Professor Butter Beard and François Clouet’s “Mary, Queen of Scots”
“There’s a lot of fantasy about what Scotland is, and the shortbread tins and that sort of thing….” – Sean Connery
Oh yes, Sean, Scotland is full of otherworldly and wonderous fantasy. But one out-and-out certainty is that the shortbread is absolutely, positively, and undeniably delicious. Is it the Scottish butter? Is it the addition of rice flour to create that shattering crumble when you take your first bite? Or is it the history and tradition that warms and hugs your soul with every delectable nibble.
Scottish cooks have always been famous for their soups, haggis and their baking, especially scones, pancakes, fruit cakes, oatcakes and the buttery shortbreads. Culinary historians agree that the concept of shortbread originated in Scotland. Although it was prepared during much of the 12th century, and probably benefited from cultural exchange with French pastry chefs during the 13th century Auld Alliance between France and Scotland against England, the refinement of shortbread is popularly credited to Mary, Queen of Scots during the 16th century.
Mary Stuart was born on December 8th, 1542, at Linlithgow Palace, Scotland, to King James V and his French second wife, Mary of Guise. She was said to have been born prematurely and was the only legitimate child of James to survive him. She was the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII of England through her paternal grandmother, Margaret Tudor. Margaret was Henry VIII's older sister, so lucky Mary was actually King Henry VIII's great-niece. On December 14th, when she was six days old, she became Queen of Scotland after the death of her father.
King Henry II of France proposed to unite France and Scotland by marrying the young queen to his three-year-old son, the Dauphin Francis. In 1548, with her marriage agreement in place, five-year-old Mary was sent to France to spend the next thirteen years at the French court. While in France, Mary learned to play lute and virginals, was competent in prose, poetry, horsemanship, falconry, and needlework, and was taught French, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and Greek, in addition to her native Gaelic. She feasted on the best offerings created by the top savory and pastry chefs in Paris. According to her biographers, she forever remembered and favored the buttery shortbreads.
King Francis II died on December 5th, 1560, of a middle ear infection that led to an abscess in his brain and young Mary was suddenly left a grief-stricken widow. Her mother-in-law, Catherine de' Medici, became regent for the late king's ten-year-old brother Charles IX, who then inherited the French throne. Mary returned to Scotland nine months later, arriving in Leith on August 19th, 1561. And it was then that her true turbulence fully erupted and followed her to her execution as a traitor to the English Queen Elizabeth 1.
As a member of French royalty, she had been painted multiple time by François Clouet, the French Renaissance miniaturist and painter, particularly known for his detailed portraits of the French ruling family. He was the eldest son of the painter Jean Clouet, whom I have featured a few times in previous posts. François Clouet’s work is respected as remarkable for the elaborate finish of all the details, the extreme accuracy of the drawing, and the exquisite completeness of his whole portraits. He is thought have been a man of high intelligence, and of great penetration, intensely interested in his work, and with considerable ability to represent the character of his sitter in his portraits. He captured the vibrant Mary in her prime as the youthful French bride of the king, and then once again in white mourning as a young widow. Both, painted during extreme twists along her journey, capture a young women with already a heavy, yet fully aware, human soul.
The modern-day Scottish shortbread has been historically attributed to Mary, who was said to be very fond of “Petticoat Tails,” a thin, crisp, buttery shortbread originally flavored with caraway seeds and baked in a decorated stoneware pan. The resulting triangles fit together into a circle and echo the shape of the pieces of fabric used to make the highly detailed petticoats during the reign of Elizabeth I. I bake my version is my treasured stoneware pan decorated with Scottish thistle – the “flower of Scotland.” Instead of caraway seeds, I pack mine full of toasted hazelnuts. They may just bring to life a few Scottish fantasies, and encourage a smile from Mary, the Queen of the Scots.
Hazelnut Shortbread
Fills one 8” classic stoneware shortbread pan and a backup 8” square cake pan
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup white basmati rice
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp hazelnut flour (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill)
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 tsp hazelnut extract
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and lightly chopped.
1) Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil your Scottish shortbread stoneware pan and line an 8” square cake with parchment paper (or line two 8” cake pans).
2) Lightly toast your hazelnuts and set aside to cool.
3) In a spice grinder or food processor, grind the granulated sugar and rice into a medium powder.
4) In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar/rice, the all-purpose flour, hazelnut flour and salt. Set aside.
5) In a standing mixer, cream the butter until light and smooth. Add in the vanilla paste and hazelnut extract and mix to combine. With the mixer on low, add in the dry mix about ½ cup at a time until the dough just starts to come together. Do not overmix!
6) Divide the dough in half and firmly press each half into the prepared pans. Divide the chopped hazelnuts in half and sprinkle them over the doughs. Lightly press the nuts into the dough to level out the top. (This will allow a better indentation if you are using a decorative stoneware pan.)
7) Bake the shortbreads for 35-40 minutes until lightly browned.
8) Let the shortbread cool in its pan for about 10 minutes before your loosen the edges with a knife and flip the pans over onto a wooden cutting board. If the shortbread does not come right out, tap one edge of the pan. Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm.
