Empire Biscuits (Classic Scottish Iced Cookies with Raspberry Jam)
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 Austrian 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 egg free cookie 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
Ingredients
- butter
- sugar
- egg
- flour
- confectioner’s sugar
- candied cherries
- raspberry jam
Directions
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)
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter (at room temperature)
- ⅓ cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour (organic, if possible)
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 20 candied cherries to decorate
- 13 oz raspberry jam as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃)
- 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
For another classic Scottish biscuit, you can’t beat shortbread!
More Scottish biscuits to try~
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Tried this recipie…sadly it didn’t form a dough. Too much flour I believe. Thankfully I can use the mess for crumble or cheesecake crusts.
Hi Margaret, did you weigh the ingredients? It’s perfect everytime if you weigh them.
I also found it to be too much flour despite measuring by weight, so I added a tiny bit of milk to it and it turned out perfect.
Hi Sazz, I think if you just keep mixing it will come together perfectly. Milk will make them harder. Trust me, if you weigh the flour, the ratio is correct, it’s the technique that is the issue. Hope you try it again without the milk. :)
I just made your Empire Biscuits (which I do on a regular basis)
They are one of our favourites. I will make them heart shape with pink icing g soon for Valentine’s Day.
I would love a new kitchen scale as mine is so old. Weighing is the only way I bake.
Thanks Christina
Lovely idea for Valentine’s Day! Thanks, Ina and good luck!
The only thing that makes this recipe better is substituting some of the flour with birds custard powder like my Scottish grandmother taught me! Makes the shortbread even more buttery and light!
Sounds good, Laurel!
One of the best homemade cookies I have ever made, great for any occasions. Very simple recipe, can be made simple or fancy, we love them.
So happy to hear it! Thank you!
I love this recipe for a few reasons. First they are beyond delicious, they have such few ingredients, and they are easy to assemble. I do use a kitchen scale because 1 cup of flour isn’t always 1 cup. Another suggestion is to mix the butter and sugar and make sure it’s still creamy, not separating. I’m adding this advice after reading the woes in the reviews. The snow cookies are also another favorite! Good luck, they’re both winners!
Thanks so much, Helene! I really appreciate your comments/review. I’m going to be making a few batches of snow cookies as Christmas gifts–everyone really does love them!
Just like the ones I used to have in Scotland! Thank you for this authentic recipe as every bite brings back memories! Sharing the recipe with everyone who asks.
Awww, thank you so much Margaret! I really appreciate you sharing, and thanks for the 5 star review. :)
I love these Empire biscuits, perfect recipe, I make them often.
Thanks, Terry!!
I doubled this recipe because I have a large gathering and 7 grandchildren over Christmas. I notice it does say to mix until the mixture is “crumbly”…. and yes – my mixture was definately crumbly. I have patted out about 5 balls and wrapped in plastic wrap and am hoping that the flour will hydrate some because as it seems right now – they are going to be horrid for rolling out. I will update when I do get them rolled out
Hi Robin, I hope you weighed the flour? I’m guessing you used cups because it sounds like it’s too dry. Using cups, ESPECIALLY WHEN DOUBLING such a big amount of flour, is risky as it’s not a reliable way to measure for baking. I highly recommend a scale. Good luck!
I did not double the recipe and found mine to be very crumbly too. The dough is in the fridge now and hope to try again later. I did use cups for measuring vs weight. Did not see the comment regarding that until it was too late. Is there any way to save this?
This is why I recommend reading what I write in the post instead of just using the jump to recipe button. There’s a lot of info I can’t fit in the recipe card. No once it’s made you can’t do anything. Did you watch the video? Maybe if you mix it longer it will come together as that seems to be the biggest issue when it’s too crumbly, it’s not been mixed long enough. Let me know how it turns out.