Today we celebrate one of the oldest cookie recipes, the Shortbread. This day is observed annually on January 6th.
Who can resist the delicious crumbly and buttery goodies especially when you are sipping some brewed hot tea? If it wasn’t for the sugar, I can probably eat a dozen in one seating because there are my favorite cookies or biscuit or whatever you want to call it.
Shortbread is a traditional Scottish biscuit normally made of 1 part sugar to 2 parts butter and 3 parts of flour and sometimes other ingredients are added like rice or cornflour to alter the texture. They are baked at a low temperature to avoid browning and when cooked, it is nearly white, and light golden brown at the edges. It is crumbly before cooled but will become firmer after cooling at delicious to eat with tea or coffee.
Shortbread originated in Scotland, with the first printed recipe, in 1736, from a Scotswoman named Mrs. McLintock. Shortbread is different from shortcake, though they are similar. Shortcake can be made using vegetable fat instead of butter and usually has a chemical leavening agent such as baking powder which gives it a different texture.
Nowadays, you don’t have to slave in the kitchen and make your shortbread cookie, you can just run to the store and grab your favorite shortbread cookies. They normally come in original flavor or sometimes dipped in chocolate or with a flavoring mixed like orange or strawberry flavors.
Shortbread is really easy to make, so this day, celebrate this day by making some shortbread t share and enjoy with family and friends. Share on social media your recipe and photo using #ShortbreadDay.
1912 New Mexico joins the Union
On January 6, 1912, New Mexico is admitted into the United States as the 47th state.
Spanish explorers passed through the area that would become New Mexico in the early 16th century, encountering the well-preserved remains of a 13th-century Pueblo civilization. Exaggerated rumors about the hidden riches of these Pueblo cities encouraged the first full-scale Spanish expedition into New Mexico, led by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1540. Instead of encountering the long-departed Pueblo people, the Spanish explorers met other indigenous groups, like the Apaches, who were fiercely resistant to the early Spanish missions and ranches in the area.
In 1609, Pedro de Peralta was made governor of the “Kingdom and Provinces of New Mexico,” and a year later he founded its capital at Santa Fe. In the late 17th century, Apache’s opposition to Spain’s colonial efforts briefly drove the Spanish out of New Mexico, but within a few decades, they had returned. During the 18th century, the colonists expanded their ranching efforts and made attempts at farming and mining in the region.
(excerpted from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/new-mexico-joins-the-union)
