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 until it forms a homogenous mixture. Add the egg and mix well. Next add the flour until it forms a crumbly consistency.
Turn onto a floured surface and form into a smooth dough. Do not overwork the dough. Roll out quite thinly (about 1/8″) and cut into rounds with a cookie cutter.
Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 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 until it forms a homogenous mixture. Add the egg and mix well. Next add the flour until it forms a crumbly consistency.
- Turn onto a floured surface and form into a smooth dough. Do not overwork the dough. Roll out quite thinly (about 1/8") and cut into rounds with a cookie cutter.
- Place on lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 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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Can I check the timings? This recipe is 15-20 mins. In oven but snow cookies are 8-10? I made them for first time at weekend and checked at 15 and were burnt!!
Hi Susie, I am SO sorry, but you are correct, it should be 8-10 minutes for these as well. Everyone who has made them must have just checked on them or smelled them baking and took them out before the time was up as no one else has caught this. I apologize for this, and I’ve fixed it in both places on my page. I hope you’ll try them again!
I found the 400 degree oven to be too hot. Reduce temperature to 350 and baked 13 minutes!
Should this dough ever be chilled? Why or why not?
You can chill it if you like, but I never have since no one I know in Scotland ever does. When the biscuits turn out great, why change it?
why not use imperial weights? was looking forward to making these empire biscuits until I saw the weights were American which just put me off. If Like myself, not used to using American weighing system, not confident enough to use them
Hi Carol, you must have missed the metric measurements, which are superior to cups and the Imperial system. Most scales have both grams and ounces. I would have fixed it for you had it just been cups, but with the grams there, I cannot add a third measurement.
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