Professor Butter Beard and Robert Adam’s “Cullen Castle”
“Art is the Flower - Life is the Green Leaf. Let every artist strive to make his flower a beautiful living thing, something that will convince the world that there may be, there are, things more precious more beautiful - more lasting than life itself.”
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect, designer, water colorist and artist
My manifestation requests are simple (I think). My Scottish cottage comfortably sits on the banks of the Loch with a single finger of a dock reaching into the lapping waves, just large enough for a high-back chair (bolted down) and my canoe. The two-bedroom (one being a library) white-washed cottage nestles into the landscape surrounded and comforted by the heather hills of the Highlands. The living space is open-planned (of course) with a central fireplace open on two sides – one facing the floor-to-ceiling windowed parlor and the other facing the fabulous baker’s kitchen concocted within my most delectable culinary dreams.
The front porch faces the Loch, is sweetly serenaded with multiple wind chimes, and home to either two age-old rocking chairs or a porch swing (yet to be decided). The kitchen back door opens to at least three raised herb beds and one or two more for carrots, parsnips and potatoes. Blueberry and raspberry bushes are nearby, and there may be a goat or two, depending on Nellie’s willingness to share her love.
And just one more thing…… One should always be able to see the stone towers of the castle within hiking/canoeing distance.
Robert Adam, I believe, also manifested scrumptious castle landscapes in his mind. He, in partnership with his brothers, ran one of the most successful and fashionable architectural firms in 18th-century Britain. Raised and educated in Edinburgh, he began his career in the practice of his father, William Adam, Scotland’s leading architect during the second quarter of the 18th century.
Robert Adam developed a distinctive and innovating neoclassical personal style, incredibly influenced by his early studies while on his “Grand Tour” of Italy. Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, Syon House in Middlesex and Culzean Castle in Ayrshire are just a few of his finest architectural achievements.
Throughout his career, Adam made hundreds of picturesque pen and ink drawings, exploring the relationship between the buildings and their settings within nature. According to the curators of the National Gallery in Scotland, it has been argued that these works played an important role in the evolution of his architectural designs, helping him to establish his own personal mood and composition.
The Adam family enjoyed a long professional association with Cullen Castle, then the 18th century northern seat of the Earls of Findlater and Seafield. Situated in Banffshire in north-east Scotland, the castle is idyllically located overlooking a dramatic woodland bowl and encircled by extensive landscaped gardens. Prominent within Adam’s romanticized drawing is the large single-span bridge built by Robert’s father in 1744.
Initial building work started on the house/castle in 1600, incorporating some of the stonework of an earlier building on the site. Twice in its history, the house has been captured and ransacked. It was taken by forces acting under the orders of the Marquess of Montrose in 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was attacked again by a group of Jacobites during the rising of 1745, shortly before they were defeated at the Battle of Culloden.
In 1982, it was purchased by Kit Martin, a specialist in saving historic buildings, and in my manifestation, one of my upcoming best friends (two rocking chairs, remember?) Martin worked with the local architect Douglas Forrest to convert the house into fourteen individual dwellings, retaining much of the original interior and exterior of the building. From my front porch, you can just smell the smoke from the fourteen chimneys as autumn teases its longed-for entrance.
Every time I expand and distribute my “cottage manifestation” to the universe, I have to follow through with my wicked craving to bake a batch my family’s Scottish shortbreads. Over the years, they have become my most requested hostess gift or mailed surprise. A couple key points: Always remember to have your butter (non-salted) at room temperature. Chill your favorite cookie press (at last count, I think I have over two dozen options) in the freezer for easy dough release. And, finally, I suggest prepping the dough the night before, portioning the cookies, and chilling the little darlings overnight before baking.
Then come join me on the porch swing, just as the sun shimmers its last rays of the day across the Loch. We’ll share a dozen shortbreads, sip some local whiskey and gossip about the new tenants of the castle. All the time remembering to “convince the world that there may be, there are, things more precious more beautiful - more lasting than life itself.”
Professor Butter Beard’s Scottish Shortbreads
35-40 cookies
3 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 ½ Tbsp of your chosen spice (cinnamon, ginger, lavender, etc.)
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup confectionary’s sugar
Zest of one large orange (or lemon or 2 limes)
2 tsp vanilla paste
2 Tbsp granulated sugar for dusting before the bake
1) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and chosen spice. Set aside.
2) Place the confectioner’s sugar and orange zest in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix together until the zest is evenly distributed.
3) Add the room temperature butter, breaking the sticks into 1” pieces. Mix at medium speed until the mixture is smooth and silky. Mix in the vanilla paste.
4) Add the dry mix all at once. Mix together at a low speed, just until the mixture forms a dough. Do not overmix.
5) Line one baking sheet with parchment. Using a 1 ½ Tbsp scoop, portion the dough into roughly 35-40 balls. Spread them evenly on the baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours.
6) Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line three more sheet pans with parchment paper.
7) Choose your favorite cookie press and stick it in the freezer to chill.
8) Place 12 cookie balls onto one of the parchment-lined pan. Dip the press in flour, shake it off and press the ball into a ¼” disc, impressing the design. Continue to press the dozen cookies and then lightly dust them with granulated sugar.
9) Bake one pan at a time on the center rack for 8 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for another 6 minutes until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to brown. While one pan bakes, prepare the next dozen for baking.
10) Cool the cookies on the sheet pan for five minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
