January 24, 2018

Shortbread

January 24, 2018/ Blair Cowan

First, let's address the fact that this recipe is labelled 'Scotch Shortbread,' when everyone knows that the only things you should ever refer to as 'Scotch' are eggs and whisky. This is a real thing: the correct word is Scottish. And because I'm pretty sure no self-respecting Scottish person or any person who lives here would ever refer to Scotch shortbread, I have a strong suspicion that (horror of horrors!) this recipe was not, in fact, developed in Scotland, so I shall refer to it simply as shortbread.

Now, on to more important things: Thursday is Burns' Night- do you know where you'll be? If you're me, you'll be trying to talk your way out of dancing a ceilidh with a kilted youth after eating more haggis, neeps and tatties than should rightfully be allowed by law. Burns' Night is a celebration of Robert (Rabbie) Burns on his birthday every year in January, and it's a good thing he was born in January because this would be a terrible meal to eat in July.

A proper Burns' Night involves the following:

A haggis, to which you read a poem before you cut into it with a sword (not a joke- this causes like a zillion serious eye injuries every year when juices squirt out during the poem-reading or sword-slashing)
The aforementioned side dishes of neeps and tatties (neeps are like what would happen if a rutabaga met a turnip and fell in love... and also turned orange)
A bunch more poems later
A dessert like cranachan (my fave!) or shortbread
Ceilidh dancing (pronounced KAY-lee, this is traditional Scottish dancing)
And literally all of the whisky you can drink without dying.

While cranachan and sticky toffee pudding are my favourite traditional Scottish desserts, shortbread is nothing to be scoffed at- particularly after a meal as heavy as a Burns' Supper, sometimes it's nice to have a small shortbread with your coffee and call it a night (yeah right, more like 'a shortbread with your coffee before you hit the dance floor'). So if you're looking for a non-fussy Scottish recipe to celebrate your Burns' Night here in Scotland or vicariously from elsewhere, try this shortbread. It's great plain, but works well with decorations as recommended as well.

Some tips: It's important not to overwork shortbread as this will make it tough, so you'll want to mix this as little as possible. The dough will be quite a sandy texture before you roll it out, and rolling it out might be a little tough since it will want to crumble and fall apart on you. Luckily, it's ok if these cookies are a little on the thick side, and even better: if you're really not in the mood to roll this dough out, you can dump it straight into an 8-inch round baking tin, press it as flat as possible and bake it that way. If you go this route, prick the dough thoroughly with a fork after pressing it into the pan, refrigerate it for at least 15 minutes before baking, and slice it immediately after removing from the oven, while still warm.

The verdict:

4 spoons out of five. If you like shortbread, you'll love this- I'd give it more spoons, but, having a major sweet tooth and a need for frosting or at least chocolate in my desserts, shortbread is low on my list of faves. But this is the only shortbread I've ever had that tasted better the second day, when the texture seemed to mellow a bit more, meaning you can make it a day ahead (tonight!) and not worry about it going stale before you serve it tomorrow.

ONE YEAR AGO: TOLL HOUSE MARBLE SQUARES
TWO YEARS AGO: ASIAN CHICKEN TWO WAYS

the recipe:

Shortbread

the directions:

Preheat oven to 175C/350F.
Cream butter.
Add sugar gradually, beating well after each addition.
Cream until light and fluffy.
Blend in flour, baking powder and salt, mixing until a sandy mixture has formed.
Roll dough out on a well-floured surface- try to make it as thin as possible, about 1/3-inch (8.5mm).
Cut with a 2-inch round biscuit cutter.
(Alternately, pour dough into an 8-inch round pan, press flat, prick with a fork several times and bake as below).
Bake 12-15 minutes until biscuits are just starting to turn gold at the edges
As soon as shortbread comes out of the oven, decorate with candied cherries or mixed peel.
If using melted chocolate to decorate, allow cookies to cool fully first.

Makes approx. 20 cookies

the ingredients:

½ c (114g) butter
¼ c (29g) powdered sugar, sifted
1 c (120g) flour, sifted
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
Candied cherries, melted chocolate, or mixed peel to decorate

January 11, 2017

Toll House Marble Squares

January 11, 2017/ Blair Cowan

You're not supposed to mix the chips into the batter. But I misread and sprinkled some in. Don't be like me.

It's been awhile, dear reader. I know that, you know that, and while I'm ashamed to admit the way that I let 2016 get away from me, let's be real: it wasn't a great year for most of the world. On a personal level, I travelled more than I ever have in a single 12 month period (14 trips, 10 of them outside Scotland!), I quit a job that was leading nowhere and acquired a job in my field that I love (all within a week of each other!), and I planned & executed a week-long major event at my workplace- in fun news, I read more books for pleasure in 2016 than I think I have since high school (part of this was an escapism urge, and maybe better used elsewhere); Judson got his UK driver's license (a process that took him two years because of all the hoops we have to jump through) and a much-deserved promotion along with lucrative and fun freelance design gigs, and we got to see friends from all over the world here in Edinburgh.

So maybe that explains a little of why I was in and out of here all throughout last year. I can't claim burnout on something I had done for only a year previously, but starting a new job really took so. much. energy. and then I got used to being able to come home after a long day and relax with a book instead of trying to cook/photograph/edit/write/post and it was a nice change of pace. Previously, throughout the entirety of my adult life I've almost always been looking for a job, so now that I have a job I like, it was a pleasing change of events to not have anything I had to be doing. So with my birthday and the holiday season on the horizon in early November, I resolved to get back in the saddle and start cooking again. In fact, I had a whole celebratory post written about my birthday and the US election and how excited I was about both (I made tiny sugar cookies in the shapes of gingerbread ladies on election day, and I was STOKED). But then when I awoke to the news the next morning, my spirits were crushed and November became more about surviving than it was about writing.

On the bright side, these months off have allowed me to experiment more with the things I love to cook, and Judson and I have never eaten better. From duck & sweet potato rosti to brown butter kimchi ramen, from my (other) grandmother's cinnamon rolls and egg nog to the booziest cranberry sauce I ever accidentally made, it's been a good time to be a resident of the Cowan house.

But I've missed cooking these weird recipes and I've missed Eleanor. I miss engaging with the past in this way and I miss, honestly, the reminder that the world spins madly on. The reminder that other people (other women) have been through good times and bad for eons before me and that we'll continue to survive no matter what the future holds.

So here's a simple recipe for getting back in the saddle. Maybe you've never been much of a 'homemade' type person, maybe you hate cooking, maybe you're trying to cut out packaged foods in the new year, or maybe, like me, the kitchen is an old friend you've just been treating badly for the last few months. Here's a recipe that takes only a few minutes to whip up but will leave you pleased with your efforts and without too many dishes to clean, and your friends will think it's fab that you made them a home-baked dessert... if you decide to share.