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Wednesday 14 January 2015

A Few of my Favourite (Scottish) Things

Burn's Night isn't a very big deal in our house.

So far, Lori and Josie have had to learn a few poems, and I have cooked haggis once. That was last year, and I only did it because the girls were interested in what a Burn's Supper might taste like. I made whisky sauce to go with it, but it was a bit gross.

This year Lori has been going around singing My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose at every opportunity, which Josie is particularly displeased about.It is a truly unique rendition of the song, which doesn't mean it is good, and I am saving all your eardrums (although it might only be audible to dogs lately) by not sharing it with you. You are welcome.

However, quite by chance, and nothing to do with the approaching celebration of some random Scottish poet whose work I mostly hate, I have been making a few recipes that have a distinctively Scottish culinary twist.

The Millionaire's Shortbread one was particularly popular with everyone who tried it (me, me, me, me again, me, me for 6th helpings, tiny sliver for whining child, ME!).

Millionaire's Shortbread

I had to make this. Had to. I had some caramel in the fridge, left over from Christmas. I had some white chocolate, left over from Hallowe'en. And I had some shortbread, left over from New Year. I love shortbread. There's something quite delicious about its rich butteriness combined with sugar and a slightly salty flavour.


White Chocolate Millionaire's Shortbread

Treacle Tart

My Mum makes a lovely treacle tart. This isn't her recipe. Treacle tart usually calls for breadcrumbs, which I didn't have, but I'm always up for experimentation as a cooking technique. And that's where the Burns/Scottish reference comes in, as I substituted the breadcrumbs for porridge oats. I also didn't have treacle, but I had some molasses and it's not too dissimilar. I think this one came out very treacly, possibly because of the molasses, but it certainly was much more like a treacle toffee tart than the syrupy ones my Mum makes. It tasted better than it looked. The girls each had a slice in their packed lunch boxes, but they sneaked them out to eat at break time as a snack, and reported much enjoyment.

Treacle Tart with Porridge Oats



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