McKenzie Large Butter Biscuits: Aberdeenshire Tradition

McKenzie Large Butter Biscuits

McKenzie describes the butter biscuit as a traditional Aberdeenshire biscuit, unique to the north-east of Scotland and usually eaten with butter, cheese or pâté on top.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

McKenzie Large Butter Biscuits, in summary: A family bakery's version of a biscuit McKenzie says belongs to north-east Scotland. Large, rich rather than sweet, and made to carry butter, cheese or pâté, with a robust malty tea poured alongside.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

McKenzie describes the butter biscuit as a traditional Aberdeenshire biscuit, unique to the north-east of Scotland and usually eaten with butter, cheese or pâté on top. That one line changes how to buy it: this is a base for something, not a treat for the biscuit barrel.

From a Turriff bakery to the biscuit tin

McKenzie Biscuits was set up in 1981 and is owned and run by Gerry McKenzie, whose father founded McKenzie Bakers in Turriff in 1952, a bakery that is still trading. The biscuit business bakes in Cuminestown and Turriff. It began with sweet, cookie-style biscuits and grew into savoury biscuits and oatcakes made to traditional Scottish recipes, and the company says several lines in its range have won Great Taste gold.

We carry the large butter biscuit because it is a genuine regional type from a family firm, rather than one more plain line from a national brand. If you have only met butter biscuits as thin continental snaps or tins of assorted shapes, this is a different idea altogether: a big round designed to take a topping. Come to it hoping for shortbread and it will puzzle you; come to it with the butter dish and a knife and it makes sense.

What the large round changes

By the maker's own count the large pack holds around nine biscuits, against about fifteen in the smaller format, so each one is a proper portion: one each alongside a mug, not a handful grabbed from a plate. A big round has less edge for its middle than a small one, which keeps the centre softer and the bake less toasted, and it gives a flat surface that takes a spread without cracking.

In the mouth the butter leads and the sugar holds back. The crumb is short and fine rather than snappy, and the sweetness is restrained enough to sit under cheese or jam without a fight. That restraint is what makes it useful. Sweeter biscuits shine alone but clash with savoury toppings; this one works across breakfast, lunch and the afternoon cup alike.

Butter, cheese or marmalade on top

Treat it like a good cracker with more richness. Split a round and add salted butter with a slice of sharp cheddar, or spread it with marmalade at breakfast. When adding hard cheese, lay it on and press gently with a flat blade instead of scraping, because a short crumb breaks under pressure. If you do dunk one, keep it to about three seconds; the size helps, but butter softens the crumb quickly in hot tea.

Pour something with body. A malty Assam or a Scottish breakfast blend with milk suits the butter and stands up to cheese, and a brisk Ceylon does the same with a lighter touch. Store an opened pack in a tin away from anything spiced: fat picks up neighbouring smells readily, and a large round has plenty of surface for them to settle on.

The packs we stock

McKenzie Large Butter Biscuits, 150g (barcode 5014241001905)

What to drink with it

Twinings Scotland's Ceylon Tea (International Blend), 20 Tea Bags 40g: a brisk Ceylon blend that cuts through butter and cheese without drowning a gentle biscuit.
Twinings Loose Leaf Earl Grey Tea, 125g: bergamot and marmalade are both citrus, so a pot of loose Earl Grey suits a breakfast round spread with it.
Teapigs Rooibos Creme Caramel, 15 Tea Bags, 37.5g: a creme caramel rooibos for the afternoon, when a plain buttered round wants a sweeter cup beside it rather than a stronger one.

Elsewhere in the McKenzie range

The full range is on the McKenzie brand page.

FAQ

What is an Aberdeenshire butter biscuit? McKenzie describes it as a traditional biscuit unique to the north-east of Scotland, usually eaten with butter, cheese or pâté rather than on its own.

How many biscuits are in the large pack? Around nine, by the maker's own count. The smaller format holds about fifteen; the large is the one we stock.

Is a butter biscuit the same as shortbread? No. It reads rich rather than sweet and is designed to carry a topping, so anyone expecting a sugary shortbread will find something quite different.

How long will a butter biscuit hold in hot tea? Briefly. Around three seconds is the limit before the buttery crumb starts to give way.

What should I drink with it? A robust, malty cup such as an Assam or a Scottish breakfast blend with milk, which suits both the butter and anything savoury on top.

Curator's note: Split one, butter it and lay a sliver of strong cheddar on top, then pour a mug of something malty. That is the moment this biscuit stops being plain and starts being very good. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: McKenzie Large Butter Biscuits

Field	Detail
Brand	McKenzie
Packs we stock	150g
Category	Biscuits
Dunkable	Briefly, around three seconds
Best with	Salted butter and sharp cheddar, with a malty tea
Occasion	Breakfast or the cheese plate