Empire Biscuits
A real Scottish favourite. Empire biscuits (sometimes known as German biscuits) are lovely little biscuits, filled with delicious jam, and topped with sweet icing & a jelly tot or glacé cherry.
If there’s one recipe that people always ask for from Granny, it’s her Empire Biscuit one! These little gems are so simple & so versatile. You can go all traditional and opt for a Glace Cherry or a Jelly Tot
on top, or you can get creative with fondant and top them with any shape you like! We particularly love going all festive with holly sprinkles, just for Santa.
These humble little biscuits have always been Granny’s go-to recipe for pleasing guests, and it’s only when reading on the history of them that I’ve found that they’re perhaps not quite as well-known to the world as they are here in Scotland, especially given their various different names.
Sometimes in baking, though, it’s the simpler recipes that make the most impact, and with two little biscuits sandwiched with jam & topped with icing, it doesn’t get much easier than this! Best of all, more so than anything else about these little Empire Biscuits, is that the kids devour them. Easy and kid-friendly = win, win in my books.
Ingredients for Empire Biscuits:
Caster Sugar
Empire biscuits are so well-loved due to their sweetness and texture. A big part of that is, of course, the sugar! Caster sugar will give you the best empire biscuits, both because it is incredibly sweet, but also because it’s fine texture lends itself well to the soft, crumbly texture of an empire biscuit.
Butter or Margarine
Traditionally speaking, an empire biscuit is made with butter, giving it its familiar flavour, as well as the golden hue. If you want to omit the dairy from your recipe, or are simply looking to cut costs a little, margarine is a fantastic alternative. And in actual fact, most shop-bought Empire Biscuits you buy these days use margarine too.
If you are using margarine in this recipe, just be sure to use a block margarine, as opposed to the spreadable kind – the latter has a higher water content and will make your biscuit dough too soft.
Free-range Egg
Not all biscuit doughs have an egg in them, but Granny recommends adding one in empire biscuits. Not only does it help bring the dough together and bind the ingredients, but it also creates a richer dough and, in turn, a better biscuit.
Plain Flour
The final ingredient in your biscuit dough is flour. No raising agent is required, so plain flour is perfect. Don’t be alarmed if you think you’ve used too much flour – once you get your hands in and work the ingredients, they will come together!
Jam
Again, if we are talking tradition, it would be a strawberry – or occasionally a raspberry – jam that you would find in your empire biscuits. The great thing about baking them for yourself, though, is that you can put whatever you want in there! Strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, apricot… Whichever jam is, well, your jam. Just be sure to use a seedless jam for the best texture.
Icing Sugar
The icing on an empire biscuit is simply a water icing, made with icing sugar and some hot water. The most challenging part is getting the right consistency, but otherwise it is a very simple way to finish a biscuit!
Jelly Tot or Glacé Cherries
The two most iconic toppings for an empire biscuit are a jelly tot gummy sweet or half a glacé cherry. That’s not to say you can’t get creative or even seasonal with things like fondant holly leaves.
Top Tips for Empire Biscuits:
• When it comes to 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 butter and flour together – just keep at it! Trust me.
• If you don’t have a cookie cutter for cutting your biscuits, simply use an upturned glass.
• You can make your biscuits as large or small as you prefer. Just be sure to adjust your baking time to suit – the larger the biscuit, the longer they need, and vice versa.
• When it comes to icing your biscuits; for the best finish, make your icing to a “gloopy” consistency. Hold your biscuits with your fingertips and gently dip the top of the biscuit onto the surface of your icing, slowly lifting them back out, allowing the excess to drip off, before flipping over. Top your with a sweetie or cherry and leave it set. As long as your icing isn’t too runny, the icing shouldn’t run off the edges. Getting the right consistency can take a bit of trial and error, but it does give you the neatest finish, so it is worth practising.
More Scottish Baking Recipes You’ll Love:
• Scottish Tablet
• Traditional Black Bun
• Petticoat Tail Shortbread
• Drop Scones
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Empire Biscuits
INGREDIENTS
For the Biscuits
- 130 g Caster Sugar
- 250 g Butter or Margarine
- 1 Free-range Egg
- 500 g Plain Flour
For the Decoration
- Strawberry or Raspberry Jam
- 200 g Icing Sugar
- Few teaspoons of boling water
- Glace Cherries/Gummy Sweeties/Icing Shapes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°c (or 160°c for a fan assisted oven) and line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Cream your butter & sugar until light & fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix until combined. Sift in the flour and mix to form a dough – you may need to use your hands to help the dough come together.
- Roll the dough on a floured surface to around 1cm thick. Using a round cutter, cut your biscuits & transfer to your baking tray. The number of biscuits you will get will vary depending on the size of cutter you choose to use.
- Bake for around 10 minutes until the edges of the biscuit are just golden. Again, depending on the size of your biscuits, you may need to bake them a little bit longer.
- When still warm but cool enough to touch, add the jam to the under side of half your biscuits and pop the other half on top of these to sandwich together.
- When completely cool, make your icing by mixing icing sugar & gradually adding the boiling water until you’re happy with the consistency – “gloopy” is a great way to describe it! Gently dip the top of your biscuits into the icing to cover and top with your decoration of choice!
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.
Came out delicious. My icing was a bit thin but I think that’s because I was kind of freewheeling it. The dough does seem dry but if you work it a little with your hands it comes together easily, and is pretty forgiving. Amy if you ever go to war let me know I’ll be more than happy to be your front guard.
Made these a few times, and they are a favourite in our family. I just forget the Jelly tot every time.
Great recipe, thank you. I have made these Empire Biscuits twice now and the second batch were easier to make & turned out better than the first – as they say ‘practice makes perfect’!
Again another winner followed the recipe and they turned out perfect family loved them you do need to preserve with the dough but it comes together great I think I will be asked to make them on a regular basis
My gran is from Luton, but her father was a true scot. Every Christmas she makes these! Being married to an Irishman myself and living in the states, I need a little taste of these for the New Year! Cannot wait to make!