Editing Shortbread (section)

== History ==

Shortbread originated in [[Scotland]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McKelvie |first1=Jenny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vWIEAAAQBAJ&dq=shortbread+%22originated+in%22&pg=PT36 |title=Scotland |last2=McKelvie |first2=Robin |date=2022-09-13 |publisher=Edizioni WhiteStar |isbn=978-88-544-1930-8 |language=en |quote=Another staple, is, of course, shortbread.  This sweet buttery treat originated in Scotland...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rinsky |first=Glenn |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/173182689 |title=The pastry chef's companion : a comprehensive resource guide for the baking and pastry professional |date=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |others=Laura Halpin Rinsky |isbn=978-0-470-00955-0 |location=Hoboken, N.J. |pages=257 |oclc=173182689}}</ref> Although it was prepared during much of the 12th century, and probably benefited from cultural exchange with French pastry chefs during the [[Auld Alliance]] between France and Scotland,<ref name="Brown 2015">{{Cite book|last=Brown|first=Catherine|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPNgBwAAQBAJ&dq=shortbread+shortcake+encyclopedia&pg=PT1093|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|date=2015-04-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931362-4|language=en|chapter=Shortbread}}</ref> the refinement of shortbread is popularly credited to [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Shortbread|url=http://www.englishteastore.com/shortbread-history.html|publisher=English Tea Store|access-date=10 February 2015}}</ref> Despite the enduring popular association, evidence for any connection between Mary and shortbread's origin is sparse.<ref name=":2">Emma Kay, ''A History of British Baking: From Blood Bread to Bake-Off'' (Pen & Sword, 2020) pp. 113–114. "Despite the endless citations linking Mary Queen of Scots with 'Petticoat tails', I cannot find any legitimate or authentic links with shortbread and its conception in Scotland.&nbsp; Admittedly, during the 1700s it was the predominant country of manufacture, but not solely and certainly not the first to."</ref>   

Triangular wedges of shortbread became known as "petticoat tails", and this form of shortbread has become particularly associated with Mary, Queen of Scots.<ref>Timothy G. Roufs & Kathleen Smyth Roufs, ''Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture'' (Santa Barbara, 2014), p. 290.</ref> It has been suggested that a French term for the wedges of shortbread was ''petits gâteaux'' or ''petites gatelles'' – little cakes, and this became "petticoat tails". It is now thought the Scots term derives from the decorated round edge of the segments which resemble [[Petticoat|petticoats]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/petticoat|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: petticoat}}</ref>

The first printed recipe, in 1736, was from a Scotswoman named Mrs McLintock.<ref name="Telegtaph">{{cite news|last1=Hyslop|first1=Leah|title=Potted histories: shortbread|newspaper=The Telegraph|issue=6 October 2013|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10363464/Potted-histories-shortbread.html|access-date=18 February 2014}}</ref>

Shortbread was expensive and reserved as a luxury for special occasions such as Christmas, [[Hogmanay]] (Scottish New Year's Eve), and weddings.  In Scotland, it was traditional to break a decorated shortbread cake (infar-cake or dreaming bread) over the head of a new bride on the entrance of her new house.<ref>{{cite web|author=Historic UK - heritage of Britain accommodation guide |url=http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Scotland-History/ScottishShortbread.htm |title=Scottish Shortbread |publisher=Historic-uk.com |access-date=2010-11-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englishteastore.com/shortbread-history.html |title=History of Shortbread & Shortbread Recipes |publisher=Englishteastore.com |access-date=2010-11-24}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite book |last1=McNeill |first1=F. Marian |title=The Scots Kitchen |date=1929 |publisher=Blackie & Son Ltd |isbn=978-1-84183-070-4 |pages=193–5 |edition=2006}}</ref>  Shortbread was also given as a gift.<ref name="Brown 2015" />