Strictly by Scottish standards (the inventors), "one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour". Honesty, I can eat these all day long even though shortbread biscuits are associated with the holidays.

The one thing that makes the small number of ingredients scrutinized is the quality, so find the best you can.

I decided to spruce the cookies up with pear and cinnamon. Both are essential winter flavours, mainly in the dessert department. We tend to turn to dried cranberries, but dried pears offer the same texture and a great flavour that pairs wonderfully with cinnamon. Who needs a poached pear with mulled wine spices when you have these crunchy but melt in your mouth treats?