Pinnies and Poppy Seeds – Scottish Shortbread

Edinburgh has a wonderful selection independent businesses and this month, we’re very excited to share one brand in particular with you, Pinnies and Poppy Seeds! Pinnies and Poppy Seeds are based in Edinburgh’s historic Old Town and every since 2011 they have been creating delicious, handmade shortbread & other Scottish treats using the best local, Scottish ingredients. If you’re interested in trying their scrumptious shortbread, you can pop into their charming shop at 26 St Mary’s Street or have a look at their online shop.

The best way to tell you more about this fabulous business is to let owner and founder of Pinnies and Poppy Seeds, Jennifer, take over. So keep reading to learn about the story behind Pinnies and Poppy Seeds and to find out how to enter our competition to win a delicious Pinnies & Poppy Seeds Hamper! (COMPETITION CLOSED)

1. What was the inspiration behind Pinnies and Poppy Seeds and how did it all get started?

The inspiration for Pinnies came while I was working for another fantastic Edinburgh business – The Fudge House of Edinburgh. While there, we would get tons of people asking where they could get freshly made shortbread. At the time, there was no one making it and the seed was planted! I worked for about a year on recipes, trying all kinds of ingredient combinations and baking methods until I finally found The Recipe. I started selling shortbread at Stockbridge Market and found that both locals and visitors really enjoyed having fresh shortbread and a selection of flavours to choose from. A few years later I found my little shop and it’s been true love ever since!

2. Where do you find your inspiration for the delicious shortbread flavours?

The inspiration for flavours comes in all kinds of forms – the most common being my own taste! I bake what I love to eat! Seasonality is also a big influence, I try to make according to the season and if we can use special, local ingredients then we do! I also love getting ideas from my customers. They are so creative and supportive of what I do – they really get into it! It helps me get out of my own head and think of other flavour combinations I might not have put together! Sometimes I even hold competitions to find a new flavour!

3. What does a ‘typical’ working day look like for you?

No matter what, a day at the bakery starts with coffee! I can have some really long days, especially during Christmas and the Festival, so I need my caffeine! Then the butter comes out and I start making dough. I’ll figure out what flavours I’m going to make that day and then get things rolled out. If I need to make caramel or toffee then I’ll do that while the shortbread is baking. There’s not a lot of downtime during the day – between stocking the shop, serving customers, making for our wholesale orders for cafes etc, and fulfilling our online orders, it’s full on shortbread from the start of the day to the end!

4. What are your 3 top sellers at the moment?

Right now, I’d say the top 3 best sellers in the shop are the All Butter Shortbread, Sea Salted Caramels, and Ballantyne Toffee (a secret family recipe!)

5. What does the rest of 2018 have in store for Pinnies & Poppy Seeds?

2018 is going to be filled with some fabulous events! I’m doing some special events at castles around Scotland and I’m so excited for those! But the main thing is to continue to make sure I’m making the absolute best product I can. Testing out new flavours and trying to make some new and exciting things to keep our fantastic customers happy and fed!

6. We’re all about Edinburgh, so we’d love to know what your perfect Edinburgh day would entail?

I’ve lived in Scotland for 12 years, and I’m always amazed at how much there is to do here. Spring is my favourite time of year here, so I would make the most of that. I live a little outside the city centre, so my perfect day would start by heading out early to Rosslyn Chapel and picking some wild garlic. Rosslyn is probably my favourite place, it’s ancient and beautiful and you can explore the woods around the church and castle and never get tired of it. After a good morning walk around, I would head into town for a fantastic coffee and scone at Tasty Buns Bakery – the owner Louise is just the best and her boozy bakes are a wonderful treat on a day off! I love the independent shops in Bruntsfield, Clementine has great home stuff so I usually pop in there and then head to the butcher and pick up something for dinner, then onto 181 Deli for their amazing selection of cheese, breads, dips, and usually get a pie or scotch egg for lunch! At night, one of my favourites is a movie at the Dominion! Can’t beat a good flick whilst snuggled up to my husband on one of their sofas. If we’re heading somewhere for dinner, The KIngs Wark, on a clear sunny evening cannot be beat. Perfect day in Edinburgh!

Win a delicious Pinnies and Poppy Seeds Hamper! The hamper will include a box of shortbread, sea salted caramels, Ballantyne Toffee and one of Pinnies and Poppy Seeds fabulous ‘The Shop’ candles (made to smell just like their shop).

The competition runs from noon on Monday the 9th of April until midnight on Sunday the 15th of April 2018. The giveaway is open to everybody over 18 in the UK. We will pick the winner within 24 hours after the competition has ended and contact the lucky person through the social media platform they have used to enter the giveaway. This promotion is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

(COMPETITION CLOSED)

To be in with a chance to win choose from the options below:

1. Like Pinnies & Poppy Seeds & Dickins Facebook pages and share the competition post on Dickins Facebook page.

2. Follow Pinnies & Poppy Seeds & Dickins on Twitter and retweet one of the competition tweets on the Dickins Twitter account.

3. Follow Pinnies & Poppy Seeds & Dickins on Instagram and tag a friend on the competition post on the Dickins Instagram account.

Make sure you follow us on social media so you don’t miss out on our monthly giveaways!

GOOD LUCK!!