St. Patty's Day Weekend (& Cookies!)

Last night I had a little traditional St. Patty's day debauchery. (Watered down a good deal for kid-friendlyness. I am a grown up with grown up friends who sometimes have children, now. It's true.) We hit up an Irish joint in Troy before the real partying started. I had a shepard's pie and enjoyed good company. We kicked off the karaoke after hours with a little Dolly Parton and The Sugar Hill Gang. 

I've not spent much time in Troy but I from what I've seen it's a pretty cute little town. I need to spend an afternoon there with my camera to capture a bit of its small town charms. It has some nice architecture and signage as well. Not to mention a haunted bookstore (supposedly- investigation is necessary).   

Today, I spent talking sunny walks, cleaning house and doing a little holiday cooking for a cell group gathering. Of course, it had to be green!

(Green) Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 5 drops green food coloring (holiday optional)
• 3 pinches dried rosemary
• 2 cups flour

Mix the top 5 ingredients well. Softened butter works best. Rub dried rosemary in-between fingers before sprinkling in to release flavor. 

Once mixed, patiently knead in 2 cups of flour. I didn't end up using all the flour because it was getting really dry. The recipe said to roll it out, but it wasn't rolling so well so I made 1 inch(ish) balls and smushed them with the bottom of a smaller cup to make the shape. 

Baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so. Keep better track of time than I do and they'll probably be softer in the end. Still, they turned out yummy and I love the pairing of a savory spice with a sweet treat.

Great weekend so far, and tomorrow there's church, tennis and an afternoon of painting with some lady friends. Beautiful weather seems to be doing wonders for my productivity. How about you?