Empire Biscuits are simply classic Scottish bakery fare. Two shortbread type biscuits are sandwiched together, topped with icing and a candied cherry.
I grew up with these Empire biscuits (cookies) like children in the US grow up with chocolate chip cookies.
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I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful they are, but my three year old niece recently turned down homemade chocolate chip cookies for an Empire biscuit. Not once, but twice, so that should tell you something!
Remember the candied cherry recipe I shared recently? This is the reason I shared it: a classic Empire biscuit has a bit of glacé cherry (or half of one) in the center.
What are Empire Biscuits?
Apparently, they are a copy of German Linzer Cookies/Biscuits. Edited Nov. ’19 – I was just in Linz last month and all the Linzer cookies truly reminded me of Empire biscuits! That’s because I knew of Empire biscuits before learning about the original Linzer cookies.
Why are they Called Empire Biscuits?
I never knew why they were called Empire biscuits, and simply accepted it. However, as we get older, our curiosity gets to us. I did a little digging and realized that the name was changed when WWII broke out; they were renamed “Empire Biscuits” – Wikipedia. If you don’t understand why they changed the name, it’s because the UK was at war with Germany and they didn’t want any association to their rival country with a beloved Scottish biscuit!
My Snow Cookies are based on Empire biscuits and have won two contests, so I’m not just saying they’re really good, they’re really good!
Can I freeze Empire biscuits?
Empire biscuits freeze exceptionally well, but do so before jamming them together and icing them. You want to defrost them first, then assemble and decorate and they’ll be just perfect!
NOTES: This recipe includes an egg, but you can easily make them more as traditional shortbread with this recipe. You can use either a straight or serrated biscuit/cookie cutter.
Classic Empire Biscuits Recipe
slightly adapted from Lofty Peak makes 20 sandwich biscuits
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Preheat oven to 400˚F (200˚C)
Mix the butter and sugar together but do not cream. Add the egg and mix well. Next add the flour and rub in to a crumbly consistency.
Turn onto a floured surface and rub to make a smooth dough. Roll out quite thinly (about 1/8″) and cut into rounds with a cookie cutter.
Place on lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes (I turn them once through baking). Put on cooling rack. Then, when completely cool, choose a mate for each cookie.
Coat the tops with confectioner’s sugar mixed with milk or water (to a thick, but runny consistency as in the photo below).
Top with a piece of candied cherry in the center, then sandwich together cookies with raspberry jam and enjoy with a cup of tea! When completely set, keep in an airtight container. Most households in the UK have a biscuit tin.
Magical!
Empire Biscuits (Classic Scottish Iced Cookies with Raspberry Jam)
A classic Scottish biscuit topped with icing and filled with raspberry jam.
Ingredients
- 227 g (2 sticks) butter
- 85 g (1/3 c) sugar
- 1 egg
- 454 g (3 cups) all purpose flour
- 255 g (2 cups) confectioner's sugar
- candied/Glacé cherries, to decorate
- raspberry jam
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400˚F (200˚C)
- Mix the butter and sugar together but do not cream. Add the egg and mix well. Next add the flour and rub in to a crumbly consistency.
- Turn onto a floured surface and rub to make a smooth dough. Roll out quite thinly (about 1/8") and cut into rounds with a cookie cutter.
- Place on lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes (I turn them once through baking). Put on cooling rack. Then, when completely cool, choose a mate for each cookie.
- Coat the tops with confectioner's sugar mixed with milk or water (to a thick, but runny consistency as in the photo below).
- Top with a piece of candied cherry in the center, then sandwich together cookies with raspberry jam and enjoy with a cup of tea!
Notes
The number of biscuits the recipe will make depends on the size of the cutter you use.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 biscuitAmount Per Serving:Calories: 378Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 6mgCarbohydrates: 79gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 11g
Nutrition information is only an estimate.
More Scottish biscuits to try~
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What am I doing wrong? Tried twice with melted butter and then again with room temp butter and still the mixture is dry and crumbly and will not roll out flat.
Wow, these are absolutely amazing! I have never even baked a biscuit before but was talked into baking these during lockdown with my 9 year old daughter. Safe to say I’ll definitely be making these again. Best tasting Empire biscuits I have ever had and so easy to make even I can make them. Thank you!
Fantastic! Thank you for the rave review, Russell! Hope you find more of my recipes to enjoy!
[…] Of course, it’s perfectly acceptable not to fill them with anything. However, if you like the look of the jam and cream filled doughnut below, just slice it in half, at a slight angle, then slather on some raspberry jam. Next, pipe in some real, freshly whipped cream (I used my ISI whipper). That’s it! If you don’t know, raspberry jam is a frequent ingredient in Scottish fare, like these coconut and raspberry tartlets and Empire biscuits. […]
These are fantastic – I’ve made them a few times now and love them. I was looking for a recipe a while ago, this was the first I tried and I wouldn’t think of trying another one now as these are perfect. And, as a funny coincidence, my husband is the man who designed the tea towel in the picture and quite possibly printed it too! Big thank you and hello from Scotland!
Noooooo!!!! Are you serious? That is SOOO cool! Thank you, Emily and it means a lot to get the stamp of approval from back home! :) Happy new year!
Hi Christina, What size Cooke round should i use?
Any size you like, Ellen! You can make mini or large. Traditionally, I think the ones I remember from Scotland were probably 3″ to 3.5″ if you want to go for that size. Merry Christmas!
Hi there, I am a completely novice baker and I am trying to make a big empire biscuit for my dad’s Christmas as empire biscuits are his favourite. I was thinking of making it the size of a sponge cake tin, is there anything I should differently? I’m not sure how these thing work but scared it cooks unevenly because of the size. Also, I never know what kind of butter to get, is it salted or unsalted? Sorry if these are silly questions but any help would be great! Looking forward to trying out your recipe since everyone is giving it such great reviews! Xx
Hi Nicola, not silly questions at all! If you use unsalted, add a good pinch of salt. Salted is fine as is.
Regarding making a big one, honestly, I’ve never tried and I feel it will do what you said and will probably have bubbles since it should be pricked at that size. You can try half the recipe and see how it goes in enough for one tin and then go from there. It won’t be bad, I’m sure, but given it’s for your Dad, I know you want it to look right. Good luck and let me know how it goes.:)
Hi Christina, the sugar, is it granulated or caster sugar?
Many thanks will be giving these a try,
Patricia
Hi Patricia, while either one will work, I use granulated in the US. Enjoy, they’re so good!
It shows the ingredients make 20, is that 20 shortbread which in turn make 10 empire biscuits or does it mean 20 empire biscuits? Thanks
Christina, your story of the origins of this biscuit is incorrect. This biscuit was created to celebrate Queen Victoria’s visit to the 1901 Empire exhibition that took place in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. The Empire biscuit has nothing to do with Germany.
Oh, I’ve never heard of this, but I’ll happily edit the post if you can provide me a link to where I can find this information. Thank you, Colin.
Hi I love your empire biscuits and have made them loads of times but the last twice I have made them they seems quite grainy, what have I done wrong they are just not the same.
Thanks xx
Hi Evonne, I have no idea since they turned out well beforehand. Have you changed the type of sugar you buy?
When you say add the sugar and butter in step one, do you mean both the regular sugar and confectioners?
No, just the first measurement of sugar. If you read the recipe, later the confectioners sugar is used for the icing. I fixed it to make it more clear. Enjoy!
These look great! Is the butter cold and cut into pieces? Or are we using softened butter? Thanks!
More on the cold side, yes. You don’t want to use warm butter as it will cream completely, but it doesn’t have to be rock hard either, Daniella. Enjoy!
[…] To make the biscuits, we used a recipe from christinascucina.com! You can find the recipe here! […]
Great ideas for lockdown and the kids Alex 4 and Edward 3 love to help.
That’s lovely! Baking and cooking teaches children SO much and it’s a fabulous life skill many have not acquired.
Empire Biscuits were, as you stated, renamed from German biscuits because of the War with Germany. They resembled the First World War German spiked helmet ( Pickelhaube) and in the Second World War the name was changed to Empire biscuits
I have never heard this! Interesting.
Can I use gluten free flour and dairy free butter to make these please
Hi Faith, I don’t know, to be honest. I have never tried either one, so the only way would be to experiment. I’d advise making half the recipe, though. Just in case they don’t turn out well. Let me know if you give it a go! Good luck! CC
I found that I only needed half the cooking time you suggested but they turned out great. 8-10 mins was perfect with a flip halfway through. I also boiled down the jam a bit and put it in between while it was still hot to make it stickier and more chewy.
Hi Kevin, yes, I can imagine that different ovens require much different baking times, but the key is to check them and figure it out which you did. I LOVE your boiling down the jam idea!! I absolutely love the chewy jam in Jammy Dodger biscuits and so I would love this, too! Thanks for the awesome idea! I’m going to try it next time! Happy baking :)
I am so happy I found your site and can’t wait to try out all the recipes from HOME.
For your Empire Biscuits when you say mix butter and sugar together but don’t cream what exactly do you mean. Do I mix with mixer?
Thank you for your help and your great recipes.
Kath
Hi Kathleen, I’m so happy you found my recipes, too! On the Empire Biscuits, you can use a mixer, just don’t over mix the dough. It’s a bit like shortbread and if you overdo it they get tough, that’s all. That said, I’ve never had a bad batch :) Enjoy! CC
[…] I share a classic Scottish bakery recipe called Empire Biscuits (I’ve since posted the […]
OMG 😍
Absolutely beautiful! 🌸
Bites of heavenly morsels…💖
Thank you so much! 🌷
I really enjoyed making & baking them 😁
And definitely adored eating them…😄
Will make them again for my daughter.
🤗
These are absolutely perfect ! And so beautiful!
You’re so sweet, thank you, David! And there’s no garlic, either! haha!
Oh my, Christina. I’m so glad you posted these biscuits. I grew up with them too. Granny called them German biscuits, which you mention why – and she used a lot of margarine, I remember. I haven’t actually made them again, even if her recipe is in her black book. You know why? They are too good and I’m scared when I have one, I can’t stop. They bring back so many deliciously happy memories. Thanks, sweetie!
Oh I bet you could restrain yourself! You’re always around your amazing creations and still so slim! That’s lovely that they remind you of your Granny! <3 CC
Oh how delicious, Christina, And I love how you composed the photo with that awesome tea towel. So pretty!
Thanks so much, Valentina!
What is not to love about these gorgeous biscuits?
Simply fabulous.
They’re so simple, yet so good! Thanks, Cathy!
Christina, when you say to roll out quite thin, are you talking about, say, 1/8 inch or thicker?
Hi Suzi, an 1/8″ is great! You can make them thicker, but then they tend to be too thick when sandwiched together. I’ll add that to the recipe. Enjoy! CC
Tasty looking biscuits and cute too. :)
Thank you!! :)