Popular shortbread recipe caught up in Meta's ban on Canadian news
Hundreds of people have been emailing CBC Kelowna looking for instructions for contest-winning cookies
A popular shortbread recipe shared by a B.C. grandmother is among the content that has been lost due to the removal of Canadian news sources from Facebook.
In 2012, Sandy French entered a Christmas baking contest held by Daybreak South, the CBC Radio morning show that airs in Kelowna, the Okanagan and Kootenay regions of B.C.
After she won, the show's staff posted French's recipe to their Facebook page, where it was used by hundreds of listeners who came back to it year after year.
But this year, people searching for the recipe found themselves blocked by Meta's ban on Canadian news content.
That's prompted widespread distress among people who have come to rely on the recipe, according to Daybreak South host Chris Walker.
"I've got 510 emails," he said. "I told people [looking for the recipe], if you email me, I'll send it to you, and this is what happened."
"I've never seen anything like this."
WATCH | Walker shares the history of the shortbread recipe and demonstrates how to make it:
A family recipe from Scotland
According to French, the recipe was passed down by her paternal grandmother in Aberdeen, Scotland, who gave it to French's mother, who gave it to her.
She says what makes it unique is the use of rice flour in addition to regular flour (or gluten-free flour) and berry sugar, which gives the cookies a specific texture.
The other part of what makes them special, she said, is the fact that her recipe calls for the cookies to be stored for at least a month after they are made before being consumed — which is why people start looking for the recipe in November.
"They do mature and become more mealy, or buttery," she said. "Most shortbreads are quite crispy but these ones are not."
Another important criteria, she said, is kneading the dough with warm hands — "the warmer the better" — for a long period of time in order for them to take hold.
Taste test winner
When French first shared her recipe with CBC in 2012, she was one of multiple entries in the search for the best shortbread in the region.
Host Chris Walker baked several recipes provided by listeners and then held a taste test contest with staff and people on the street.
French's recipe, he said, was the "overwhelming favourite."
Every year since, he said, calls and emails have come in asking for the recipe and for the past decade they have been directed to the Facebook post.
But now Canadian visitors to the post are greeted by a message that the content is not available.
That's because of the company's response to federal bill C-18, the Online News Act, which the Canadian government says is intended to make digital giants such as Meta and Google compensate news publishers for their content, but which Meta says is an unacceptable requirement under the terms of the proposed legislation.
CBC/Radio-Canada's corporate position is that the Online News Act will help level the playing field and contribute to a healthy news ecosystem in Canada at a time when the majority of digital ad revenues go to the big tech companies.
Emma Iannetta with CBC News' media relations, strategy and public affairs has said previously that CBC News is also advocating for consumers to find news stories directly, through apps and websites that are created and owned by Canadian media providers.
The recipe
In that spirit, Walker tracked down French for an update on her recipe so it could once again be shared with listeners and readers.
You can listen to the interview and find the full recipe below:
Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour
1 ½ cups regular or gluten-free flour
1/2 lb. butter
½ cup berry sugar (not icing sugar)
Directions:
Mix flours, then mix with sugar.
Cut in butter, then knead about 15 minutes, until mixture is soft and buttery (warm, strong hands really help).
It should feel like warm, greasy pizza dough.
Roll out onto floured surface (1/8" - ¼" thickness) and cut into shapes.
Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, until just golden brown.
Careful — they burn easily!!
Pop them into an airtight container and refrigerate for 4-8 weeks.
"For best results, the cookies need to be kept in a sealed container in a cool place for a minimum of a month before being eaten. This allows them to mature and become soft so that they melt in your mouth and have a truly buttery flavour," French says. "I always make mine in October."
Yield: 1 - 2 dozen