These Pumpkin Empire Biscuits are a Halloween twist on a proper Scottish favourite. Two sweet Empire-style biscuits are sandwiched with chocolate spread, topped with orange icing and finished with little pumpkin faces. There’s no actual pumpkin in the dough itself – the pumpkin purely comes from the decoration, making these a simple Halloween bake that the kids can help decorate.
Pumpkin Empire Biscuits Recipe Snapshot
- Recipe: Pumpkin Empire Biscuits – decorated Empire-style biscuits for Halloween (no actual pumpkin in the dough).
- Makes: 10 sandwiched biscuits, depending on your cutter size.
- Prep Time: Around 30 minutes, plus decorating.
- Baking Time: 10-12 minutes.
- Filling: Chocolate spread (Nutella), Biscoff spread, or keep it traditional with jam.
- Chilling: Not usually required.
- Decorating: Simple water icing, finished with simple pumpkin faces – no royal icing required.
- Difficulty: A straightforward cut-out biscuit recipe, with easy decorating that children can help with.
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What are Pumpkin Empire Biscuits?
Pumpkin Empire Biscuits are a Halloween twist on my traditional Scottish Empire Biscuits. They are made with two sweet, little shortbread-style biscuits sandwiched together with a chocolate spread filling, then topped with icing and decorated with spooky pumpkin faces.
If you’re in the US, you could think of these as a Scottish take on Halloween sugar cookies. The biscuits are rolled and cut in a similar way, but the decoration is much simpler – just a water icing made with icing sugar, boiling water and orange food colouring. There’s no royal icing or tricky piping required! For the pumpkin faces, I use fondant icing, cutting out the shapes with small cutters or just free-handing them with a knife.
My favourite filling is chocolate spread, such as Nutella, although Biscoff spread works well too – you can also use jam if you prefer, as you would in more traditional Empire Biscuits. The biscuit base is the same shortbread-style as any good Empire Biscuit. If you enjoy that crumbly, buttery kind of biscuit, you will also love my traditional Scottish Shortbread and my recipe for Petticoat Tail Shortbread.
A Halloween Twist on Empire Biscuits
This recipe first came about in the scariest year to exist…2020. Back then, when my boys were still young, and that Halloween we couldn’t go guising (trick-or-treating) as normal. I still wanted to make something fun at home, so I did what any good baker-Mum would do and gave my traditional Empire Biscuits a Halloween makeover with orange icing and little pumpkin faces.
That year I also made my Monster Rice Krispy Squares, knowing the kids would love both. They’re now joined by my Spider Web Biscuits and Mummy Mars Bar Slices each year – all my fun Halloween bakes that are perfect for getting children baking and having fun in the kitchen 🎃
Key Ingredients
These Pumpkin Empire Biscuits use very simple ingredients, with a few different options for the filling and decoration.
See the recipe card for a full ingredients list, required quantities and cup conversions.
Substitutions & Additions
Mixed Spice (Pumpkin Pie Spice): For a cosy, autumnal flavour, you can add a little mixed spice to the biscuit dough. My boys prefer these biscuits plain, though, so that’s how I usually make them.
Chocolate Spread: Chocolate spread is my favourite filling, with Nutella being the obvious option, giving the biscuits a lovely chocolatey filling.
Biscoff: I’ve also tested these Pumpkin Empire Biscuits with Biscoff spread, which works well if you prefer its caramelised biscuit flavour.
Jam: You can use jam instead of chocolate spread or Biscoff. This is more in line with the traditional filling used in Empire Biscuits, with raspberry or strawberry jam being the obvious choices. But you could even use an apricot jam or marmalade if you want to keep with the orange theme of the pumpkins.
Food Colouring: The recipe specifies orange food colouring for the icing, but if you don’t have any, you can easily use a little yellow and red food colouring to create the orange instead.
Pumpkin Faces: I recommend using black fondant icing to make the pumpkin faces, but this isn’t essential if you don’t have any. Once the orange icing has set, you can simply paint the faces on with a little black food colouring instead.
Looking for dairy-free, gluten-free or vegan adaptations? See the Free-from & Vegan section below.
Free-from & Vegan
Amy recommends: If you regularly need to adapt baking recipes for gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or vegan diets, I highly recommend The Elements of Baking by Katarina Cermelj, creator of The Loopy Whisk. It’s a brilliant resource for understanding how substitutions work, rather than simply swapping ingredients and hoping for the best.
Gluten-free Options:
To make gluten-free Pumpkin Empire Biscuits, simply swap the plain flour for gluten-free plain flour. Some gluten-free flours can be a little drier, so you may want to use a little less flour or increase the amount of butter/margarine slightly if your dough is struggling to come together. And be sure to check all your individual ingredients, including the filling and decorations, for allergens when serving to those with coeliac disease.
Nut-free Adjustments:
The biscuit dough itself contains no nuts, but be mindful when choosing your filling if serving to those with nut allergies. There are some good nut-free chocolate spreads, or simply use Biscoff spread or jam instead.
Dairy-free Swaps:
To make these dairy-free Pumpkin Empire Biscuits, use your favourite dairy-free block margarine instead of butter. You’ll also need to choose a suitable dairy-free filling, as some chocolate spreads do contain milk. Plant-based hazelnut chocolate spreads are also a good option.
Egg-Free Adaptations:
To make this an egg-free Pumpkin Empire Biscuits recipe, you can leave out the egg and add a tablespoon of water to the dough mixture. The biscuits won’t be quite as rich in flavour, but they will still turn out perfectly well.
Vegan Substitutions:
To make vegan Pumpkin Empire Biscuits, follow the dairy-free and egg-free suggestions above. Use a vegan block margarine, replace the egg with a tablespoon of water, and use a vegan filling – either a vegan chocolate spread, plant-based Nutella, Biscoff spread or jam.
Allergy Disclaimer & Resources:
Any advice or suggestions to make recipes “free-from” or vegan are purely suggestions. Please double-check all packaged ingredients individually, taking extra caution when baking for those with allergies or intolerances.
For official guidance on food allergies, please see Food Standards Agency (food.gov.uk) | For more info on coeliac disease, please see Coeliac UK (coeliac.org.uk) | For more info on a vegan diet, please see The Vegan Society (vegansociety.com)
How to Make Pumpkin Empire Biscuits
Pumpkin Empire Biscuits use an easy-to-make biscuit dough and really simple decoration, making them a fun Halloween bake for getting the kids involved. Follow the step-by-step below, or head to the recipe card at the bottom for the full printable recipe.
- Prepare the trays. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan, Gas Mark 4 or 350°F). Line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper and set aside.
- Make the dough. In a large bowl, cream the margarine/butter and sugar until light and fluffy in both colour and texture. Add the egg and mix until combined. Sift in the flour and mix to form a fairly stiff dough – you may need to use your hands.
- Roll and cut the biscuits. Gently knead the dough, then roll it to around 5mm (¼ inch) thick. Use a circular or pumpkin-shaped cutter to cut out your biscuits, then transfer them to the prepared baking trays.
- Bake the biscuits. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn golden.
- Fill the biscuits. While the biscuits are still warm, spread around a teaspoon of chocolate spread onto the underside of half of them. Place the remaining biscuits on top and gently press together. Leave to cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate the Pumpkin Empire Biscuits. Mix the icing sugar with small amounts of boiling water until you have a thick but spreadable, “gloopy” icing. Add a few drops of orange food colouring. Using the black fondant, roll and cut out pumpkin faces. Dip the tops of the biscuits into the orange icing, and while the icing is still wet, add the faces, before leaving the biscuits to set for a couple of hours.
Top Tips for Pumpkin Empire Biscuits
- The Dough Starts Crumbly: When making your biscuit dough, don’t panic if it feels like the ingredients aren’t coming together, particularly after adding the flour. Empire Biscuits have a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth texture, which requires quite a firm dough. Once you get your hands into the dough mixture, the heat from your fingers will help bring the margarine/butter and flour together – just keep at it! Trust me.
- Choose Your Biscuit Shape: You can use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter for an obvious pumpkin shape, or a simple round cutter for the more traditional Empire Biscuit look. And if you don’t have any cookie cutters, simply use an upturned glass to cut out rounds.
- Sandwich While Warm: Sandwich your biscuits with the filling while they are still warm. By doing this, the filling will grip the biscuits together as they cool and help keep them stuck in place.
- Use Hot or Boiling Water for the Icing: Mixing icing sugar with boiling water rather than cold water helps the icing set glossy and smooth, with a slight shine.
- No Orange? No Problem: If you don’t have any orange food colouring, you can just mix a little red and yellow food colouring together until you have your desired hue of orange.
- Prepare the Pumpkin Faces First: You can use small pumpkin face cutters, or just roll out the black fondant icing and freehand the faces with a small knife. Prepare them before icing the biscuits so they are ready to add while the orange icing is still wet.
- No Fondant? No Problem: If you don’t have black fondant icing, simply leave the orange icing to set completely, then paint the pumpkin faces on with a little black food colouring instead.
- The “Dip Technique” for Neat Icing: For the best finish, make your icing a thick, “gloopy” consistency. Hold the biscuit with your fingertips and gently dip the top into the surface of the icing. Slowly lift it back out, allowing the excess to drip off, before flipping it upright again. This is the same technique I use for my traditional Empire Biscuits and my Spider Web Biscuits. And as long as your icing isn’t too runny, it shouldn’t run off the edges and give you a lovely, neat finish.
Storage, Freezing & Make Ahead
- Storage: Once decorated and set, store your Pumpkin Empire Biscuits in an airtight container. They will keep well for 3-5 days.
- Make Ahead: If you want to prepare the dough ahead of time, wrap it in cling film (plastic wrap) and chill it until you’re ready to roll and cut it. You may also need to chill the dough for around 30 minutes if your kitchen is particularly warm.
- Freezing: I prefer to freeze the unbaked dough, but you can also freeze the baked biscuits before decorating. I wouldn’t recommend freezing the finished biscuits once they have been iced and decorated, as the icing and fondant faces will likely spoil as they thaw.
Pumpkin Empire Biscuits FAQs
No. There’s no pumpkin in the biscuit dough itself. The pumpkin part comes from the orange icing and little pumpkin faces on top. You can add a little mixed spice to the dough for a cosy autumnal flavour, but we prefer these biscuits plain.
Empire Biscuit dough is quite firm and crumbly, particularly after adding the flour. Use your hands to gently bring the dough together. The warmth from your fingers will help the margarine/butter and flour combine, so just keep at it.
Usually not. If your kitchen is particularly warm and the dough feels soft, wrap it in cling film (plastic wrap) and chill it for around 30 minutes before rolling. You can also chill the dough if you want to make it ahead and bake your biscuits later.
No, not at all. You can use a pumpkin-shaped cutter for an obvious pumpkin shape, but a round cutter works perfectly well too – and you will see examples of both in my photos. If you don’t have any cookie cutters, you can even use an upturned glass to cut out round biscuits.
Nope! These Pumpkin Empire Biscuits use a simple water icing made with icing sugar, boiling water and orange food colouring. There’s no need for tricky piping or fancy royal icing – you simply dip the top side of your biscuits in the icing and finish with little pumpkin faces made from fondant icing.
More Halloween Bakes
If you loved these Halloween Empire Biscuits, here are some more of my favourite Halloween baking recipes for you to try next:
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Pumpkin Empire Biscuits
INGREDIENTS
- 150 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
- 80 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Free-range Egg (beaten; at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
- 300 g Plain Flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 10-12 tsp Chocolate Spread (such as Nutella)
For Decorating
- 150 g Icing Sugar
- Boiling Water (a few teaspoonfuls)
- Orange Food Colouring (gel food colouring preferable)
- Black Fondant Icing (for the pumpkin faces)
EQUIPMENT
- Pumpkin Cookie Cutter (or a round cutter)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (or 160°C for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 4 or 350°F) and line a couple of
baking trays withgreaseproof paper . Set aside. - In a large bowl, cream together your butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy in both colour and texture. Add the egg and mix until combined.80 g Caster Sugar; 150 g Block Margarine or Butter; 1 Free-range Egg
- Sift the flour into the mixture and mix to form a somewhat stiff dough – you may need to use your hands to bring it together.300 g Plain Flour
- Gently knead the dough on a well-floured work surface before rolling it to around 5mm (¼ inch) thick. Using a circular or pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter (or a round cutter), cut your biscuits and transfer them to your prepared
baking tray . - Bake in your preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes until the edges of the biscuit are just golden.
- When still warm but cool enough to touch, add a teaspoon of the chocolate spread to the underside of half your biscuits, then top with the other half to sandwich them together. Leave to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before decorating.10-12 tsp Chocolate Spread
For Decorating:
- Before icing your biscuits, prepare your pumpkin faces. Roll a small amount of black fondant icing to a couple of millimetres thick. Using pumpkin face cutters or a small knife, cut a variety of pumpkin-style faces. Set aside.Black Fondant Icing
- In a small bowl, add the
icing sugar and gradually add small amounts of boiling water until you have a thick, somewhat still-pourable consistency – "gloopy" is a great way to describe it! Add a few drops of orange food colouring (or equal amounts of red and yellow) until your icing is the desired shade of orange.150 g Icing Sugar; Boiling Water; Orange Food Colouring - Carefully dip the tops of your biscuits into the icing to coat, allowing any excess to drip off before flipping upright again. (Alternatively, you can spread the icing on top, but this won't allow as even a finish.) While the icing is still wet, add your pumpkin faces on top. Allow them to set for a couple of hours before enjoying!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion, but these, unfortunately, won’t always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
LIKE THIS RECIPE?
Leave a comment and rating below!Originally published in October 2020.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Beth Reid
Amy Beth Reid is an award-winning food blogger, mother, wife and cookbook author. Inspired by her childhood in the kitchen with her Mum – a professional baker and her children’s Granny – Amy now shares her tried-and-tested traditional home baking recipes with bakers of all abilities around the world. She lives in Scotland with her husband, two sons and her small pack of Siberian huskies.