Empire Biscuits Recipe (German Biscuits) - My Morning Mocha (2024)

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How To Make Melt In The Mouth Empire Biscuits

Delicious buttery biscuits, sandwiched with jam and topped with icing and a glacé cherry. These empire biscuits are an iconic Scottish treat that are so fun and easy to make. Find out how to make it below.

Empire biscuits are essentially a jam sandwich but in biscuit form!

The combination of the sweet fruity jam, icing and buttery biscuits are a flavour combo you can’t resist.

Not to mention the white icing and red cherry garnish, a traditional decoration that is so eye-catching and appealing.

As the dough is rolled out quite thin, you’ll get empire biscuits that create an indulgent melt in the mouth experience. There’s no way you’ll have just one, these biscuits are that good!

Why Is An Empire Biscuit Called An Empire Biscuit?

Empire biscuits are not actually Scottish but has its origin in German-speaking countries (hence why they’re also called German biscuits).

During the outbreak of the First World War, the biscuits were renamed in England which resulted in them being called Empire Biscuits.

Different countries have different names for them; they are also known as German biscuits and imperial cookies but are often referred to as empire biscuits in Scotland and in the UK.

They’re still quite popular in Scotland and can be found in many Scottish bakeries today!

Watch How To Make It

Recipe Ingredients

Below are the ingredients needed to make these melt in the mouth empire biscuits. I’ve added a teaspoon of vanilla to the biscuit dough to add extra flavour; they go so well with a cup of tea.

• Butter: You can use butter (hardened block butter) or margarine; any of the two will work with this recipe. If you break the butter into cubes, it will be a lot easier to cream the butter and sugar together.

• Plain Flour: You’ll want to use plain flour also called all-purpose flour.

• Caster Sugar: I used caster sugar to make these empire biscuits, it’s fine texture easily combines with butter when creamed together. Instead of caster sugar, you can also use icing sugar.

• Egg: I used a medium sized egg at room temperature.

• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is added to the biscuit dough, this adds extra flavour to the biscuits. The addition of vanilla is optional but it really makes a difference.

• Icing Sugar: Icing sugar is mixed with water to create a thick icing mixture that will be used to decorate the empire biscuits.

• Jam: You can use strawberry jam or raspberry jam.

• Glacé Cherry: Traditionally, empire biscuits and German biscuits are topped with a glacé cherry. If you don’t like cherries, you can use sweets, chocolate buttons or leave it plain.

How To Make Fool-Proof Scottish Empire Biscuits

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to make the best empire biscuits, full recipe instructions are on the recipe card at the bottom.

Step One:

Add butter and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. You can do this by hand or use an electric whisk to cream the ingredients together quickly.

Step Two:

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Add an egg and a teaspoon of vanilla into the mixing bowl and mix together until evenly combined.

Step Three:

Pour the plain flour into the bowl and mix together until the biscuit dough has formed. Use your hands to bring the dough together. Add a tablespoon of water If the mixture is too dry and is not coming together.

Lightly sprinkle flour on your work-surface and knead the dough until it comes together.

Step Four:

Roll the dough quite thin, so that it has a thickness of 3mm to 5mm, use a crinkled edge cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits. Then place them on a lined baking tray leaving a gap between each piece.

Step Five:

Bake the biscuits in a preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the biscuits start to brown around the edges. Place the biscuits on a cooling rack for it to cool down completely.

Step Six:

Once the biscuits have cooled down, mix together water and icing sugar until a thick icing mixture has formed. The icing should be thick enough to spread and not running off the edges.

Step Seven:

To assemble the empire biscuits, spread jam on top of one biscuit and top with another biscuit. Then gently spoon (or pipe) icing on top of the biscuit, leaving a border around the edges.

Top with aglacé cherry centred in the middle. Leave the icing to harden and then enjoy!

What You’ll Need To Make Empire Biscuits

To make these biscuits, you may need the following items below:

• Crinkled Cookie Cutter
• Baking Tray
• Parchment Paper
• Mixing Bowls

Can I Freeze Empire Biscuits?

Yes, you can freeze empire biscuits but there is a catch!

If you want to freeze these biscuits, make sure you haven’t iced them and sandwiched them with jam. Once the biscuits defrost, then you can sandwich and decorate with icing, jam andglacé cherries.

Allow the biscuits to cool down completely before placing them into an airtight container, then place into the freezer.

How To Store

Store the biscuits in an airtight container. Eat within a few days or they will start to soften.

My Top Tips

If the biscuit dough is quite soft or sticky, you can wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling it out. This will help make the dough more manageable and reduce the biscuits spreading in the oven.

Watch the biscuits when in the oven, a minute can make the biggest difference! As soon as they start to turn golden brown, then they’re ready to be taken out.

When making the icing, mix 5 tablespoons of water and icing sugar together. If you need to add more water, add a teaspoon of water at a time. It’s very easy to add more water then needed. If the mixture is too runny, add more icing sugar to thicken the mixture.

If the biscuit dough is sticking to your work-surface, I recommend using a palette knife to help you lift the biscuit dough from your work-surface. This will help to prevent the dough from breaking apart.

I used a 6cm cookie cutter and made 24 biscuits (12 sandwich biscuits).

More Biscuit Recipes

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• Lemon Biscuits
• Soft Cinnamon Cookies
• Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oat Biscuits
• Shrewsbury Biscuits

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