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Despite being from the same island as the Britons (and the Welsh), Scotland has its own totally unique culture, history, language, and cuisine. Though the Roman Empire heavily influenced the development of British food when the Romans occupied England, they never got very far into Scotland -- heck, the Romans even built Hadrian's Wallto deter the Scots from England. Since the British were the dominant empire in the world for a long time, one might naturally assume they originated popular dishes that are commonly found in English cuisine.
So if you hear the term "Scottish shortbread," you might think it's a different version of the shortbread you're familiar with, right? Well ... actually, no. "Shortbread" is just Scottish shortbread; they're one and the same. While the recipe has changed throughout its history, and there is a version of shortbread from Ireland, the original shortbread you're familiar with comes from Scotland.
Though people always seem to think of haggis (even though its origins aren't Scottish) when the subject of Scottish food comes up, shortbread may be the nation's signature dish. Its history is over a millennia old, dating back to the Middle Agestradition of "biscuit bread," whereby excess dough was left in an oven on low heat until it hardened. Over time, the yeast in the recipe was replaced with butter (probably thanks to cultural exchanges that occurred as part of Scotland's long history with France), and shortbread became a recipe all of its own. That's actually where the name "shortbread" comes from: it has a crumbly (or "short") texture thanks to its ratio of one part sugar to two parts butter.
Because of the cost of butter, though, it was long considered a special occasion food and given rarefied regard. This status was bolstered byMary Queen of Scots' love of shortbread. In fact, cooks in Mary's court during the mid-16th century are sometimes credited with the creation of modern shortbread as it transitioned toward its current buttery state. From Scotland, the treat not only traveled south to England and west to Ireland, but also across the Atlantic with Scottish settlers in the American South -- which is why shortbread is a traditional part of American southern cuisine to this day.
Irish Shortbread Is Distinct From Scottish Shortbread
There isn't really an English version of shortbread; the version the British use is just classic Scottish shortbread from which the word "Scottish" has been shorn. There is, however, a type of Irish shortbread that's similar yet distinct from the more classic version. Irish shortbread not only sometimeschanges up the butter-to-sugar ratio (possibly going with 2/3 a cup of sugar to 1 cup of butter), but also adds cornstarch in place of some of the flour present in the traditional recipe. As cornstarch is a potent thickener relative to flour, this creates a denser cookie.
Whichever version of shortbread you prefer, though, the original -- which is often just called "shortbread" -- came from Scotland. So next time you sit down to enjoy a delicious crumbly confection, be sure to thank the Scots for coming up with it in the first place.
Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.
What's the difference between Scottish shortbread and regular shortbread? Texture is where the two styles depart: The traditional Scottish shortbread recipe uses flour, butter, sugar and salt, with some versions completely omitting the salt. Regular shortbread adds leavening agents like baking soda or baking powder.
The famous Scottish Queen Mary is often credited with the invention, or at least refinement of modern shortbread, as it was the cooks at her court who further improved it by taking influences from French cooking that developed at the court, and refining the biscuit using butter, flour and sugar as the main ingredients.
The difference between butter cookies and shortbread cookies is the amount butter in the recipe vs the amount of sugar. Butter cookies typically are made using more sugar and less butter than shortbread.
Why do you put shortbread cut-out cookies in the fridge before baking? This is to resolidify the butter. The butter is at room temperature when making the dough resulting in a soft dough. If baked straight away, the butter would melt away immediately when hitting the hot oven and the shortbread would spread.
The key with shortbread is not to overhandle it. Make the dough exactly as instructed, but don't mess around making shapes or over rolling the dough - you will end up with delicious but tough biscuits. Stretching and pulling the dough activates the gluten in the flour, making chewy cookies and not crisp ones.
It has been suggested that a French term for the wedges of shortbread was petit* gâteaux or petites gatelles – little cakes, and this became "petticoat tails". It is now thought the Scots term derives from the decorated round edge of the segments which resemble petticoats.
The name "millionaire's shortbread" appears to have originated in Scotland. The "millionaire" prefix to millionaire's shortbread or millionaires slice implies a level of decadence and wealth to the sweet treat, that it is an upgrade from regular shortbread.
Cornstarch provides the shortbread with structure, but its biggest job is keeping the cookies extra soft, tender, and light. I love adding a small amount to chocolate chip cookies too. Optional Coarse Sugar Topping: For an optional sparkly crunch on your shortbread wedges, add a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking.
Chilling the dough before baking will help the shortbread keep their shape while cooking. In the oven, the dough will spread as the butter in the mixture melts, but baking it from chilled helps reduce this effect. It's most important to do this if you are baking the shortbread in individual biscuits.
Bake the shortbread for 16 to 17 minutes, until set and just beginning to turn golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the pans, then transfer to a wire rack. Store shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks - best eaten the week that they are made.
To most of the rest of the English-speaking world, a biscuit is what Americans would refer to as either a cookie or a cracker. Biscuits can be sweet (shortbread) or savory. They're baked in the oven, and they're crisp, not chewy.
The Scotch Finger is somewhat different to a Scottish Shortbread biscuit. It is a bit less 'short', and has a distinct malty flavour particularly on the aftertaste; the butter is less evident the you might expect.
Introduction: My name is Errol Quitzon, I am a fair, cute, fancy, clean, attractive, sparkling, kind person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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