Shortbread is so Scottish!

By Nujma Bond

I have great memories of shortbread – all the way back to a great aunt who used to send us a full tin of the homemade kind she’d made, each holiday season. Since then, I’ve been trying to master something almost as good as my memory of how it tasted. It’ll never be quite the same, but I think I’ve come close.

Shortbread is apparently rooted in leftover bread during medieval times, and later morphed into a cookie baked with butter. And while what we enjoy today is indeed Scottish in origin – at one time enjoyed by Mary, Queen of Scots - shortbread has apparent ties to Viking and French traditions. 

History tells us that the agreed-upon recipe for Scottish shortbread is one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour, by weight. There are all sorts of variations, but the latter is deemed the classic.

Walker’s shortbread was behind the idea of making January 6 a national day, and who are we to argue? I’m certainly not one to pass over an excuse to celebrate this wonderful treat! I will definitely be making a fresh batch in honour of this important occasion.

Read on for more history on this Scottish staple – and try one of the tasty recipes you’ll find along the way.

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Scottish-Shortbread/

https://manyeats.com/history-of-shortbread/

https://www.walkersshortbread.com/national-shortbread-day-fun-facts/