I like Scotland ! Here two special shortbread recipes. For the first one, it's a nice story about the origin of these curiously-named shortbread biscuits: - some say the name was derived from the french "petites gatelles", meaning

little cakes - others that its origin lies in the shape of the biscuit which is a replica

of the Elizabethan full gored skirt - third possibility: it was the clever invention of a cook after years of

broken tips to triangular shaped biscuits :-)

Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar. Gently heat the butter and milk together and as soon as the butter has melted stir the liquid into the flour to make a soft but not sticky dough.

Turn it onto a floured surface and kneat it lightly. Divide the dough in half then roll the halves out directly onto a baking tray into 9-inch rounds using a large plate as a guide. Flute the edges.

Cut out a 2-inch circle from the centre but leave it in place. Divide the outer ring into eight, keeping the inner circle whole. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.