X’mas tales with some Scottish Tablet

Jingle bells, jingle bells, la la la la la… Merry Christmas everyone!

The colours, lights, sparkle and shine, smiling faces and that feeling of well-being – I love festival times. And the last week-long celebration of the year is beautiful – the celebration of a birth and a beginning. This is the season for comfy snuggles, hot and gooey treats, glitter and drama, parties, conversations and resolutions to keep New Year resolutions.

And gifts – the ones under the Christmas tree or those exchanged when you visit/host friends and family.

Rem shares the same sentiments but unfortunately, it was rather late in the day when she realised that with a packed schedule until Sunday night, she was facing the issue of “What do I gift my friends?” while the elder sister was looking for something to make “with a handful of ingredients”.

My answer to both these lovelies is the Scotland Tablet also called the Scottish Tablet and Butter Tablet.

I discovered this tooth-numbing sweet but oh-so-creamy marvel during a trip to the Scottish Highlands when my tour driver-cum-guide dropped us off at Pitlochry for a comfort break. He also recommended those with a sweet tooth try the tablets at the Scotch Corner. “They are the best I have tasted so far.” The way he raved on about the ‘tablet’ got me curious so I joined the queue at the store for some whisky ice-cream and few tablets. And oh my god! The explosion of grainy sweetness in my mouth blew my mind.

Similar to fudge but more crumbly in texture, a tablet has three main ingredients – sugar, butter and condensed milk. There are options of flavouring it with vanilla or whisky and adding nuts.

The internet is flooded with recipes for the Scottish Tablet and studying all of them, I’ve realised that it is absolutely fine if the colour and texture are a bit different from the one I ate in Pitlochry. Maa says a lot depends on the milk and the sugar used.

So go ahead and enjoy making this lovely confectionery, a perfect gift and treat for this season.

WARNING: The Scottish Tablet is high on calorie count and excessively high in sugar so an absolute NO for those with diabetes and high cholesterol levels.

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments section below. Tag and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest for updates; subscribe to be a part of the mailing list.

photos: Vaibhav Tanna