As Taylor Swift reminds us, "At tea time, everybody agrees." And, let's face it, everyone knowsshortbread is an essential tea-time staple. With its roots centered firmly in Scotland its ingredients comprisebarley, oats, potatoes, and protein-rich meats-- traditional Scottish food is nothing short of hearty. Historically, Scotland has had many great culinary teachers: the Vikings brought with them their expert ale brewing techniques, and in the 16th century, French chefs were called upon by Mary, Queen of Scots to introduce new foods into the country. While dishes like haggis and Cullen skink are the stars of the savory menu, shortbread takes the cake (somewhat literally) for being the beloved sweet treat of the Scots.
Believe it or not, shortbread isn't a bread at all, but rather, a biscuit. The name can be attributed to the fact that the government once placed taxes on biscuits; so, to dodge the taxes, Scottish bakers labeled the pastry as bread. It was a bit of a sneaky move on their part, but when we dig deeper into the origins of this now cookie-like biscuit, there's certainly no shortage of bread in its historical roots.
Shortbread has had a long, yet interesting, evolution from its origins as a medieval biscuit bread. When bakers were done crafting bread, unused dough was then twice-baked and dried into a rusk, which was a type of biscuit. Along the way, people began swapping out bread yeast for butter, and the name was changed to shortcake, as William Shakespeare called it in "The Merry Wives of Windsor." Similar to the verbiage in the terms shortcrust and shortening, the use of butter made the pastry short -- which means it had more of a crumb-like texture as opposed to the long, stretchy consistency of regular bread dough.
Shortcakes once again went through a name change by the 18th century. Parliament began placing taxes on luxuries like cakes and biscuits, so to avoid this, bakers started calling the cakes "shortbread" to keep them classified as bread -- a non-luxury good. The first printed shortbread recipe was from a woman named Mrs. McLintock in 1736, and it has been known as a bread ever since.
In more recent years, the European Union decided it wanted to classify shortbread as a common biscuit to impose new taxes in the 20th century -- but the Scottish Association of Master Bakers fought back. They claimed that the cookie is culturally significant as a bread that belongs to an ancestral line of "flour confectionery." The bakers prevailed, and the easy to bake shortbread was not taxed as a biscuit.
Shortbread originated in Scotland. Although it was prepared during much of the 12th century, and probably benefited from cultural exchange with French pastry chefs during the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland, the refinement of shortbread is popularly credited to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century.
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.
Remove the wrap if you've used it, then use a fork to prick ("dock") the dough all over; this allows any steam to escape, and prevents the shortbread from bubbling as it bakes. Prick the dough in a random pattern, or create a pretty design.
Shortbread may have been made as early as the 12th Century, however its invention is often attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th Century. Petticoat Tails were a traditional form of shortbread said to be enjoyed by the queen.
The high butter quantity in shortbread (one part sugar to two parts butter) gives it that delightfully crumbly feel. And also its name. This is because the old meaning of the world “short” reflects this crumbliness and so the name 'shortbread' stuck.
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.
Shortbread isn't a bread, it's what we Americans call a cookie. It its homeland across the pond it's a biscuit. The short part of the name is because it's made with a dough rich in fat (preferably really good butter). This is called short dough.
Walker's Shortbread Fingers are our most world famous product and have a unique bite – a crunchy yet crumbly texture with a pure butter taste – which is achieved through Walker's 100-year-old family recipe and using the finest natural ingredients.
Good shortbread is made with good butter, since it is one of the simplest things you can bake and the flavor of each ingredient is important. Flour, butter, sugar, a punch of salt, and if you like it, some minimal flavoring like citrus zest or warm spices.
The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.
Piercing the shortbread with a fork is not only for decoration, but it's meant for more even baking. Poking holes in the shortbread allows the heat to penetrate the cookie, hence more even baking. Notice I'm using powdered sugar here. You'll see lots of shortbread recipes using granulated sugar.
Legend has it that it was Mary Queen of Scots who invented this classic shortbread shape, inspired by the stitched sections of material that made up her royal petticoats. Others maintain that shortbread petticoat tails derive their name from petit* côtés, a French pointed biscuit, eaten with a glass of wine.
As shortbread was made with butter, sugar and flour, it would be both expensive and difficult to get hold of the ingredients, and so became synonymous with wealth, luxury and celebrations.
Dishes were richly scented with spices (pepper, saffron, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, mace and saffron – a delicacy only introduced to England around the 14th century), and Mary enjoyed a number of items from overseas that would have been regarded as exotic at the time (oranges, olives, capers, dates, almonds and ...
The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.
While Americans would consider a piece of shortbread a “cookie,” it's actually called a “biscuit” outside of the US. This can be confusing since Americans consider a “biscuit” something similar to a British scone.
Due to differing ratios, shortbread cookies are crumblier and more "sandy" than butter cookies, which are firm and solid enough to be iced. This mostly has to do with flour and eggs. Shortbread doesn't use eggs, while butter cookies do, making butter cookie dough more pliable and robust than its shortbread counterpart.
Shortbread is similar to shortcake but doesn't include baking powder. Lots of rich butter gives shortbread a high fat content, resulting in a fine, crumbly texture. Shortcake and shortbread biscuits are delicious on their own, with fruit and cream, or simply topped with a delicate dusting of sugar.
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Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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