Shortbread

Quintessentially Scottish, is something I associate with Christmas and New Year. Around that time there was usually someone giving a tin of Walkers shortbread to us as a little reminder of our Scottish heritage. But homemade shortbread is so much better than anything shop bought. Plus it has taken someone’s time and care to create. Also a gift for first footing at new year, a tradition after the bells in Scotland of visiting your nearest neighbours, but you can’t arrive empty handed. Tradition dictates that a gift of food, drink or coal must be offered to the house holder for the New Years good luck. Last Christmas, Lyn my coordinator at School ask me to make shortbread for her (historic) advent calendar. Quite a challenge to make enough shortbread for the whole department. I was up for the challenge.

I learned how to make shortbread at secondary school, Mearns Castle high school, in home economics class. I made, what’s called petticoat tails, it’s circular in shape much bigger than a biscuit or cookie. I remember baking it on a upturned cake tin. Whit a crimped edge and marking it so that when cooked it could be broken into triangles. It is by far the daintiest shortbread.

Sources say it was first created in the 12th Century. Shortbread is traditionally formed into one of three shapes: one large circle divided into segments (“Petticoat Tails”); individual round biscuits (“Shortbread Rounds”); or a thick rectangular slab cut into “fingers.” (Source: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Scottish-Shortbread/).

Recipe

Simple right! Well not as simple as my gran has written. I take it from her recipe that she made shortbread regularly and didn’t need to write the method down. Back when my gran made shortbread it was normal to cook with margarine. Today I prefer to bake using butter, more calorific but much better taste, in my opinion.

Shortbread generally has only a few ingredients, I use just flour, sugar and butter. For the task in hand I was making shortbread fingers. Baked in a square baking tin. The turned out beautifully and went down well with my colleagues at school. If fact they were requested for this years calendar again.