The second thing I decided to make for the stockings was some Scottish Shortbread, but I also decided to make a few for the sweets table. For the stockings I made the traditional wedge style and for the table I used cookie cutters to make things a little more festive (a snowman, a gift and a tree). I picked up a set of twenty different Christmas cutters at Walmart for around $8 - not too shabby. I would have liked to have decorated these but my decorating skills are rubbish. The best I could do was make a couple of circular indentations in the snowmen and give them some buttons using chocolate chips. Here's the recipe that I used for the shortbread (from Allrecipes):
Scottish Shortbread
Makes about 2 dozen
Ingredients:
2 cups (4 sticks) salted butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Cream together butter and brown sugar. I dropped these two in the kitchenaid and walked away for a couple of minutes. Too easy! Slowly add 3 1/2 cups flour. Mix well.
Sprinkle rolling surface with the remaining flour. Knead for 5 minutes, adding enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 3x1 inch strips. Prick with fork and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
