Recipes

It's a strange thing - one person can bake a beautiful cake, another makes sensational shortbread - and that's how it was for us.  Auntie B could make the most amazing chocolate cake while my mother made fantastic scones, fairy cakes and shortbread.  She used to make the shortbread using a shortbread mould to create petticoat tails - and sometimes used the mould which had a Scottish thistle design.Scottish thistle design.

I don't know what happened to Mum's shortbread moulds - all I know is that they have disappeared, which is a shame.  On the other hand, it meant that we had to go out and source some more - and now we also sell them from our online shop.  There are two sizes currently - although I don't think the larger size is as big as the one Mum used - but they do have the thistle design.

Anyway, here's my lazy shortbread recipe:-

Lazy Shortbread
by Margaret MacGillivray
Ingredients

9 oz plain flour,
9 oz self-raising flour,
9 oz cornflour,
9 oz castor sugar,
2 - 250gm packs butter

Method

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Melt butter gently in a saucepan.
(Be careful at this stage; "chip pan fires" can happen with hot butter!) Pour melted butter into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Divide the mixture into two and spread evenly into two baking trays (approx 16" x 10").
Prick the shortbread with a fork at intervals - create a pattern, if you like. Place the baking trays into a moderate oven (I use a fan oven which I heat to 150ºC) and bake until golden brown.

Take out of the oven and cut into portions, dust with castor sugar and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

This recipe is a tried and tested standard - I use it in our coffee shop all the time.