Ever since I can remember I have made Pinch-Ups with my mother. She probably taught me how to make them around the same time she taught me to read: when I was five.
They are a simple shortbread cookie with only these ingredients:
*1 stick of butter
*1/3 cup of sugar
*1 cup of flour
You mix the butter and sugar together with your hand, so the warmth of your body melts the sugar crystals into the butter. Then you add the flour until completely mixed. To form the cookies, you make little 'sausages' which can be placed closely together on the cookie sheet as they don't expand. (My mother makes beautiful 'sausages' with pointy ends top and bottom, but mine are rather rounded.) A fork dipped in flour is pressed onto the top of these 'sausages', and then you pinch the middle with your thumb and forefinger. Hence the name. (An important omission for those of you who wish to try them yourselves: Bake for 30 minutes at 300 F, but watch carefully because they brown easily.)
They are a delightful treat with a cup of tea. They are a delightful tradition in our family. And they will always make me think of my dear mother and her family of origin from which I received this pinch of love.
Another beautiful teacup picture! These Pinch-Ups sounds delicious and I might even be able to make them since they don't sound too hard (and I'm not that great a cook).
ReplyDeletethose cookies sound wonderful!!! We are having a Tea at church this fall and I may have to add those to the menu!!!
ReplyDeleteYum! They look professionally made too!
ReplyDeleteThis look much easier than "my" shortbread recipe!
ReplyDeletehttp://lesleyskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/12/shortbread-cookies_23.html
I could easily eat a dozen, so I better not make them until I've lost a few more pounds. ;)
Your new header has got to be my all-time favorite. You know that's you and me in that boat, don't you? :)
Oh, thank you for the recipe! I will definitely have to make these! I love little cookies with my tea and these look wonderfully easy to make.
ReplyDeleteThose are so pretty (especially perched beside your gorgeous teacup). I've been feeling a bit "humbug" about Mother's Day, being the motherless mom of a kid who just quit his job and another who thinks holidays are silly. Maybe we'll try making some of your pinch-ups.
ReplyDeleteAww, sweet! Makes me think about this little decoration that used to hang in our old kitchen. It says "Love, like bread, should be made fresh everyday" :)
ReplyDeleteThe recipe sounds easy and delicious and the pinch-ups are just darling!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I've visited your blog. I love your new look and your photographs! Just gorgeous. This recipe looks and sounds delish...I'm going to try making them soon.
ReplyDeleteGuess what Bellezza???? I made these :D I just had to tell you...I read your post earlier on my iPhone and came home and made them immediately because I fell in love with the story behind them and the beautiful picture of your tea cup and the cookie. And they're so delicious!! I wanted to ask you how long you usually bake them for and at what temperature. I ended up baking mine at 350 for about 20 minutes. They came out nice, but they don't look near as beautiful as yours ;) My mom loves them too by the way! She had two of them with her tea tonight :)
ReplyDeleteNo way! Chris, you touch my heart, you always do. I should have put the temperature, what was I thinking?! They are to be cooked for 30 minutes at a low temp, like 300. But, my oven is professional grade and it practically toasted them, so you might want to watch how they brown. Technically, they should be pale in colour, but the flavor of the browner ones is nice. Anyway, I'm so glad! you made them and shared them with your mother. What a wonderful surprise for me tonight.
ReplyDeleteCooking with mum is one of my childhood memories. Thanks for sharing this story with us. While Im blogging, Im actually cooking one of my mum's recipes - pumpkin pie. It's probably quite familiar to you in the Northern Hemisphere, however here in Aus it was always an oddity at dinner parties. My mum learnt it when we lived in Canada and bought it home with her in the 70's. Dont you find that when you cook mum's recipes you can smell her? it's yummy.
ReplyDeleteSimple and how nice to continue a tradition
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try these very soon, as I suspect they're very nearly Swedish spritz, without the pain of a cookie press. I'm an inveterate recipe tinkerer, so I'm thinking: maybe a scoosh of vanilla. Perhaps a sprinkle of turbinado sugar.
ReplyDeleteMaybe roll them in balls and flatten them with the bottom of a water glass so we can eat them RIGHT NOW!
But I always try recipes as presented the first time, so I'll do that and report back ;-)
These sound wonderful and I like that they are easy to make. I'm craving a nice cup of tea now and a quiet place to read.
ReplyDeleteSounds simple, yet wonderful with a nice cup of tea. Have a great Day!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful tradition, and a perfect day to share it :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a great day celebrating such an occasion.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mom comes back on 2012 (she's been in Chicago, working for almost 6 years), I'll bake with her.
I didn't realise they are so easy to make! I'm going to try them and give them to my nephew who can't eat eggs.
ReplyDeleteSounds yummy, Bellezza! I'm going to try them with a little brown sugar once I've got the master recipe down. You must be getting ready for the end of the school year; we've just finished two weeks of NYS tests. Have a great end of the year...
ReplyDeleteI absolutely know it's you and I, especially now that you said it! With our books, and our boats, and our friendship, what could be better? Perhaps I'll keep this header, then, and the long search will be over until I put up my favorite Bougereau (sp?) of angels for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteAw, that's cool! They seem like great bento and/or picnic cookies as well ;)
ReplyDelete