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Simple Scottish shortbread

Learn about the history of Scottish shortbread, then make the traditional teatime treat.

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You’ll need

  • Scissors
  • Mixing bowls
  • Oven
  • Baking trays
  • Ingredients (see recipe card)
  • Measuring scales and bowl
  • Rolling pin
  • Dinner knives and forks
  • Oven gloves
  • Cooling rack
  • Small plates
  • Baking parchment
  • Optional: Biscuit cutters
Recipe card: Simple Scottish shortbread
PDF – 107.7KB
Download Recipe card: Simple Scottish shortbread

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help. 

Planning and setting up this activity

  • Check if anyone has any allergies or dietary requirements so you can buy suitable ingredients for them.

Get ready to bake

  1. The person leading the game should explain that shortbread are traditional Scottish biscuits. It was originally made from leftover bread dough, but became an expensive luxury. Even royalty enjoyed it, including Mary Queen of Scots. There are three main shapes of shortbread: rounds, fingers, and petticoat tails (from the shape of the fabric used to make petticoats).
  2. Everyone should wash their hands, take off any rings, and tie back long hair. If anyone has any cuts on their hands, they should cover them with a blue or brightly coloured plaster.
  3. Everyone should split into groups of about six people. It’s best for people with similar dietary requirements to stick together, as this makes it easier and reduces the risk of cross-contamination.
  4. Someone should preheat the oven(s) to 160C (gas mark three). The person leading the activity should give everyone a copy of the recipe and their ingredients.

Bake

  1. Each group should gather the equipment they need.
  2. Everyone should follow the recipe cards to make their shortbread. They should work together with as little adult support as necessary, trying to read and follow the instructions before they ask for help.
  3. Now it’s time to clean up and play the shortbread shuffle. Don’t forget to enjoy your shortbread afterwards!

Clean up and play the shortbread shuffle

  1. While the shortbreads are cooking, everyone should clean and wash up their equipment. Once they’re done, they should pack away the tables too.

Planning a game for after you’ve cleaned up can encourage people to work together to get the job done. Make sure they still do a good job!

  1. If there’s time, everyone should play shortbread shuffle. They should start by moving around the meeting place.
  2. The person leading the game should call out a command: ‘fingers’, ‘rounds’, or ‘petticoat’.
  3. If the person leading the game calls ‘fingers’, everyone should stand still and stretch up tall. If they call ‘rounds’, everyone should spin in a circle’. If they call ‘petticoat’, everyone should get into a group of at least four people and join hands in the middle to create a petticoat shape.

Reflection

This activity was a chance for everyone to develop their skills in the kitchen. This recipe was quite simple, so people could probably do quite a lot of it for themselves. What was everyone’s favourite steps? Were there any tricky bits?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Food

Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Fires and stoves

Make sure anyone using fires and stoves is doing so safely. Check that the equipment and area are suitable and have plenty of ventilation. Follow the gas safety guidance. Have a safe way to extinguish the fire in an emergency.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

Why not try flavouring your shortbreads? You could add something such as raisins, ginger, or chocolate chips to the mix.

You could also add extra moves to the game. For example, a freestyle option where everyone can choose their own biscuit shapes, for example, stars, suns, or squares.

As people are working in groups, they can take it in turns to do different parts of the recipe. No one needs to mix the dough if they don’t want to – someone else could do that bit instead.

Don’t forget to check for dietary requirements. Gluten free flour and dairy free (vegan) butter are available in most big supermarkets.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Cubs Thistle Award
Cubs Our Skills Challenge Award

Scotland is one of the four UK nations. Try baking a recipe from another nation – you could try Chorley cakes from England, crempog from Wales, or potato cakes from Northern Ireland.

Young people can choose which shape they’d like to make. Petticoats, fingers, and rounds are the most traditional shapes – but people could use biscuit cutters or mould their own shapes too.