MEET THE OWNERS...
MEET THE OWNERS - Mrs. MacGregor’s Shortbreads, Pictou
It is often said that certain scents have the power to transport us back in time. I couldn’t agree more when it comes to the mouth-watering scent of fresh cookies baking in the oven. There is just something magical that happens within us when the scent of butter and sweet sugar wafts through the air and tingles our noses.
Helen, aka Mrs. MacGregor, and her husband, Hollis, have been delighting shortbread enthusiasts with their delicious shortbreads since 2004 in their shop in downtown Pictou. However, the story of Mrs. MacGregor’s Shortbreads is much older than that. Their shortbread is actually made using a generations old family recipe, traced back about 200 years on Helen’s maternal side, to her great-great-grandmother!
“My childhood memories of eating my mother’s shortbread are strong,” Helen recalled fondly. “Mum always served her shortbread from her special shortbread tin.” “It was nearly impossible to stop eating it!” I laughed, “A special tin! Isn’t that something? My grandmother also served cookies in a special tin when we would visit. All of us grandkids thought she was the best and the cookies out of that tin were the best!” She smiled, “I remember my grandmother too. They may be gone, but their memories live on in our hearts and minds, and in the aromas, we enjoy when baking those traditional family recipes passed down to us.”
Helen reminisced, “There were no fancy cookie cutters or molds involved when my mum made shortbread. The dough was pressed onto a cookie sheet into a roundish type of shape, docked with fork tines, and then popped into the oven.” I could feel my mouth watering as she spoke. “After baking, a dinner knife cut out shortbread fingers, followed by a shake of sugar. I am very proud that we are making the same recipe in our little downtown Pictou bakery which originally started out in my great-great-grandmother's kitchen in Scotland.” That is quite amazing I thought.
Helen went on to share that in addition to their Classic Scottish Shortbread, they make 10 different flavours of shortbread such as Canadian Maple, Whisky, Lavender & Lemon, and Chocolate! “We use local small businesses as much as possible for the ingredients in our recipes. It is important to us to support locals as we would like others to support us,” she smiled. “We also carry many local products in our shop from Seafoam Lavender Farms, Chapel Cove Chocolate, The Kilted Chef, HardyWares Preserves, and more.”
Lastly, Helen shared with me a recent social media post by one of her local vendors, HardyWares Preserves, which read, “My mum takes great pride in her shortbread. She’s been making it for at least 70 years, and friends and family rave about my mum’s shortbread. When my mum tried Mrs. MacGregor’s shortbread, she said, “It’s very good, in fact, I would say, it’s better than mine, by a wee bit.” Very high praise indeed.
So, if you enjoy shortbread, and you haven’t yet tasted Mrs. MacGregor’s, you need to give it a try. After all, “it’s a wee bit better than my mum’s.” I nodded in agreement with a big smile, “Enough said!” 🙂