Summer is a time of traditions – people travel to the same resorts year after year, host annual barbeques, and go back time and time again to enjoy their favorite summer treats. It’s hard to think of summer without thinking of favorite food traditions – such as grandma’s strawberry pie or a s’more around a campfire.

Every now and again, it’s good to shake up food traditions a little bit. Updating some old-fashioned summer favorites takes a little creativity and ingenuity, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot in terms of money or time spent in the kitchen.

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Shamrock Cookies

Ingredients:
½ cup shortening
½ cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
½ tsp salt
5 cups flour
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

Mix shortening and sugar until creamy using an electric mixer. Add the eggs and combine well. Stir in milk, vanilla and salt. Then carefully mix in the flour. Work the dough with your hands for a minute.

Flour a rolling pin and roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Use more flour if needed if dough sticks to your rolling pin.

With a shamrock cookie cutter, … read more

If you’ve been in Chicago around March 17, you may have seen the Chicago River dyed green. You know you’ll see people in that springtime color, as well. When it comes to St. Patrick’s Day dessert ideas, do they all have to be green, too?

Actually, there is more to St. Patrick’s Day than the color green, although you may not be able to tell it from a cursory look around you. Since people expect to see rainbows during the holiday, because of the leprechaun’s pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow, you can use any color for desserts. … read more

There’s no better authority on delectable desserts than Martha Stewart. She and her ingenious team of editors have consistently created the most delicious recipes, and their dedication to simple instructions, how-to photographs, and beautiful styling is unparalleled. And there’s no more in-demand dessert right now than cupcakes.