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Empire biscuit cut in half to show crumb with whole empire biscuits in the rear view
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German Biscuits

Shortbread style Scottish biscuits sandwiched toegther with raspberry jam and topped with a thick icing glaze and jelly sweet.
Course Snack
Cuisine Scottish
Keyword Empire Biscuits, German Biscuits
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
cooling time + setting 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 29 minutes
Servings 12 biscuits
Author Paul (Scoffs and Feasts)

Equipment

  • 1 3.25 inch cookie cutter

Ingredients

  • 400 g plain flour
  • 300 g unsalted butter diced and at room temp
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 4 level tbsp of cornflour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 tsp Raspberry Jam
  • For the Glaze:
  • 130 g icing sugar
  • 4 tbsp milk

Instructions

  • Cream the room temp butter with sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy
  • Sift in flour and cornflour and salt
  • Gently stir to bring together to rough breadcrumbs then knead gently 4-5 times until a smooth ball of dough forms
  • Shape the dough into a disc, cover in clingfilm and leave to rest for 30 mins in the fridge
  • Once chilled roll out to ~ 3mm thick on a well-floured surface and cut out discs with a 3.25inch cookie cutter
  • Bake in oven at 1600C for 12-14 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet
  • When biscuits are golden leave to cool completely before icing
  • To prepare the glaze, gradually stir in milk till desired consistency. Glaze should be thick and spreadable. Glaze half of the biscuits and top with a jelly sweet and leave for 45 minutes to set before sandwiching the biscuits togethor with raspberry jam.

Notes

Pro tips:
  1. Make sure the butter you use is at the correct temperature for creaming by leaving it out overnight. Alternatively, heat your oven at 1000C for 30 seconds then turn it off. Place cold diced butter in the turned-off oven for around 20 minutes, after which it should be soft enough to cream (this is what I do when I forget to take the butter out overnight!) 
  2. The dough for these biscuits is soft and delicate and rich in butter so make sure you flour your work surface well, but also flour your rolling pin regularly or the dough can stick a little.
  3. When moving the cut biscuits from your work surface to your baking tray, try to use an appropriate tool like a food turner or an offset spatula big enough to allow the biscuits to remain flat and not bend as they could crack due to the soft dough.
  4. When the biscuits have cooled, glaze half of them, top with a sweet and wait till the glaze sets, around 45 minutes before assembling. Sandwich biscuits together with 1 teaspoon of jam then enjoy!
  5. This recipe is for 12 biscuits but there is enough to make around an extra 2 biscuits -  these are for the chef as a reward!