Christmas cannot be complete in our house without the simple
creation of my Auntie’s delicious shortbread cookies. She manages to make
something so simple taste so wonderfully complex. The small cookies melt in my
mouth, and leaving me begging for more. The only time she makes the shortbread
cookies is on Christmas Eve. When I was younger she would make the cookies and
leave them out for Santa Clause, but now she leaves them out for me. She never
told me the recipe to her cookies, and I never asked, but upon this assignment
she let me in on the secret. I was surprised at how simple the recipe and
ingredients are. I believed whole heartedly that I took time and skills to make
something so wonderful, but I was shockingly mistaken
I discovered not only the simple ingredients, but
also the history and where it came from. Shortbread came from the Scottish
biscuit bread, which is a bread roll dusted with sugar and spices. The yeast was
eventually substituted by butter, and shortbread was created. The creation of
shortbread is attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century. When it was first created it
was thought as a luxury food, and had only on special occasions such as weddings
or the Scottish New Year. It developed into an everyday favorite food. It became
inexpensive to make due to its simple ingredients of flour, sugar and butter.
creation of my Auntie’s delicious shortbread cookies. She manages to make
something so simple taste so wonderfully complex. The small cookies melt in my
mouth, and leaving me begging for more. The only time she makes the shortbread
cookies is on Christmas Eve. When I was younger she would make the cookies and
leave them out for Santa Clause, but now she leaves them out for me. She never
told me the recipe to her cookies, and I never asked, but upon this assignment
she let me in on the secret. I was surprised at how simple the recipe and
ingredients are. I believed whole heartedly that I took time and skills to make
something so wonderful, but I was shockingly mistaken
I discovered not only the simple ingredients, but
also the history and where it came from. Shortbread came from the Scottish
biscuit bread, which is a bread roll dusted with sugar and spices. The yeast was
eventually substituted by butter, and shortbread was created. The creation of
shortbread is attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century. When it was first created it
was thought as a luxury food, and had only on special occasions such as weddings
or the Scottish New Year. It developed into an everyday favorite food. It became
inexpensive to make due to its simple ingredients of flour, sugar and butter.
Ingredients
3/4 Cup of Flour 1/2 Cup of Butter Pinch of Salt 1/4 Cup of Sugar |
together. Add the butter and fork it into place. You want to make sure that all of the butter has combined with the sugar/flour/salt mixture. either a few hours or overnight. For large cookies, shape the dough into four sections and then round it out. For smaller ones, shape the dough into eight sections. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the cookies on a baking sheet and press them down so they are only ¼ inch tall. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until they are just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and put on a cooling rack. |