Traditional Scottish Recipes
- Gluten Free Shortbread

A number of chefs and restaurants are catering these days for the specific dietary requirements of the the growing number of people who are diagnosed as suffering from coeliac disease. The only effective treatment is a lifelong diet from which gluten is absent. Craig McAlpine, who is a coeliac, is the former winner of Channel 4's "Come Dine With Me" and now runs Edinburgh based company Home Cuisine. Craig takes every opportunity to promote coeliac recipes; he runs cookery courses and does cookery demonstrations on TV channel, Ideal World and is also passionate about Slow Food and using locally sourced produce. This is one of his recipes - if you want to contact him, his e-mail address is craig@theresipsa.com.

Ingredients:
Gluten-free Flour - 8 ounces (250g or 2 US cups) Gluten-free flour. (Glutafin Pastry works well as it has less raising agents).
Butter (softened) 8 ounces (250g or 2 US sticks or 2 US cups).
Cornflour - 4 ounces (125g or 1 US cup).
Icing sugar (Powdered sugar in US) - 4 ounces (125g or 1 US cup).
Caster sugar (fine granulated sugar) for dusting.

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/355F (fan oven 160C/310F) or Gas Mark 4.

Mix all the ingredients gently until the mixture comes together. Knead lightly, cover with cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

Knead briefly after removing it from the fridge. Either roll into one great sausage-shaped roll, from which to cut disks about ½ inch (1.2cm) thick, or roll flat to the same thickness and cut the biscuits out. Lay out on a non-stick baking mat or baking parchment and prick lightly with a fork. Allow some space between them for expansion.

Bake until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before sprinkling with some caster sugar.

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