Caramel Shortbread

Been at H's today. Kids had a ball with her kids . I love the ease with which they all play with each other. Another one of those rich family days that makes me wander, that stops me in my tracks and lets me just be and then everything else just fits into place and I have no need of the things I thought I had need of. I use the word family because good friends is like family to me.


H gave us all lunch, the kids had a ham sandwich and we had brie with cranberry sauce on walnut and cranberry bread, toasted, lush. She had also made Caramel Shortbread for her daughter's birthday tomorrow. She saved me a little bit of the caramel sauce and gave it to me before lunch. I pause as I try to describe how it felt to eat it, it's a thick, chewy toffee, sort of golden brown in colour, made me want to sort of slip off the wagon, I'm trying to eat healthily at the moment! It had such a home made taste about it as well. The caramel is like a thick jacket on the shortbread with chocolate on top of that. In fact while I was there H melted Cadbury's chocolate in the microwave and then spread it on the top of the caramel. They always make this family recipe on Birthday's, her daughter's being tomorrow.



H told me that the recipe comes from a hotel in St Ives in Cornwall where she would go on holiday as a child. A nanny would look after them and they would have high tea with the caramel shortbread.



I've known H for 10 years, she once put me up for 2 weeks rent free when I lost my job but it turned into 2 years!! Her house was like the rolling Yorkshire Dales where she came from. She had a beautiful set of cream crockery which made a home long before she had a husband and children. We feasted on it and there is a story I O'h so want to tell you but I will have to ask her first!!



Recipe for caramel shortbread to follow.