There were many things I loved about England.
(Duh.)
I loved the scenery.
The weather.
The people I met.
And of course, the pubs.
And this is going to sound crazy to those of you who aren’t food obsessed, but one of my favorite things to do when I was there was search high and low for non-American(ized), fun, British food. I went to many restaurants and would sometimes even spend an hour or two of an afternoon in the aisles of Waitrose, Tesco, or Sainsbury’s, just to look at the different foods.
(I know, I’m weird.)
One of the best foods I bought there was actually from the 99p store (basically a dollar store). They were these delicious little shortbread cookies that came in a blue package.
I can’t for the life of me remember the brand, and I can’t find them anywhere online. Maybe they’re out of business? Either way, they were so stinkin’ good, and I remember wishing we had something like them in the States.
Enter Ina Garten’s Shortbread Cookie recipe.
These cookies taste exactly – I mean, exactly – like the cookies I got from the 99p store in England.
When I made them for Sarah’s gift, I knew they were going to be good, simply because I haven’t come across a recipe of hers that isn’t. But I didn’t expect them to take me back to England. I’m so happy I decided to include those cookies in her gift, because hopefully they gave her a taste of the island she’s now calling home.
Isn’t it funny how something as seemingly insignificant as a food can make us nostalgic?
I’m linking this post up to Katie’s Marvelous in my Monday. 🙂 Thanks for hosting, Katie!
Liv Lives Life 
This made me smile- I love all things British too (must be why I was so drawn to my husband 😉 and totally understand your weirdness with unique foods, and just strolling the supermarket. It’s so much fun! Did you have HP sauce on your eggs when you were over there?
And again, I love how much effort you put into this gift for your friend. So sweet 🙂
I love all things British, too! (Obviously. 😉 ) And I’m glad I’m not the only one who enjoys that.
Well, I can’t have eggs, and I don’t even think I had HP sauce at all over there! Now I wonder if I was missing out…?
I feel ya with the food- totally get nostalgic with it all the time & spend hours in grocery stores… I have a little too much fun haha. And ahhhhhghghgh I miss England now!
These look delicious!! And try pepperidge farm chessman cookies… they are REALLY good! 🙂
The weather does look positively gorgeous over in England. Living by the water would be so neat.
Food is like the ultimate form of nostalgia. I just typed up a long list of things that I want to try recreating grain, egg and or dairy-free this fall/winter and I just started smiling from all of the memories it brought up 😀
I love your hair in the flashback photos! I wish mine would get that curly when it was long. It’s kind of just a wavy, “eh” mess most of the time.
I think food and smells are some of the biggest sources of nostalgia for me. It’s interesting.
Bahh I hate it when my hair gets that curly! Want to trade??
I love this post, it makes me want to finally travel to Europe so badly!
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!
I love this post!! British scenery is so beautiful and varied – OK we don’t have huge rocky mountains and canyons like the US or Cananda or other countries, but Britain is very quietly beautiful. I am proud to be British! And yes I’m with you on looking roudn the supermarkets – Waitrose is brilliant. So much nice food.
And who can really beat a delicious pub meal?? So good.
The weather one made me laugh out loud. Yep it is actually raining right this second. Who’d have guessed…
I’m glad you liked it! I definitely think the scenery there is beyond gorgeous. I’d be proud, too! It’s good to know that even British people enjoy looking around Waitrose. You’re right – the food there is just so nice!
Haha I really did love the rain. And while I chose a rainy, foggy picture to post, I would say that probably 3/4 of the days I was there it was sunny or at the very least not raining! I wonder if I just got lucky?
I can’t remember what these biscuits are called, but I’ll try and have a look next time I’m in a shop!
Are they these? Shortcake biscuits?
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=254922142
Ahhh!! Yes! They were in a blue package when I got them, but that probably changed over two years. 😉 Thanks for finding them!