Scottie Dog Shortbread Biscuits

Shortbreads were traditionally baked for Hogmanay. They were among the traditional cakes doled out in some parts of Scotland on the last day of the year to local children, which by them not surprisingly was known as 'Cake Day' and for which they had traditional rhymes such as the very obvious and straight to the heart of the matter:

'Our feet are cauld, our shoes are thin. 

Gies our cakes an let us rin!'

Several of my Great Aunts used to breed Scotties and Cairn Terriers and big, old, family Christmases always meant, shortbread, crackling fires and fetching in holly to the tune of barking! 

Scottie dogs have such long fur that their legs are often invisible which make them brilliant as a biscuit/cookie shape as legs are notorious for falling off when made of pastry! However, conversely Scottish terriers have very fine long upright tails, which seem like a recipe for disaster but we'll not be daunted. My favourite traditional shortbread recipe, has additions to the usual basic four ingredients of wheat flour, rice flour, butter and sugar and comes from Ayrshire, which is a rich dairy farming area and thus incorporates cream and egg into what is already a rich biscuit.

The 'short' in shortbread refers to the crumbly nature of the finished shortbread because of its high butter content. However, the very nature of the shortbread is also dependent on the kneading techniques of the pastry cook, as a light hand relates to short gluten strand development.

'If every Frenchwoman is born with a wooden spoon in her hand. every Scotswoman is born with a rolling-pin under her arm. There may be a divergence of opinion as to her skill in cooking, but it is certain that she has developed a remarkable technique in baking not only in bannocks, scones and oatcakes, but also in the finer manipulations of wheat, in cakes, pastry and shortbread.'
F. Marian McNell. The Scots Kitchen (1929)

In England shortbread always was and still is a very popular and traditional gift, witness above one of last year's three empty tins I bagged from my mother-in-law, to keep my garden seeds in!  

TEMPERATURES

Preheat the oven to 355°F - 180°C 

INGREDIENTS

Makes 12

2 cups - 200g - 7oz of plain aka all purpose flour

¼ cup - 25g - 1oz fine white rice flour

½ cup - 100g - 4oz butter

½ cup - 100g - 4oz sugar

2 tablespoons raw cream

1 egg yolk

1 dessert spoon of cocoa

butter for greasing

Plus

Tartan fabric or ribbon

Liquorice

Icing sugar

..and yes I should have known that someone would have already made these:

...but  I'm going to use the old fashioned method and draw my own in card and then once on the pastry dough, cut around it with a sharp knife but at some point I may think of investing in a set!

Then for the chocolate version, I will reverse my stencil and we will have Scottie dogs that can face each other for a photoshoot.

 

 

Sift dry ingredients and rub in the butter. Divide the mix into two

Add the cocoa to one half and mix again.

Add the cream and egg yolk together in a glass jug.

Pour half into each of the dry ingredients and mix and blend together using a flat knife.

Knead the dough lightly - do not over-work.

Flour the board and rolling pin and then roll out to ¼" - 5mm thickness. For the chocolate pastry dough, dust the board and pin with cocoa powder.

Use the cutter if you have one or as in my case the cardboard shape you have made.

Create the fur with a fork.

Transfer the cookies onto a lightly greased baking tray with the aid of a fish slice, being careful of the tail!

Bake for around 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the plain Scottie with sugar when cool.

Cut fine slices of licorice for the eyes. I found that where I placed them on the head can alter the personality of the dog! So it pays to experiment.

Decorate with bows and serve with tartan and lace for an authentic Scottish look.

 

Should you have any left over, then store them in an airtight tin so they will keep fresh and deliciously crumbly.

 

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Hope to see you here again for another recipe from an old farmhouse in Normandie,

All the very best,
Sue

©  Sue Cross 2020