Shortbread was once a special treat for her family only at Christmas, "due to the high cost of butter and the rationing of sugar." Now, Mairi Furniss makes from 16 to 26 shortbreads weekly.

A native of Scotland, Mairi recalls how her father always made the shortbread as a special treat at Christmas. "That’s the only time we had it. Because we didn’t have the type of electrical equipment I have today, he did the mixing by hand and it takes a lot of mixing and then comes the kneading. That was the big job. It was a long hassle to get it done."

The very first time Mairi made shortbread she had a very despairing experience. "I made it and put it on top of the counter to cool. Cooling in the mold is a very important part of making shortbread. Our dog decided to jump up and see what it was all about and knocked it on the floor."

The next time Mairi recalls making this buttery treat, and it was done in abundance, was for her daughter’s wedding. "She wanted and had a Scottish theme and for the reception, I made 175 pieces of shortbread, which were wrapped and given as souvenirs for guests to take home and enjoy."

Mairi said she started making shortbread later on as hostess gifts and "that’s what led me to making and selling it at Farmers’ Market each Saturday at Mathews Court House. A friend suggested it and asked why I didn’t do it. It appealed to me, and the first time I made 16 shortbreads and sold out in practically no time at all. The next time I made 26 and made the same amount the following week. It has been most successful. You know shortbread will keep in an airtight container indefinitely."

Mairi and her family first lived in the town of Perth on the River Tay, later moving to the Royal Kingdom Fife and then to Dunfermline. It was here she met her husband Hank who was a supply officer at the American navy base. They have lived in Virginia since 1966 and "it was through Nancy Blackington that we found Mathews. We retired here in the late ’90s and have never looked back. It was a good decision."

Mairi says she learned to cook in school. "Sewing, needlework and the base of cooking was something we had to learn. My mother was a good cook and my twin brother cooks well; he specializes in Asian cooking. And both of our children are excellent cooks. In my mother’s kitchen first you learned how to wash dishes. Pots and pans were my favorite. I could really get them to shine. Then she would let us help. We all had chores in the kitchen. You know you can’t make good pastry unless it is cold. So in the winter time my mother would raise the window when she made her pastry."

Mairi and Hank return to Scotland "every couple of years. My twin brother and an aunt are still there," but they always look forward to returning to "View Firth," their home on the North River, and maybe a visit from one or several of their five grandchildren. That’s when Mairi might suggest just for fun that they try jumping in the "dub" instead of walking around it. In Scotland "dub" means puddle.

The story of shortbread begins with the medieval "biscuit bread." Any leftover dough from bread making was dried in a low oven until it hardened into a type of rusk; the word biscuit means twice cooked. Gradually the yeast in the bread was replaced by butter and biscuit bread developed into shortbread. Shortbread has been attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots, who in the mid 16th century was said to be very fond of "Petticoat Tails," a thin, crisp, buttery shortbread originally flavored with caraway seeds. It has been suggested that the name "petticoat tail" may be a corruption of the French "petites gatelles, meaning little cakes. However, the traditional Scottish shortbread biscuit may date beyond the 12th century. The triangles fit together (in shortbread baking molds) in a circle and echo the shape of the pieces of fabric used to make a full-gored petticoat during the reign of Elizabeth 1. The theory here is that the name may have come from the word for the pattern, which was "tally," and so the biscuits became known as "petticoat tallis."

Shortbread is traditionally formed into one of three shapes: one large circle divided into segments ("petticoat tails"); individual round biscuits, or a thick rectangular slab cut into "fingers." Mairi uses shortbread baking molds divided into six segments which in turn press various designs in the shortbread such as flowers, emblems of countries, etc., but especially the thistle, which is the national flower of Scotland.