375 g Plain flour
250 g Butter (nothing else will
-do)
125 g Sugar
Salt
From: Iain G Liddell Iain.Liddell@brunel.ac.uk
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 09:54:44 +0000 (GMT)
Scottish Shortbread: As far as shortbread is concerned, I’m a great
believer in simplicity. The recipe for Balmoral Shortbread below is typical
of this style.
However, with Scots cookery, one should never ignore Mistress Margaret
(Meg) Dods. Her “Cook’s and Housewife’s Manual” was promoted (ghosted?) by
Sir Walter Scott, who coined her pseudonym. The recipe for Petticoat Tails
is described by Catherine Brown (Scottish Regional Recipes) as “a ladies’
shortbread – men generally prefer thick fingers”.
Other recipes call for additions such as rice flour, cornflour
(cornstarch), lemon peel, ground or slivered almonds (or almond essence)
but these are all just curlicues. As for the commercially produced Choc
Chip Shortbread and Cherry Shortbread … they are about as Scots as the
Taj Mahal.
Note the 3:2:1 ratio – what could be simpler.
Preheat oven to 350F / 180C / Gas 4
Sift flour onto a board. Put sugar in a separate pile on the board, and
work in butter. Gradually knead in flour: you should end up with a firm
dough. Flour the board and roll to a thickness of 3mm to 5mm. Cut into
circles and prick with a fork. Bake on a greased tray for 30 minutes.
REC.FOOD.RECIPES ARCHIVES
/COOKIES
From rec.food.cooking archives. Downloaded from Glen’s MM Recipe Archive,
Yields
36 Servings