Make | Heather Biscotti

These biscuits, from The Hebridean Baker by Coinneach Macleod are the invention of Amanda who runs the Temple, a beautiful café in Northton on the Isle of Harris. Bringing a Scottish twist to these Italian baked biscuits… maybe we should call them biscotty?

This recipe calls for dried heather, which can be made by cutting the spikes of flowers while they’re still in bud, then hanging them to dry in small bunches out of direct sunlight.

Makes enough to share

40g whole hazelnuts

355g plain flour

1½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

105g caster sugar

150g light brown sugar

3 eggs

½ tsp almond extract

85g olive oil

1 heaped tsp dried heather flowers

Zest of ½ orange

1 Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C/Gas 2-3. Place the hazelnuts on a tray and toast lightly in the oven for 5 mins, then leave to cool.

2 Once cool, add the nuts to a bowl along with the flour, baking powder, salt, both kinds of sugar and combine.

3 Blend together the eggs, almond extract and olive oil then add half the heather flowers and half the orange zest and stir together.

4 Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until well combined – it’ll be a sticky dough. Let it sit in the bowl for about 10 mins as this helps to make it more manageable to shape.

5 Meanwhile, line a baking tray with baking paper. Wet your hands to avoid the dough sticking to them and roll it into logs, each about 25cm long. Place on the baking tray and sprinkle with the remaining heather and zest.

6 Bake for about 20 mins until golden. Remove and allow to cool for 10 mins.

7 Reduce the oven temperature to 150C/Fan 130C/Gas 2. Slice the biscotti into 12cm slices, then return to the oven and bake for 5 mins, turn over and bake for 5 mins more, or until golden. Place on a wire rack to cool and store in an airtight Kilner jar.

Taken from The Hebridean Baker: Recipes and Wee Stories from the Scottish Islands by Coinneach Macleod (Black & White Publishing). Photography: Euan Anderson. You can find more recipes by The Hebridean Baker in our October issue, including Bride’s Bron, Bramble Whisky and Bra Braw Buns.

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Recipe | Tattie Scones

Comforting for a hearty breakfast and delicious with a bowl of cullen skink to start a Burns’ Night supper

These scones are made from mashed tatties (potatoes) so are a great way to use up leftovers. They’re part of our Burns’ Night supper Gathering feature in our January issue. You can find the rest of the recipes, including cullen skink, a haggis pie and citrus cranachan… all washed down with a Rusty Nail.

Makes 16

450g potatoes, peeled and diced
60g butter, plus more for greasing
½ tsp salt
125g plain flour, plus more for rolling
1 egg, whisked
1 tsp baking powder

1 Boil your potatoes in salted boiling water for 15 mins, or until tender. Drain and set aside.
2 Preheat the oven to 200C/ Fan 180C/Gas 6. Return the potatoes to the pan and add half the butter, plus salt and pepper to taste. Mash well. When cool, add the rest of the butter, salt, plain flour, whisked egg and baking powder to the mashed potato mix and stir well until the mixture forms a dough.
3 On a floured surface, roll the dough to about 1cm thick. Using a 5cm cutter, cut out around 16 scones.
4 Transfer to a lined and greased baking sheet. Using a table knife, score a cross into the top of each scone. Bake for 20-25 mins, or until golden brown. Serve hot or allow to cool on the baking sheet until needed.

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Playlist | Songs by Scottish bands

A dram and a dance for Burns Night on 25 January.

Listen to the playlist here.

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