderful city and what a wonderful city to hold a conference.  This year's PAII (Professional Association of Innkeepers' International) Conference made its way to the city where everything is bigger!  Austin!  And for a girl from upstate New York, this was some conference, y'all!
Restaurants abound. Great restaurants.  One of the absolute favorites was Rudy's--barbeque in a gas station.  When it's your turn, the first question is "have you been here before?"  If the answer is no, a shout goes out that there is a novice in the crowd.  Samples of their meats are presented on a piece of parchment paper and those samples included sausage; brisket and then variations of the brisket in "moist" and "lean" and then turkey.  The turkey was so delicious words escape me. 
A group of thirteen of us shared picnic tables and passed around the brown paper towels that serve as napkins.  There was a whole lot of sharing of food at that table!  Barbequed baked beans, buttered new potatoes, cole slaw, potato salad and then the crowning glory---creamed corn.  But this wasn't just any creamed corn.  This was AUSTIN creamed corn.  Corn, butter and cream.   As I type I'm closing my eyes and reminiscing over a vegetable........
And on the first day we arrived, three of us headed out to take care of what was needed for all the food demos that we presented at the conference.  Breakfast was first on our list and The Kerry Lane Cafe was the spot recommended by all.  The hit of the day was Eggs Francisco.   Scrambled eggs, beautifully fresh tomato, ripe avocado and bacon all piled on an English Muffin and covered with a cheese sauce and served with black beans.
And we sure can't forget the wonderful dinner shared by The Eight Broads.  My dinner was lightly breaded scallops served with the spiciest cole slaw that ever graced my plate!  And have you ever seen a mango daiquiri?  I would love a cashmere sweater in that very color (I'll be more likely to get an apron in that color!)
Austin was a great place to be.  Seventy-nine degrees. Charming people and amazing hosts and hostesses from The Texas B&B Association.  Music. More music.  Just doesn't get much better!

The William Henry Miller Inn
http://www.millerinn.com/
Lynnette Scofield
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

• Everyone in Austin, please use #paii hash tag for all your Innkeeping Show tweets #
• Long, but great first day here in Austin. Energy is high. Attendance is up. Great opening reception. #paii #
• 2010 Innkeeping Show is O V E R!!! Had a fantastic time seeing all the innkeepers, aspiring, and vendors. My staff is the best! #paii #

Well, there is a good bit on my mind these days, as you can tell from the long title of my column this month.  I’m busy with last-minute preparations for the Innkeeping Show in Austin, which starts in a few days (although you will get this while we’re all in Austin learning and laughing together).  This column will focus on my two cents about the big purchase in our industry that was announced recently, as well as some other exciting news.  Be sure to click through and read this month’s column!

Limited-time TripAdvisor Promo with PAII

We’ve worked out an arrangement with TripAdvisor, so that all innkeepers in the B&B industry can continue to receive the 50% off deal for their new Business Listings Program through April 8th .  You must use discount code TRIPDISC to get the deal.  If you haven’t investigated their new Business Listings program, I encourage you to check it out.  Basically, for a fee you can now add your email address, phone number and hyperlink to your inn’s web site on your TripAdvisor property page.  This is a new program for the entire lodging industry, and they’ve had several thousand properties already sign up.  I think innkeepers should sign up for three reasons:  1) you’ve poured a lot of time and effort into your own web site, and by having a direct link, you stand a better chance of getting TripAdvisor guests over to your site, 2) through your web traffic analytics program, you now have the ability to directly track the traffic coming to your web site from TripAdvisor…many innkeepers are now reporting this web link as one of their top sources of traffic, and 3) the 50% off price is low enough to give this a shot for at least the first year.  Properties with fewer than 11 rooms would normally pay $600 and properties with 11-25 rooms would pay $1,000 for this link – innkeepers can pay $300 and $500 respectively with this coupon code.  Go to www.tripadvisor.com/BusinessListings to sign up!

HomeAway Purchases BedandBreakfast.com

It was just announced a few days ago that HomeAway purchased BedandBreakfast.com, as well as their other companies RezOvation and Webervations.  Click here to read the press release, and you can read Eric Goldreyer’s post on our forum (as well as some responses) by clicking here.  If you want to read Trent Blizzard’s (internet marketing expert who works in both the B&B and vacation rental industries) reaction, click here.  My two cents?  First, I’m very happy for Eric.  He poured his heart and soul into ELG Hospitality and all its programs and services – what resulted was a highly successful operation.  There were bumps along the way and he could always count on a wide spectrum of reactions from innkeepers about their products and terms, but it’s hard to deny that he helped innkeepers move into the 21st century and brought them plenty of business.  No company has generated more PR for our industry.  Every company that goes through a major change like this will announce that things will still be great, even with the new owners.  For some it’s true, and for others things can change dramatically.  HomeAway prides itself on marketing alternatives to the typical hotel stay, which aligns nicely with what the B&B industry likes to portray.  I think the best case scenario will be if the new ownership gives the old staff in Austin, TX and Logan, OH, all the latitude they need to stay highly involved in the B&B industry.  The people at BedandBreakfast.com care a great deal about the industry, so I hope HomeAway allows the leadership at BedandBreakfast.com to maintain a great deal of control and authority.  But HomeAway can leverage their much-greater resources to bring fantastic amounts of attention to our product and industry, and I hope they do this.  HomeAway, after all, was one of the few companies that ran a commercial during the recent Superbowl.  In addition, I’ll bet there are forms of technology, business practices and other aspects of running a successful business that HomeAway will share with BedandBreakfast.com to keep them on the path of continual improvement.

2011 Innkeeping Show Dates and Location

Mark your calendars for January 11-14, 2011 for a trip to Charleston, SC for next year’s Innkeeping Conference & Trade Show!  After some extensive research about innkeepers’ preferences on the best times to get away for a trip to “innkeeping’s main event,” and preferred locations to visit, we landed on January in South Carolina at the Charleston Area Convention Center.  We realize there is no perfect time or location for all innkeepers (a few innkeepers near ski resorts aren’t too happy about the move in dates), but please know we did a lot of homework to figure this out.  Thank you to all the innkeepers and the Committee of 100 for participating in our surveys last year.  We negotiated very good room rates at adjoining hotels ($119 per night, which includes breakfast and internet) and we’re going to take a hard look at how we can bring down the costs of attending.  Stay tuned!

2009 Year-End Performance Survey

Now that we’re about to enter the Spring season of 2010, we hope you’ve wrapped up your 2009 numbers and are ready to share them for the sake of reporting our industry’s performance.  At the end of 2009, we had approximately 800 innkeepers share their year-end data. We’re hoping to beat that number this year and top 1,000 participants!  We have put together a brief, online survey at www.innkeepingsurvey.com that asks for data such as occupancy, average daily rate, revenue/expenses and a few other tidbits of data.  This survey is not nearly as lengthy as the bi-annual Industry Study of Innkeeping Operations and Finance, so it will take you only a fraction of the time to complete.  This is our industry’s one shot at collecting rich information about the performance of B&Bs and inns.  We will share the results with the industry, and we’ll break out data by state where there has been sufficient participation.  Please take a moment and print out your year-end P&L statement from your accounting software and take our survey at www.innkeepingsurvey.com.  Any innkeepers who give data, as well as PAII’s Gold and Platinum members, will have online access anytime to dig into the data and compare your results to aggregate data by state, number of rooms, budget size and other factors.  This is a new feature!

Now is a great time to be an innkeeper and involved in your professional trade association! Not yet a member of PAII?  Join for as low as $89 at www.innkeeping.org.

Onward and upward!

Jay

• At Bed and Breakfast Assoc of Virginia meeting. Happy to be in Charlottesville. #
• Still have folks signing up for the Innkeeping Show in Austin! Come on innkeepers – one and all! http://www.innkeepingshow.com #
• Leaving Illinois B&B Association conference. Short, but great, visit. See everyone in Austin next week! http://www.innkeepingshow.com #
• @bandb_com Gee! Good enough weather for people to come to the Innkeeping Show next week? #
• @garthmansion Austin! Yeah, baby! #
• RT @TravMediaUSA: HomeAway Acquires Bedandbreakfast.Com: http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/about/press.aspx?pressItem=2010-006 #
• Only 45 more min in Houston airport (4 hour layover) til I fly to Austin. Let the http://www.innkeepingshow.com begin! #paii #
• #PAII Board of Directors meeting today. Planning for a bright future. Spread the word about this great association! http://www.innkeeping.org #

Innkeepers are the best when it comes to delivering a great experience for their guests. Smiles come easily, breakfast is delicious, and the world just looks, well, rosy. Or does it? On the best of days even the best inns,... Rick Wolf and Peter Scherman

• Vote Imminent on Travel Promotion Act. Innkeepers Act Now! http://bit.ly/c8Bupu #
• Senate passes Travel Promotion Act! http://bit.ly/chBV6o #

Winter and warm fruit seem to go hand in hand and with the snowy winter Lancaster has been having these plums just hit the spot.  On a recent trip to the grocery store I found some amazing deep purple plums. I love plums, fresh from the tree or baked in tarts, or, as in this recipe, baked on their own with a sweet almond filling. Finish with a bit of creme anglaise, sweetened whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream.

INGREDIENTS


8 ripe deep purple plums
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons rum, dark
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey


DIRECTIONS


Cut the plums in half and remove the seeds

Place the remaining ingredients, except the honey,  into a food processor and blend until it is smooth

Place the plums cut side up in a baking dish

With a spoon fill the center of each plum with the almond filling

Drizzel all of the plums with honey

Bake at 350F until the almond filling is lightly browned

serve warm

Serves 8


Swiss Woods
www.swisswoods.com
Debbie Mosimann
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

ARE BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD?

It’s safe to say that just about every travel service enterprise is eager to hear some good news about what is likely to happen to demand in the months ahead. And the results of our February travelhorizonsTM survey (co-authored every 90 days with the U.S. Travel Association) provide some encouragement, although I wouldn’t retrieve the punch bowl just yet.

According to the results of our February 2010 wave (a nationally representative sample of 2,251 U.S. households conducted February 4 – 12, 2010), 56% of U.S. adults expect to take at least one trip primarily for leisure purposes during the next six months, a 7-point decline from the percentage that expressed the same intention precisely one year prior. This expected incidence of leisure travel translates into an estimated 127 million U.S. adults who will take at least one leisure trip between February and July, 2010, half of whom expect no change in the amount of money they are likely to spend for leisure travel services this year versus last. One out of four (24%) expects to "spend more" on those trips, roughly the same percentage as those who expect to "spend less" (26%). Although stated leisure travel intentions are down, demand for leisure travel services remains elastic, thus travel service suppliers who develop and implement attractive promotional strategies will undoubtedly be rewarded for their creativity as consumers continue to demand excellent value for their travel dollars this summer.

On a more encouraging note, one out of seven (15%) of adults is planning at least one business trip during the next six months, up 2-points from the percentage recorded one year earlier. This augers well for the long-awaited recovery of demand for business travel services, although pricing power will probably remain elusive for months to come.

On an equally encouraging note, the Traveler Sentiment IndexTM, a derivative of six individual measures of perceptions that affect travel, has remained essentially unchanged since October of 2009. It now stands at 91.0 (compared to the baseline of 100 established during the first calendar quarter of 2007) versus 90.5 last fall (2009). Of the six components from which the index is derived, two reflected sizable gains over the previous 90 days: "money available for travel" and "time available for travel." "Interest in travel" and "perceived affordability of travel" both declined slightly. The most significant change was in the "perceived safety of travel," declining from 93.8 in October 2009 to 84.8 in February 2010. This is presumably due to lingering anxiety about the recent "Christmas Bomber" incident that occurred in Detroit and related concerns about the effectiveness of existing (U.S.) airport security procedures.

Traveler Sentiment IndexTM
March 2007 – February 2010

Source: Ypartnership/U.S. Travel Association travelhorizonsTM, February 2010

Although it’s premature to declare we’re out of the woods yet, these results suggest that the most difficult months may be behind us, and that the horizon line is about to improve.

For more information on travelhorizonsTM please visit the Publications section of www.ypartnership.com.

You may recall, I spent some time in Washington DC a few months back, lobbying for the passage of the Travel Promotion Act.

The one-line summary of the bill (on the US Senate web site) is: "A bill to establish a non-profit corporation to communicate United States entry policies and otherwise promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel to the United States."

The international visitor is an important customer in our industry. Most innkeepers I encounter say they welcome many international visitors. Visits to the US are below what we saw in 2000, and this has a great impact on our economy – especially the micro-economy of the travel industry.

Click here for a very compelling list of reasons why this bill is a good thing. Best estimates reveal that this legislation will help reduce the deficit, which is likely why it received such strong bipartisan support. Here is a list of the 79 Senators who voted in favor, the 19 who voted against, and the one who didn't vote.

To understand the powers of the bill and how it would be funded, click here. A few members have disagreed with my support of this bill, because it would involve a new $10 fee on travelers from visa-waiver countries. Compared to what Americans pay in similar fees when visiting European countries (most fees are hidden in taxes and fees in your airline ticket) this is very, very minor. In my opinion, a $10 fee that is good for two years would not prohibit people from traveling to the US.

If you want to communicate with your Senator via email, click here for an easy-to-use, online portal. Be sure to include personal details about you and your business, so it's not as cookie-cutter.

Thanks for your support!  And so that we may be an even MORE effective lobbying voice for this industry, we encourage all innkeepers to join PAII.  We now have memberships starting as low as $89, making membership in PAII among the most affordable and valuable in the B&B industry.  Go to www.innkeeping.org to review the benefits and to get on board!

Forward this email to all in your innkeeping network!

Soon the sap will be running, and this is a great time of year to use maple syrup in a savory breakfast. And this recipe was created right here in the Berkshires.


INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound bacon, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
5 eggs
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
1 teaspoon salt
8 slices challah (egg bread) cut 1-inch thick, lightly toasted and cut into thirds
12 ounces sharp white cheddar, grated
2/3 cup shelled pistashios

DIRECTIONS

• Grease a 9X13-inch pan (or a 2-quart casserole dish).
• Cook the bacon pieces in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat until crisp (about 10 minutes), and drain on a paper towel.
• Whisk together the cream milk maple syrup, eggs, mustard, sage, and salt.
• Lay half of the bread strips in the prepared dish. 
• Sprinkle with half of the bacon, half of the cheese, and half of the nuts.
• Layer the second half of the bread, bacon, cheese, and nuts.
• Pour the eggs mixture over the layered dry ingredients. Cover.
• Refrigerate overnight.
• Remove the casserole from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking.
• Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the cover from the dish and bake for about 45 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
• Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

Birchwood Inn
http://www.birchwood-inn.com 
Ellen Gutman Chenaux
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

I served the Outrageous Orange French Toast in March 1999 when I first bought the inn, and over the past 11 years, the Outrageous French Toast remains a simple and comfort-food staple.

INGREDIENTS

6 eggs
1 cup orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed) (or 2/3 cup juice and 1/3 cup Grand Marnier)
1/3 cup milk or cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Rind of one orange, finely grated
9 slices of challah (egg bread), 1 inch thick each, and cut each slice into two triangles
Butter
Powdered sugar
Orange slices
Maple syrup

DIRECTIONS

Beat the eggs in a large bowl.
Add the juice (and Grand Marnier), milk or cream, sugar, vanilla, salt, and orange rind.Mix well.
Dip the bread in the egg mixture, turning to coat both sides.
Melt the butter in a large skillet or on a grill on medium heat. Cook through, browning both sides.
Place three triangles per person, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and garnish with orange slices.
Serve with maple syrup (the real stuff!)

Serves 6


Birchwood Inn
http://www.birchwood-inn.com
Ellen Gutman Chenaux
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

Insipid sausage for breakfast again? Not with Jazzy Sausage! Michael Salmon, owner/chef of Hartstone Inn, in Camden, Maine, created "Cumin-Spiced Bacon and Sausage Roll" to serve with breakfast. At Birchwood Inn, we leave out the bacon and roll the sausage in the spices. This is one of our WOW! recipes.


INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (Michael also adds 2 teaspoons whole cumin)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons anise seeds


Sausage links



DIRECTIONS

Mix the sugar and spices together.
Store in an air-tight container.
When you are going to serve the sausage, preheat the oven to 400F.
Spoon four tablespoons of the sausage on a plate, and roll eight sausage links in the spice mix until well-coated.
Place the sausage on a small cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Store the rest of the sugar-spice mixture in an air-tight container for the next time you are having sausage.

The Jazzy Sausage can be served as an accompaniment to both a savory and a sweet breakfast.


Birchwood Inn
http://www.birchwood-inn.com 
Ellen Gutman Chenaux
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

Yes, it's spelled correctly!  We've combined French Toast and Waffles and have a Fwaffle.  Couldn't be easier or better!
INGREDIENTS

Bread slices (whatever you might have on hand--homemade for wonderful results though)
1/2 cup half and half
4 eggs well beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
DIRECTIONS

Heat waffle iron
Mix all ingredients together.   Dip bread into batter and place on hot waffle iron.
Bake until golden brown and serve with butter and your favorite syrup.
The William Henry Miller Inn
http://www.millerinn.com/
Lynnette Scofield
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

Sometimes there's nothing better than just pancakes.   Growing up, we would often have them for supper and that continued after I was married and cooking after a long day of work.   Comforting, delicious.  Warm syrup---only the real thing will do.  For me, the perfect pancake is hot off the griddle with some soft butter, maple syrup and applesauce.
Since today is Shrove Tuesday, it seemed the perfect day for the "cakes".  
INGREDIENTS

1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS

While you're mixing your ingredients, begin heating your griddle over low heat.
Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl.
Mix buttermilk and milk in another bowl and whisk in egg, butter and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to dry and whisk until just mixed.
Turn the heat up a bit on the griddle and brush with vegetable oil (a little butter never hurts....). Bake in batches and the old adage is true--just look for the bubbles. When the cake bubbles, it's ready to flip.
This recipe will make about eight pancakes and you can double this recipe if you wish.
The William Henry Miller Inn
http://www.millerinn.com/
Lynnette Scofield
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

Mashed potatoes are surely one of the most beloved comfort foods there are. In the past couple of years TV chefs and food magazines have featured recipes to bring the homely mashed potatoes to a new level. Adding large amounts of butter, heavy cream and cream cheese are a few of the additions I have been reading about. Most are to die for, literally. Because the holidays bring us an abundance of calories as it is I like to keep our mashed potatoes a bit lighter, as a good vehicle to hold up to the gravy. Serves 6.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon salt
10 medium sized potatoes like Yukon Golds, peeled and diced into 1" cubes
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
about 1 1/4 cup 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped parsley for a garnish

DIRECTIONS
Add water and salt to a large sauce pan and set over medium heat. Add potatoes and peeled garlic and and cook until very soft. Heat milk. Drain potatoes and using a food mill process potatoes through mill while adding small amounts of milk. Add butter and grated nutmeg and whip with a whisk. Transfer to a nice dish and sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot.

Brampton Inn
http://www.bramptoninn.com
Danielle Hanscom
Bed and Breakfast Foodie

Classic shortbread cookie. This is a treat with a spot of tea.
Makes 16

INGREDIENTS
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (bake in 325 oven for 10 min. Be careful not to burn the nuts)
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus a bit more for preparation
¾ cup confectioners sugar
½ cup cold (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¼  teaspoon sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.
In a food processor, pulse pecans until medium to finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. In the same food processor, blend flour, sugar, butter, and salt until dough barely holds together. Add reserved pecans. Pulse 2 or 3 times, just to incorporate.
Press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared pan. If dough is sticky, dust with a hint of more flour. With a fork, prick dough several times across top.
Bake until barely golden, 30 to 35 minutes.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Use foil overhang to lift shortbread from pan onto cutting board. With a serrated knife, carefully cut warm shortbread into 16 squares. Cool squares completely on a rack before serving.
Can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of days, however they never last that long at the inn!


Brampton Inn
www.bramptoninn.com
Danielle Hanscom
Bed and Breakfast Foodie