Empire Biscuits
Learn how to make Scottish empire biscuits with buttery shortbread-style biscuits, raspberry jam, sweet icing, and jelly tots or glace cherries. They're Scotland in a bite!
Equipment
- 2 baking trays
- greaseproof paper
- Rolling Pin
- 8cm (3in) fluted or round cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 140 g icing sugar
- 250 g salted butter
- 1 egg yolk large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 375 g plain flour + extra for shaping (all purpose)
- 75 g cornflour
- raspberry jam
- 200 g icing sugar
- 30 g whole milk
- 12 jelly tots or 6 halved glace cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190C / 170C fan / 375 F or Gas Mark 5 and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper
- Start by cubing refrigerated 250 g salted butter and place into the microwave for 20 seconds to soften (if the butter is already at room temperature and soft then you're only required to cube it)
- Weigh out 140 g icing sugar and add the softened butter and pinch of salt, then mix to combine
- Add 1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir through the butter mixture
- To finish making the dough, add the 375 g plain flour and 75 g cornflour and mix to combine into a workable dough (you will need to use your hands to form the dough into a ball)
- Sprinkle your surface with flour and flour your rolling (you need to do this so the dough doesn’t stick)
- Roll your dough out to around 1cm (0.5in) thick - I suggest turning the dough after each roll for the first few times to ensure it doesn't stick to the surface and add more flour to your rolling pin if you think it needs it
- Use a fluted or round cookie cutter to cut out your biscuits - you should get around 23/24 individual biscuits using a 8cm/3in cutter, making 12 Empire Biscuits
- Once you have cut out as many as you can from your first roll, take the offcuts and knead them back into a ball then roll out again, cutting more biscuits, until you have no dough left
- Place biscuits onto the lined baking trays and place into the fridge for 20 minutes
- Then bake your empire biscuits into the oven for 15 minutes
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on their trays (20-30 minutes)
- Measure out raspberry jam and give it a mix in a bowl to make into a more spreadable consistency. Place a spoonful onto 12 of the biscuits and then sandwich them together using another biscuit
- Combine 200 g icing sugar and 30 g whole milk, then place a spoonful on each biscuit - spread out with a palette knife or the back of a spoon (you can also use a piping bag if you have one available)
- Add 12 jelly tots (or 6 halved glaze cherries) to each biscuit and allow the icing to set (sets to the touch in 15 to 20 minutes, and dries completely in 2 to 4 hours)
Notes
- Don’t skip chilling the biscuits before baking. Placing the cut biscuits in the fridge before baking helps them hold their shape and prevents spreading in the oven.
- Don’t overwork the dough. Mix just until the dough comes together. Overmixing can make the biscuits dense and tough instead of soft and crumbly.
- Flour your surface and rolling pin well. The dough can be quite soft because of the butter, so lightly flouring everything helps prevent sticking. Add more as needed.
- Roll the dough evenly. Keeping the dough an even thickness helps the biscuits bake uniformly and makes sandwiching them together much easier.
- Allow the biscuits to cool completely. If the biscuits are still warm, the jam and icing are likely to melt and slide around.
- Adjust the icing consistency if needed. If the icing feels too thick, add a tiny splash of milk. If it’s too thin, add a little extra icing sugar until it’s spreadable but still thick enough to set. Or alternatively, and probably the best option, dip the biscuits into the icing allowing the excess to drip off before flipping over.
Nutrition
Calories: 411kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 4gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 137mgPotassium: 45mgFiber: 1gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 546IUCalcium: 15mgIron: 2mg
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