016: A Christmas Episode - Drummer Boys & Short Breads

re-release with slightly improved audio levels

What kind of drum did that boy play? Also: what was that mother thinking, letting a drummer play anywhere near a newborn? You're about to find the answers to these questions, plus you'll learn to make shortbread from the very best - Jeff McClellan! (and he doesn't only bake bread - he also sings Bread!)

Tune in to this episode to hear Heidi say, "I, like you, thought that [the Von Trapps & Narwals] were fake..."

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Follow along from your own kitchen:

Scottish Shortbread Recipe

Traditional, adapted by Jeff McClellan from various sources

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed brown sugar (I reduce to 2/3 cup; still plenty sweet)
• 1 lb. butter, softened
• 4-4.5 cups flour (half white flour; half oat flour)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

• Most recipes use white sugar; I use brown sugar; I also reduce the amount of sugar to 2/3 cup just to limit my sugar.

2. Add any desired flavors or mix-ins.

• Tradition would keep it to the three ingredients, but you can spice it up if you wish.
• Flavorings (add before the flour): maple, almond, cinnamon, vanilla (about a teaspoon, depending on how strong you want the flavor)
• Mix-ins (add after the flour): dried fruits, nuts (perhaps chocolate chips?)

3. Add 3-3.5 cups of flour a little at a time and mix well.

• In early days, shortbread would have been made with oat flour; later wheat flour replaced oat flour.
• I like to use a combination of half white flour and half oat flour. For the oat flour, I put a bunch of oats in the blender and grind them up. The oat flour makes the cookies a little more dense, increases the crumbly texture a bit, and adds a slightly nutty flavor.
• If you use all oat flour, the cookies will be gluten free.

4. Turn onto a floured surface and knead well, adding enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

5. Roll to 0.5" thickness and form into desired shapes and texture.

• There are three traditional shapes, but the firm dough will hold any shape well:
  • Fingers are made by forming a large rectangle from the dough and cutting it into strips about 3" x 1"
  • Petticoat tails are made by shaping the dough into a large circle and then cutting it like a pie; you can pinch the outer edge to give it a scalloped edge.
  • Rounds are just small circles of dough.
• Add decorative texture by pricking the cookies with a fork to make holes; some people use molds to shape the cookies.

6. Place the shortbread pieces 1" apart on ungreased baking sheets.

7. Bake at 325° for 30-40 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned.

Yield: About 4 dozen.

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For this episode and the next few, we'll be talking about Christmas / Holiday tunes playable on pipes - their origins, fun facts, etc. We'll be leaning heavily on arrangements by Timothy Cummings, which are available as single-sheet downloads and in a beautifully printed collection at birchenmusic.com