This week, with the New Year beginning, Roy and I decided to look at the Scottish tradition of Hogmanay. Many of you may not know of this tradition, but it is a celebration of the New Year with a long history and with many important customs associated with it. To help you get into the spirit of Hogmanay, we thought we would teach you to make Shortbread, a food which often plays an important role in Hogmanay.
Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the old year, and is a festival which welcomes the New Year. We cannot be sure where or when exactly the tradition began, but it is a time of great festivity, steeped in superstition and tradition. It is a time when families spend time together, and when they prepare to greet the New Year. There are many customs associated with Hogmanay, many of which are designed to rid the house of evil and ensure good luck for the coming year. One of these customs is the 'First Footing'. The first person to step into a house in the New Year is called the first footer. They should traditionally be a tall, dark haired man and be honest, good tempered, healthy and well liked. They should also not be carrying any sort of sharp impliment, like a knife. It is (historically) unlucky for your first footer to be a woman, have red hair, be a doctor, a minister, a thief, a grave-digger or someone with a handicap, who has flat feet or whose eyebrows meet in the middle. Although these people are historically unlucky, most people do not adhere to this anymore - it is simply luckiest if your first footer is a dark haired man. It is however unlucky for the first footer to arrive without any gifts! They traditionally carry four things:
- A bottle, to offer the household a drink
- A lump of coal to ensure that the house will be warm, comfortable and safe in the New Year
- A silver coin to bring the household prosperity for the New Year
- Either black bun or shortbread to ensure that the household won't go hungry in the New Year.
Shortbread
Many traditional shortbread recipes have rice flour in them, but mine doesn't. This is the recipe which came with my families shortbread stamp - which is even older than me!
Before you start, make sure you have a flat surface to work on and clean hands! Read the whole recipe before you start!
You Will Need:
- 125 grams of butter
- 125 grams of margarine
- 125 grams of icing sugar
- 60 grams of corn flour
- 300 grams of plain flour
- Castor sugar, for dusting or using to 'stamp' your cookies
- A rolling pin
- Extra flour to make rolling out easier
- Cookie cutter or a glass (I used a wine glass)
- Baking trays, prepared with baking paper
- Cling wrap or freezer bags
Method:
- Pre-heat your oven to 160 degrees celcius.
- Put your butter, margarine, icing sugar, corn flour and plain flour into a bowl. Using the very tips of your fingers (so the butter doesn't melt), rub the butter through the dry ingredients until the mix looks a bit like bread crumbs. You can also do this with a cutter (like I did) or in a food processor
- Turn the mix out onto a clean, dry surface (I use a pastry mat) and work into a soft dough.
- The mix is very soft because it has so much butter in it, and you might like to chill it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to make rolling it out easier. This is optional, but it does help, especially if you live in a hot climate like I do!
- Put a little bit of flour on your clean, dry surface and press out your dough into a flatish disk. Do NOT use the palms of your hands to do this, because they will heat the dough back up. Use only the tips of your fingers where possible!
- Roll your dough out until it is about 5 millimetres thick and then cut into shapes. I use a wine glass because it is the same size as my cookie stamp!
- Transfer your cookies onto your baking trays and sprinkle with castor sugar. If you own a cookie stamp, like I do, you can dip it into the castor sugar and press it into the cookies. You will leave behind a nice pattern!
- Bake until they are a light golden colour. My cookies take about 15 minutes to cook, but it will depend on the size you make yours, and on your oven.
- Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container.
- Enjoy and Happy New Year!