And the weather is awful, which makes me feel even worse. Mainly because I have no biscuits in the house and there's no way I'm going out to buy some!! And let's face it, when you feel rotten and it's pouring rain outside, you NEED tea and biscuits!
So I had a rummage around the kitchen and came up with 1 slightly soft chocolate Digestive (whoo hoo!!), plus some flour, sugar and butter which screamed "MAKE US INTO SHORTBREAD!!!" at me. Who am I to refuse the demands of 3 simple ingredients when they seem so desperate. (yes, I may have overdone the ibuprofen and lemsips today...)
I dug out my old Great Auntie Jean's book of Plain Cookery Recipes from The Edinburgh School of Cookery and Domestic Economy. I don't think Auntie Jean actually attended the school, she probably bought or was given the book:
I love reading old books like this! There were also a few recipes cut out of 1950s newspapers tucked in the back for various sweets, jams and marmalades - lovely! However, their shortbread recipe called for rice flour which I didn't have today so I ended up using an old recipe I have scribbled down that uses 175g butter (at room temperature), 250g plain flour and 75g caster sugar. I only had 170g butter in the fridge but I'm not much of a stickler for exact measures anyway so just bashed on.
Auntie Jean was the sister of my Gran Blair - Agnes Irvine Blair. My son has the same middle name as her. She always appreciated that I had an interest in our family history and in passing things down through generations so she gave me her old cook books amongst other things dear to her, I still miss the chats we had in front of her old fireplace in Dundee :(
One of my fondest memories of my gran is making shortbread highlanders with her on rainy afternoons whilst the boys were at the football. So in her memory, that's what I made today. If you come round for a cuppa and I offer you one, don't worry, I DID wash my germ ridden hands first!
It's such an easy recipe. Heat the oven to about gas mark 3 or equivalent, so a fairly cool bake. I cream the butter and sugar together then sift in the flour. Then just get your hands in and combine it all. Use a little drop of milk or water if it's a little bit dry. I also added a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Roll the mix into a long sausage about 2" in diameter. Then put some demerara sugar into a baking tray and coat the whole roll in the sugar, making sure it's pressed in and that the ends are covered too. Pop it into the fridge for about 30-40 mins til it firms up. Cut it into 1/2" thick rounds, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or 5 mins longer if you like them darker. Cool on a wire rack then get the kettle on and make a cuppa!
Even with a runny nose and achey body, who wouldn't feel just a little bit better after a cup of tea and a crisp, buttery shorty highlander?! Thanks to my Gran Blair for the memories xxxxx
That looks really yummy comfort eat, Jill.
ReplyDeleteI still think you should have your own You Tube - 'Bake With Jill' channel : ) Sorry to read you've been under the weather. I hope you feel miles better soon. I've got the rest of GG baking in the oven with its own special secret recipe, which hopefully you'll be privy to soon. But in the meantime curl up and watch ' How I Met Your Mother' on E4, that always makes me smile if I'm feeling a bit blue. Take care you. xxx
I stumbled across HIMYM a month or so ago and completely agree, it's feel good TV! I had a marathon catch up of that and The Middle this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the rest of GG, it's been nice to catch up with them all again xxx