Sometimes the sweetest businesses begin with a recipe, a memory, and someone saying, “You really should sell this.”
There are certain foods that do more than taste good.
They carry memories.
They remind us of grandparents and holidays, kitchens filled with familiar smells, recipes written on aging cards, and traditions carefully handed from one generation to the next.
For Ian Macdonald, that food is shortbread.
And believe it or not, part of the story of how his grandmother’s Scottish recipe became
The Scottish Shortbread Company leads right to one of our favorite Keuka-area destinations—the
Windmill Farm & Craft Market.
It Began With Cissie
Ian’s grandparents, John and Elizabeth “Cissie” Macdonald, came from Airdrie, a small Scottish town east of Glasgow and the birthplace of Ian’s father.
Growing up, Ian knew there was something special to look forward to each Christmas and Hogmanay—Cissie’s homemade shortbread.
It was more than a holiday treat.
It was part of being a Macdonald.
Eventually, Cissie passed her treasured recipe along to Ian’s mother, Peggy, who continued the tradition and later shared it with her children.
Generation after generation, the recipe traveled with the family.
And today, that same family recipe remains at the heart of every batch made by
The Scottish Shortbread Company.
But becoming a shortbread maker wasn’t exactly Ian’s original career plan.
A Thank-You Gift That Changed Everything
Before there was a Scottish Shortbread Company, Ian owned a sign restoration business.
When he completed a job, he liked to leave his customers with a little something extra—a package of homemade shortbread made from his grandmother’s recipe.
It was simply Ian’s way of saying thank you.
Except people kept asking for more.
Customers loved it. Friends encouraged him. More than one person suggested that perhaps this family shortbread deserved to become something bigger.
Eventually, Ian listened.
And that is where our crooked-lake corner of the Finger Lakes enters the story.
The Windmill Becomes Part of the Story
When Ian decided to test the idea of actually selling his family’s shortbread, he contacted
The Windmill Farm & Craft Market.
A booth was secured.
The shortbread was packed.
And a new adventure began.
The Windmill became the starting point of The Scottish Shortbread Company’s retail journey.
There is something wonderfully fitting about that.
For nearly four decades, The Windmill has been a place where small businesses, makers, farmers, bakers and dreamers have been able to put their creations in front of customers and discover what might happen next.
For Ian, what happened next was growth.
What began with his grandmother’s recipe and a booth at The Windmill expanded into Scottish festivals, Christmas shows and events throughout New York State.
Eventually, Ian and Maggie outgrew the certified home kitchen where those early batches were baked.
They found the perfect production space just six minutes from their home in Ian’s hometown of Webster, New York.
It is there that the shortbread is still made today—in small batches, using the techniques passed down from Cissie.
The Webster location also includes a retail outlet where customers can purchase shortbread along with other Scottish gifts and treats.
But thankfully for those of us around Keuka Lake, Ian hasn’t forgotten where that retail adventure began.
You can still find The Scottish Shortbread Company at The Windmill Farm & Craft Market in Building 3A.
Three Ingredients—and Generations of Tradition
The beauty of traditional shortbread is its simplicity.
Rich Irish butter from grass-fed cows.
Fine sugar.
Carefully sourced flour.
But anyone who has inherited a family recipe knows there is another ingredient that never appears on the recipe card.
Tradition.
Every batch connects Ian and Maggie’s business in Webster to Cissie’s kitchen and to the Scottish baking traditions that came before them.
Alongside the traditional shortbread, the company now offers different flavors and seasonal creations—treats meant to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea, tucked into a gift basket, brought to a gathering, or perhaps hidden somewhere in the kitchen where you don't have to share.
We won't judge.
And Then There’s Sherri...
If you stop by
Building 3A at The Windmill and Ian and Maggie are traveling to one of the many Scottish festivals and events they attend throughout New York, don't worry.
You may just get the pleasure of meeting Ian’s sister,
Sherri Geary, who often takes over the booth while they are away.
And from everything we hear, Sherri is worth the visit all by herself.
She’s fun, welcoming, and has that wonderful ability to make you feel less like someone stopping at a market booth and more like an old friend who happened to wander by.
Which, when you think about it, fits this story perfectly.
Because The Scottish Shortbread Company has never really been only about selling shortbread.
It is about sharing something.
A family recipe.
A Scottish heritage.
A grandmother named Cissie.
A tradition passed to Peggy, then to her children.
A small thank-you gift given to sign-restoration customers.
A few people who said, “You should sell these.”
And a booth at The Windmill where Ian decided to give it a try.
A Keuka Roots Note
We love stories like this.
Because when you wander through The Windmill, it is easy to see booths, products and things to buy.
But look a little closer.
Behind those tables are people.
Behind the products are families.
And sometimes, behind a package of shortbread is a recipe that crossed an ocean, traveled through generations, survived countless Christmases and Hogmanays, and eventually found its way to a little farm and craft market here in the Finger Lakes.
So the next time you visit
The Windmill Farm & Craft Market, make Building 3A one of your stops and visit The Scottish Shortbread Company.
Buy some shortbread.
Ask about Cissie.
Say hello to Ian and Maggie—or Sherri if she's minding the booth.
And remember that when you support a small business at The Windmill, you may be supporting far more than what you see sitting on the table.
You might just be helping carry a family story into its next generation.
And we think that's pretty sweet.
Small Towns. Big Stories. One Crooked Lake.™
Stay Rooted. Stay Keuka.™
