Arnott's biscuit sales to crash in upcoming home-baking frenzy.

Tracy, the gin and tonic thief, submitted the following recipe to this year's most important publishing event, the kindergarten cookbook.

Ingredients
250g butter, softened
½ cup icing sugar, sifted
12/3 cups plain flour
¼ cup rice flour

Baked in a pre-scored round for easy dividing into segments, the secret to this shortbread is kneading the dough minimally, resulting in the crumbly texture characteristic of traditional Scottish shortbread, not found in the commercial product. Children love a segment of this shortbread with milk for morning tea.

Method:

1. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

2. Sift in flours and combine well with a wooden spoon. Press dough into a ball. Lightly knead. Over-kneading will result in too fine a crumb.

3. Cut dough in half. Shape into two balls. Pat into rounds one centimetre thick.

4. Place rounds on a greased baking tray. To decorate, pinch edges with floured fingers, score radially into eighths and prick each sector with a fork a few times to assist even baking. Bake at approximately 150C for 35-40 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

5. Remove from oven, leave on baking tray for a few minutes to cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack. Sprinkle shortbreads with a little caster sugar. Use a knife with a light sawing action to slightly deepen score marks so that shortbread segments will break apart easily when cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Five days? That's academic. And forget the milk. Try it with Scotch after dinner on a biting cold night. You'll think you've just come on from the highlands. Maybe you have.