Mike..........thanks for the recipe!

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 08:16:21 AM

In case you guys missed it...........

Ok, here it is.

Scottish Shortbread

4 cups Flour
1 lb. Butter
1 cup Sugar
(optional) zest of lemon, orange or lime

Mix flour and sugar (and zest if additional flavoring desired) in bowl. Add butter and knead until well mixed together, dough should be light, but not crumbly. Line sheet cake pan with pastry paper and lightly press dough onto paper. A rolling pin can be careful used to smooth and even out the dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove immediately and let cool for 5 minutes. For decoration, drag a fork across the top to create a plaid design before slicing into cubes. Let cookies completely cool before removing from pan.

TerriL · December 04, 2006, 09:10:23 AM

Yummy! I love shortbread! That is going on my baking list for sure!

Mike · December 04, 2006, 11:33:19 AM

One thing I forgot to mention....

They taste better if they age a couple of weeks after baking.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 04, 2006, 02:30:31 PM

Stand back I am going to try these too! I have some new found cousins I am going to visit this weekend and was trying to come up with something to bring. This sounds like something I might be able to pull off! Few ingredients...my usual buy 4 times more than you need because I WILL ruin a minimum of 2 batches (it's a given).

Questions:
What is a sheet cake pan? Just a cookie sheet with sides?
What is pastry paper and where does one find it?
How are they aged...do you leave them in a tupperware container on the counter or in the fridge or freeze or??

And lastly...is it possible to do this whole thing with throw away items so no dish washing would be involved? :thumb:

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 02:57:11 PM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 04, 2006, 02:30:31 PM
Stand back I am going to try these too! I have some new found cousins I am going to visit this weekend and was trying to come up with something to bring. This sounds like something I might be able to pull off! Few ingredients...my usual buy 4 times more than you need because I WILL ruin a minimum of 2 batches (it's a given).

Questions:
What is a sheet cake pan? Just a cookie sheet with sides?
What is pastry paper and where does one find it?
How are they aged...do you leave them in a tupperware container on the counter or in the fridge or freeze or??

And lastly...is it possible to do this whole thing with throw away items so no dish washing would be involved? :thumb:

A sheet cake pan is a 13x9x2-inch baking pan, either metal or glass.
Pastry paper is also knows as parchment paper and is found with the foil and plastic wrap. Use enough to overlap two sides to make it easy to lift the shortbread out after it cools. Lifting it out onto a cutting board will make cutting it into uniform bars easier too.
You can lightly butter the pan, or use non-stick spray, and that will make the parchment paper stick to the pan better.
Aging.......hmmm, I would say wrap in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate.
I don't think this can be done with all throw-away items. In fact, go buy yourself a pastry blender.
http://www.kitchen-classics.com/pastry.htm
It will make it alot easier to "cut" the butter into the flour and sugar mix. Otherwise you will have to use a big fork. And its the "cutting" of the butter into the flour that gives a nice flakey result.
Hope this helps.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 04, 2006, 03:07:51 PM

Yes that helps a lot thanks Patty!! I am on a mission. I don't see how I can totally mess this one up...but I always have oreos for a back up!

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 03:09:04 PM

I wish I could come down and show you the technique. But I'm probably being too anal, you will most likely do just fine. Have you seen the movie To Dance With The White Dog? The part where he is making biscuits? Its SO funny. He keeps adding more flour, then milk, then more flour, and ends up with about 50 biscuits that end up hard as a rock when he bakes them.

Mike · December 04, 2006, 03:09:10 PM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 04, 2006, 02:30:31 PM
How are they aged...do you leave them in a tupperware container on the counter or in the fridge or freeze or??

Just let them sit in a cookie tin or wrapped in aluminum foil so they can breathe a bit. I never put them in the frig coz 1. you forget they are there and 2. butter will attract all sorts of flavors and odors (mmmm broccoli shortbread!!!) and 3. as they dry out a bit they should get even lighter.

PS the last batch I made on Friday night I just kneaded the ingredients in the bowl as though I was making bread and they turned out great.

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 03:14:53 PM

A good backup recipe (no bake):

CRISPY CHOCOLATE MOUNDS
1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch chips,
1 cup crisp rice krispies cereal, ½ cup raisins,
½ cup peanuts, ½ cup coconut

In double boiler (or microwave) melt chocolate and butterscotch
Chips, stir until smooth. Remove from heat.
Stir in cereal, raisins, nuts and coconut.
Drop by tablespoon onto foil lined baking sheet.
Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

NOT that I don't think you can handle the shortbread.

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 03:19:42 PM

Quote from: Mike on December 04, 2006, 03:09:10 PM
Just let them sit in a cookie tin or wrapped in aluminum foil so they can breathe a bit. I never put them in the frig coz 1. you forget they are there and 2. butter will attract all sorts of flavors and odors (mmmm broccoli shortbread!!!) and 3. as they dry out a bit they should get even lighter.

PS the last batch I made on Friday night I just kneaded the ingredients in the bowl as though I was making bread and they turned out great.

Good point about them attracting fridge odors! But all DD has in her fridge is Snapple and canned pumpkin.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 04, 2006, 03:41:56 PM

Ohh double broiler can you rent those?

Dang now see if you lived here I could do your photos and you could bake my cookies! Cousins may never want to see me again after this lol.

THanks Mike ok I'll keep the little boogers safe.

QuoteBut all DD has in her fridge is Snapple and canned pumpkin.

And some leftover gerkins from when Gail and Colin were here. :thumb: (what year was that?)

PattyInAK · December 04, 2006, 03:49:52 PM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 04, 2006, 03:41:56 PM
Ohh double broiler can you rent those?

Dang now see if you lived here I could do your photos and you could bake my cookies! Cousins may never want to see me again after this lol.

THanks Mike ok I'll keep the little boogers safe.
And some leftover gerkins from when Gail and Colin were here. :thumb: (what year was that?)

Forget the double-boiler! LOL!!! Just melt the chips in the microwave. Dee, you are too much!

I, too, wish we lived closer cause I really do need help with my Christmas photo. I would really like this scenario: Dan and I, sitting on our deck with Santa hats on. Willy, Alex and Misty on Dan's lap, and me with Neeki in her Santa hat, with the house in the background.

Brekkesmom · December 04, 2006, 05:29:45 PM

That was 2001, DD! And Patty - I make a recipe like the second one you had, but since I despise raisins 98% of the time, mine came originally without any mention of the dreaded "r" word! DD - I think you mean "double boiler" - and all you need is a pan that sits inside a larger pan of water so you can bring it to a boil and melt something indirectly... Good luck on the Scotch shortbread! The last time I had Mike's, it was aged a couple of weeks after Brenda got it and then I aged it about 3 more weeks before I touched any, and then.... YUMM-O!

Roberta · December 04, 2006, 11:53:07 PM

We actually add a bit of rice flour, when we make it.
Dee Dee please take pictures.....................
We also make another nice one highlanders (I'll use non SI units)
5oz plain flour
4oz butter
2oz castor sugar
2oz rice flour
milk and demerara sugar

1.Cream castor sugar and butter together
2.add flour and rice flour and mix well. Finally using your hands to bind it(for dee dee put (knead) it into a ball.
3.roll into a thick sausage
4. brush with milk and roll in demerara sugar
5. cut into slices(15-20)
6
bake at 375 F 0r 190 C for 15-20 minutes till golden brown.

They are divine as the sugar around the edges carmalizes.

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 05, 2006, 02:23:27 AM

Ermmm... I have 5 year old gerkins in my fridge??

Struck out again on the pans I only have one...how about a stainless steel dog bowl inside a pan? I will remember to boil, not broil.

OH heavens Roberta are you telling me there is more than one kind of sugar??? The heck? Demerara? (is this where I say "gesunheidt"?) Heard of castor oil but never heard of it in sugar...uh oh I'm re reading TWO kinds of flour too? Rice flour? You're just messin' with my head now aren't you. :thinik: LOL. If I can get the box boy at Safeway to find me the stuff I just might try this. (as soon as I get confirmation that the dog bowl in the pan will work...).

Love the idea you have for your Christmas pic Patty. That would be a tough one to do on your own...do you have a neighbor or someone who can help you? Timer wouldn't work I can see horses and dogs scattering as you ran back to get into the shot!

Mike · December 05, 2006, 05:19:31 AM

The highlander shortbread sounds good, Roberta. I'll have to pass that on to my family.

PattyInAK · December 05, 2006, 08:31:31 AM

Quote from: Dee Dee and Hallie on December 05, 2006, 02:23:27 AM
Ermmm... I have 5 year old gerkins in my fridge??

Struck out again on the pans I only have one...how about a stainless steel dog bowl inside a pan? I will remember to boil, not broil.

OH heavens Roberta are you telling me there is more than one kind of sugar??? The heck? Demerara? (is this where I say "gesunheidt"?) Heard of castor oil but never heard of it in sugar...uh oh I'm re reading TWO kinds of flour too? Rice flour? You're just messin' with my head now aren't you. :thinik: LOL. If I can get the box boy at Safeway to find me the stuff I just might try this. (as soon as I get confirmation that the dog bowl in the pan will work...).

Love the idea you have for your Christmas pic Patty. That would be a tough one to do on your own...do you have a neighbor or someone who can help you? Timer wouldn't work I can see horses and dogs scattering as you ran back to get into the shot!

Will definitely need the help of a neighbor for this shot. OR I can anchor all pets down to the deck, set the timer and make a run for it. Naw.....that would be a disaster in the making, especially with Neeki.

Brekkesmom · December 06, 2006, 07:39:46 PM

Gosh, Roberta - yours sounds good! I dunno if anyplace around sells Demerara sugar or castor sugar, though. I'll have to ask Mrs. Martinez - she was a pastry chef before she finished her teaching credential. (That's Frida and Willie's mom, btw, who will be posting Bobo pictures soon, I'm sure!)

auntydoxzz · December 08, 2006, 02:02:13 AM

:meme:

Hopefully this works.
For those of us in the USA, castor sugar is sold as superfine granulated sugar.

the Demerara is apparently a type of "raw sugar" so you might be able to use something like either brown sugar(which is really purified sugar along with molasses) or else some of the other more basic types of sugar such as turbinado sugar. Here is a quote from a web site I just looked up.
Demerara sugar and turbinado sugar, which are both dry and coarse-textured, and Barbados sugar, which is moist and fine-textured, can certainly be acceptable substitutes for brown sugar. But all three lean towards brown sugar in taste, so you can forget them if you are trying to avoid that flavor.(the answer was what the poster could use to substitute for brown sugar besides white sugar combined with molasses.)

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 08, 2006, 11:22:51 AM

I am going to try making these today (Heaven save us all!) and am planning to use all regular sugar and brown sugar and all regular flour....???

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 08, 2006, 07:10:42 PM

OK one batch out and one still in the oven. So far, nothing has blown up and Hallie is still in the house (she usually runs outside and shakes when I turn the oven on and won't come back in. obviously, as smart as she is, she can't know to be afraid of my cooking LOL but she is just terrified of smoke I learned a couple of years ago so I can only surmise the rarely used oven is smoking to where I can't smell it but she can).

I used plain flour for the whole thing, regular white sugar and regular brown sugar. I found a big bag of flour that had expired Nov 21, 2005 but I figured it wouldn't kill anybody. :thumb:

I tasted a warm one and it wasn't half bad! I am anxious to see how a cool one tastes. Oh and a half cool one. And a really cool one.

I was going to do a batch of Mike's shortbread too but I used up the entire tub of butter-like stuff I used for Roberta's cookies so I will do a batch of shortbread for Christmas.

I feel so domestic!

That will be my domestic contribution for the year. Thanks for the recipes guys!

PattyInAK · December 11, 2006, 08:48:00 AM

CONGRATULATIONS DD ON SUCCESSFUL BAKING!!!

Dee Dee and Hallie · December 11, 2006, 01:38:33 PM

Welll it was a success in that the house is still standing. But I didn't know how big of logs to roll them into to cut them so I just rolled them into individual balls...and after they cooled, well lets just say you could throw one and knock a bird out of the sky at 20 yards.

Merion · December 11, 2006, 01:49:49 PM

My dogs don't like me turning on the oven..... :crazyeyes: but that is because they know the smoke alarm is going to go off in a little while. They hate the alarm!!!!!!!

Merion & the ZZ's

auntydoxzz · December 11, 2006, 11:37:17 PM

DeeDee are you saying they are a wee bit hard? That might be due to the age of the flour.

If so if all else fails, crumble em and use them for a cookie crust for something.

PS Merion is telling the truth!! Sometimes she even has to go in the bedroom and get poor Wacky Zack out of the round tub he seems to head for(the sides are too high for him to climb out!!

Auntydoxzz