Saturday afternoon

by Adolf Heinrich Hansen

Went out for a bit last night with oldest daughter and saw this painting on a 2013 calendar.  Hadn't heard of this artist, and thought it was a nice, cozy scene. Found it curious when I hunted it down online that it went up for auction at Christie's last year.

Have been busy puttering around, putting a load on the lines after bringing in the things that hung out overnight.  I have plans to dust the shelves a bit, make a pot of white beans for dinner, and just generally straighten up the house.

Broke my diet a bit last night with some cookies I baked.  Hadn't baked in forEVER, and it was nice to drag it out and enjoy it.  One batch was plenty and these were so good.  Tweaked the recipe a little with added salt (which I think every sweet recipe needs), and what's underneath here, is what it is...

Mace Cookies
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (I used margarine)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 t. vanilla
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. mace

Mix all ingredients and chill for about an hour.  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees, roll out cookies and bake for 7-8 minutes (ours took a tiny bit more).  Yield was about 2-1/2 dozen cookies, using my grandmother's circle biscuit cutter.  And they smelled wonderfully festive while they baked...an added benefit.

Take care.