Shortbread is a traditional New Year’s Day treat believed to bring good luck. It is incredibly easy to make with a handful of ingredients.
Scotland is known for its big celebration of New Year, which they call Hogmanay, and on New Year’s Day, it is common for people to gift each other shortbread.
There is a tradition called ‘first-footing’ in which the first person to enter your home after midnight needs to give a gift to ensure you have good fortune for the rest of the year.
Shortbread is a simple yet heartfelt gift, and Mary Berry has a quick recipe that you can bake now if you want to give a loved one a lucky start to 2025.
In her cookbook ‘100 Cakes and Bakes’, Mary said: “For a really good shortbread, it is essential to use butter. I like to use semolina as well as flour to give the shortbread crunch, but you can use cornflour or ground rice instead.”
How to make shortbread for New Year’s Day
Ingredients (for 30 pieces)
- 225g of plain flour
- 100g of semolina
- 225g of butter
- 100g of caster sugar
- 25g of demerara sugar (for dusting)
- 50g of flaked almonds (optional)
You will also need a traybake or roasting tin that is 30 to 23 centimetres wide.
Mary added: “To make orange shortbread, add the zest of one large orange to the mixture.
“Glace cherries, dried apricots and sultanas make delicious additions to shortbread, but the biscuits then need to be eaten on the day of making as they soon become soggy with the moisture from the fruit.”
Method
To begin, preheat the oven to 160C (or fan 140C or Gas Mark 3). Then, lightly grease a cooking tray with butter.
Next, mix the flour and semolina or a bowl. Add the butter and sugar, then rub everything together with your fingers until the mixture comes together.
Continue to rub and knead the mixture until it forms a smooth dough. Press the dough into the prepared tray, and then use a spatula to level the surface.
Then use a fork to prick the dough all over, sprinkle the flaked almonds if you are using then place the dough in the fridge until it becomes firm.
Once you are ready to cook, bake the shortbread in the oven for 35 minutes or until it is a pale golden colour.
After you take it out of the oven sprinkle it with the demerara sugar and leave to cool for a few minutes.
Cut the shortbread into 30 fingers, and your your tasty biscuits are now ready to eat.
