It's a wee bit o' Scotland in the Santa Clarita Valley.

McLaren's Shortbread, a deliciously dense, buttery, crumbly concoction, is handcrafted from a family recipe handed down by her husband's mother to Andrea Slominski of Valencia.

"We started out giving our shortbread as gifts to neighbors and teachers. They started ordering from us to give out to their friends and family," Slominski said. "Then businesses began to order 20 to 50 boxes for their clients and we were making 1,200 pounds of shortbread just for the holidays. We realized, hey, maybe we've got something here."

That something has turned into a full-fledged business for Slominski, whose day job as a theater arts instructor has downsized from three classes per semester to one. Her husband Tim is a mortgage banker whose business has tremendously slowed over the last few years so he also helps with the company.

"I couldn't do anything anymore that didn't bring in money," Slominski said. "With three kids, necessity becomes the mother of invention. Like everyone else right now, we have to do what we can to survive."

The couple received a business license and leased kitchen space from a local caterer last February to produce commercial-sized batches of their treasured recipe.

This doesn't mean they've compromised quality for quantity, though.

"All of our products are handmade. There are no additives or preservatives of any kind," Slominski said. "We bake our shortbread on clay trays, using only butter, sugar and flour for ingredients, and source as many seasonal fruits for our curds and jams as we can from local growers. It‘s just old-fashioned good."

The McLaren's line is sold every Sunday at the College of the Canyons Farmer's Market, as well as at Scottish Highland festivals and gift shows and boutiques throughout California. Customers can also order online at www.mclarens.com, with shipping available throughout the United States.

Orders have come in from as far as Maine, New York and Florida, though Slominski acknowledges most McLaren's products are sold in the western part of the country.

"So far, the building of our business has been primarily through word of mouth," she said.

Besides the melt-in-your mouth shortbread, based on a recipe from Tim Slominski's great-great-grandmother of Scotland, McLaren's also offers refreshing lemon and lime curds, fresh peach, blueberry, pineapple and gingered pear jams, savory chutneys, scone mix and ginger lassies - a moist cookie bursting with bits of fresh ginger.

"I developed the recipe myself," Slominski said proudly. "Sweet, chewy ginger cookies are hard to find. I like the spicy ones. They start off sweet and end up hot because there‘s a little bit of cayenne pepper in them."

The McLaren's logo is a take-off of the family's crest and the scone mix and gift baskets are tied with a tartan plaid ribbon in deference to their Scottish heritage.

Prices start at $10.50 for the petite or three-quarter-pound box of shortbread, which includes 16 rectangular pieces; the larger box is double the weight and servings and retails at $17.50. A one-pound box, tied with a festive ribbon, is $15, including priority shipping anywhere in the U.S.

Since the product is so fresh, the shelf-life is recommended at just 14 days; the shortbread can also be frozen for up to six months and defrosted piece by piece for maximum enjoyment.

"Our handmade quality is what sets us apart. It's more labor intensive to look at each piece and determine if it's good enough to sell, but that's what gives it that homemade touch," Slominski said. "When you bite into it, it‘s just really high-quality."

Jams and curds are made by hand in double batches and make for a tantalizing topping for the shortbread or scones.

There's one item you won't find this holiday season, however.

"Our summer peach jam just blew out, with people buying four to six jars at a time. We ran out," Slominski said. "Next year, we're going to have to buy more peaches."

Gift baskets from McLaren's start at just $20 for the "Wee Bit O' Tea," which includes a scone mix, a jam and a curd and samples of English tea in a teacup-shaped basket up to $60 for the "Tea Party for 16," packaged in a red-and-green plaid box overflowing with scone mix, shortbread, jams, curds, and English tea.

Customers can also mix-and-match items to create their own custom basket or gift box starting at $20, which McLaren's will deliver anywhere in the SCV for free.

So far, response to McLaren's has been positive, with sales rising every month since the Slominskis officially launched their company.

"Ideally, I'd like to do this full-time," Slominski said. "Right now, I'm enjoying the development and traveling. Most of all, I like watching people's faces when they bite into our cookies."

For more information on McLaren's Shortbread, visit www.mclarensshortbread.com, call (661) 263-9377 (Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.) or e-mail mclarensshortbread@yahoo.com.