Host An Unforgettable Book Club Party

The official definition of bannock is a round flat unsweetened cake made from oatmeal or barley and baked on a griddle.  I previously made Scottish Oatcakes, which are similar to the traditional bannock, so I decided to try the Pitcaithly Bannock which is made with citrus peel and almonds and baked in an oven.  This recipe is adapted from Traditional Scottish Recipes by George L Thomson.  I found a copy of this beautifully handwritten little cookbook at my library.  You can see the original recipe below.

The finished dish was fairly crumbly and I had to sacrifice a small piece to be able to serve it using a spatula, but it was very good.  It is very similar to shortbread.

Inspired by Outlander

Prep: 10 minutes   Cook time: 30    Serves:  12

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup mixed peel (I used a mix of candied lemon and orange peel)
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.  Grease two 8 or 9 inch round baking pans.
2. Knead well all the ingredients.  No moistening required.
3. Press into the prepared baking dish and decorate the edges with the finger or end of a soup spoon.
4. Prick all over and bake at 300°F for about half an hour.