The Happyolks facelift we began planning last October is finally here! Designer and dear friend Samantha Kogle became pregnant almost immediately after we started in on things, so, naturally, my interest in site talk was backseat to LIFE most times we met for coffee. Sam is a badass, there is really no other way to say it. I honestly do not know a woman in my life with more moxie, humility, and grit. In the past six months she has conquered a massive company merger, two trimesters of pregnancy, buying her first home, single-handedly managing the layout of a local magazine, oh… and building out this site. Wowsa, no?
Then there’s Ali Nelson. Effusive, vibrant, and courageous beyond measure, Ali inspires me with her radical authenticity and uncanny ability to encourage the women who know her and wish to know her with her unique voice and craft. Kindred spirit. Soul sister. Hometown kin that, if we lived close now, I know I would smother to death trying to get her goodness to rub off on me. Not pretty. She hand lettered this new logo, which I adore. In our first email exchange when she asked about the general vibe I was going for in the update, I literally sent her a stylesheet of images of PEOPLE, not logos like a normal person would/should do, comparing faces and personalties that were emoting “lovely” postures (think Kate Middleton, Grace Kelly) vs “quirky” postures (think Susan Sontag, Marlon Brando). I preferred, as you probably can guess, the latter. Ali, being the amazing visual artist that she is, made it happen.
This makeover was for me, in some ways, to match how I feel in my skin on the internet six years into this gig. But it’s mostly for you. I have received SCORES of emails with requests for changes over the years, and I’ve heard you. Since this has always been a part-time affair, NOT a career blog, it has taken me a little longer than most to get around to things. At long last we finally have a subscribe feature that works(!!), a recipe index that actually makes sense to peruse, and there are a few other features that you may find popping up over the next few weeks, months. I hope this place is easier to navigate, easier to read (darker script!), and generally more pleasant to poke around. Hugs from Australia.
Shortbread Clouds, Three Ways
Adapted from Gourmet
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Tsp salt
- 1/2 Tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh lavender buds, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced
- 1 Tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1 3/4 cup cultured butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup local honey
- ––– 1 cup powdered sugar
- ––– 2-4 tsp 2% milk
Preheat oven for 300′ F. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. In the basin of your stand mixer, beat together butter, honey, and confectioners sugar. Add flour mixture and mix until dough resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Gather dough into a ball and then divide into three equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, knead one portion of the dough with the prepared rosemary until evenly distributed. Repeat with prepared lavender, then again with the thyme and lemon zest. Roll out dough portions on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for 2o minutes or until golden brown.
For the icing, mix together powdered sugar and milk to make a paste. Place in fridge until ready to use. Drizzle and spread across completely cooled cookies Icing will harden in 10-15 minutes.
