BURNS NIGHT - CRANACHAN SHORTBREAD BARS, HAGGIS SAUSAGE ROLLS AND JESS DENNISONS TREACLE FIG LOAF

3 Scottish inspired recipes for you.

Hey folks, 

And welcome back to The Good Home Cook!

With Robert Burns night approaching (Saturday 25th January), in this issue I've created two delicious recipes inspired by two classic Scottish celebratory dishes that I love. 

Growing up my parents would throw a poetry and whisky fuelled, wild burns night party every January - which I always loved having as it was such a sigh of relief to have something to look forward to in what is quite a dark and dreary month - plus I got to help my mum cook haggis, neaps and tatties. And of course there would always be big, piles of Cranachan at the table. Cranachan, if you haven't had it before is traditionally a mix of toasted oats, raspberries, honey, Scottish whiskey and cream. The recipe in todays issue for these shortbread bars are inspired by this delicious dessert. They have a thick, buttery layer of soft shortbread, raspberries, jam and a crumble oat topping - very easy to make. Good with a cup of tea - optionally you can add a dash of whisky to the jam (or have a dram on the side!) they also work really well without.

I couldn’t really bring myself to write a recipe for haggis, neaps and tatties! Everyone knows how a mash potato should be and there’s really no skill to cooking the haggis - although I’d recommend buying a really good one from your local butchers. Instead we’ve got a haggis sausage roll, which is a great way to use up any haggis you might have left from a burns night supper. Its wrapped in a rich, buttery rough puff pastry. Serve it warm from the oven with a glass of ale and a smear of mustard..its very good indeed.

Plus my lovely friend Jess Dennison shares a recipe for fig and treacle loaf from her book Midweek Recipes. Jess is a food writer and the founder of Elliott’s; a community that celebrates simple cooking and life in the kitchen. She has written 3 cookbooks with Hardie Grant (Penguin Random House); Salad Feasts, Tin Can Magic and Lazy Baking. In June 2023, Jess sold her Elliott’s Cafe which is listed on Conde Nast’s Best Edinburgh Restaurant List. Her newest book Midweek Recipes came out on 1st August 2024 and is the first in a new series published independently by Elliott’s. If you scroll to the recipe I’ve got a special discount code for the book to use on her website.

This is a lovely recipe week, full of the kind of joyous, feel good home cooking I like to do every day in my kitchen - I hope you enjoy!

Esther x

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Cranachan crumble shortbread bars

PREP 20 MINS COOK 50 MINS MAKES 8-12 BARS

200g unsalted butter, softened

200g caster sugar

2 egg yolks

250g plain flour

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

230g good quality raspberry jam

1 tbsp whisky (optional)

150g fresh raspberries

70g porridge oats

1 tbsp runny honey

Icing sugar, to dust

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Set a baking tray in the centre of the oven to get hot. Butter and line a 20cm square cake tin with parchment.

Beat together the butter and caster sugar until pale - this should take around 7 mins. Add the egg yolks, flour, sea salt and vanilla and beat briefly until it just comes together into a soft dough. Flour your hands and press ¾ of the mixture into the base of your tin so you have a thick, even layer. Bake in the oven for 12 mins.

Mix the raspberry jam with the whisky (if using) and layer on top of the shortbread. Scatter with the raspberries.

Crumble the remaining shortbread into a bowl and rub in the oats. Crumble this over the raspberries, drizzle over the honey and sprinkle with a bit more sea salt.

Return to the oven and bake for 45-50 mins in the tin on the hot tray. Cover with foil half way if you feel it’s turning too brown. Leave to cool completely for 2-3 hours in the tin before lifting out, dusting in icing and cutting in to 8 larger bars or 12 smaller squares. Will keep in a container in a cool place for 3 days.

These are lovely for a bake sale, birthday or party. They transport very well.

GOOD TO KNOW -

• These firm up as they cool so don’t be tempted to cut into them whilst still warm. They need to be completely cold before portioning.

• The salt may seem like a lot but it helps to offset the sweet flavours in this bake.

• The shortbread will feel quite soft to work with so keep flouring your hands when pressing it into the tin.

Haggis Sausage Roll

PREP 1 HOUR 15 MINS PLUS CHILLING COOK 1 HOUR MAKES 12 SLICES