HOLIDAY RECIPE: Scottish shortbread

Many Sammamish residents have family traditions they follow during the holiday season, including recipes they cannot live without during this time of the year. We picked a few recipes to share with the community. If you have a recipe you would like to share, please send it to info@sammamishindependent.com.

Lisa Jensen found herself drawn to this Scottish shortbread recipe about 35 years ago, which was passed down to her from her husband’s side of the family.

“My mother-in-law made the very best Scottish shortbread that she said was probably her grandmother’s recipe, handed down to her mother and then her,” said the 60-year-old Jensen.

Her grandmother-in-law, Sarah Robertson, was born in 1911, so Jensen believes that this recipe is more than 100 years old. Jensen has been making Scottish shortbreads for over 30 years and even includes them in her holiday gifts.

“I have always enjoyed it partly because of the history and also because it is so simple to make,” said Jensen, who finds it funny that friends ask her to make these when they can do it easily themselves.

Ingredients:

½ lb of butter (salted or unsalted), softened to room temperature

½ cup of sugar (granulated or powdered)

2 cups of flour

½ tsp of baking powder

Instructions:

Combine everything together into a bowl and knead it with your hands into a fine crumb. Pat the dough into a 6-inch pan (makes a thicker shortbread) or an 8-inch pan (makes a thinner shortbread). Greasing the pan is not required but you can use parchment paper for ease of lifting it out. Bake it for 30 to 35 minutes at 350°F, until the edges are golden brown.