Gary Maclean

Empire Biscuits

Preparation info
  • Makes

    4 to 6

    Depending on the Size of your Cutter
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
Gary Maclean's Scottish Kitchen: Timeless traditional and contemporary recipes
Gary Maclean's Scottish Kitchen

By Gary Maclean

Published 2022

  • About

I always remember as a kid being told that empire biscuits were originally called German biscuits, and that the name was changed at the outbreak of the First World War. The name has stuck, and this biscuit couldn’t be more Scottish: double shortbread, with raspberry jam and icing.

Ingredients

For the shortbread

  • 150 g (5 oz) butter, softened
  • 85 g (3

Method

For the shortbread

  1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. I usually use a spoon but you could use a machine. We are looking for the butter to go light and fluffy and a pale yellow colour.
  2. Now add the yolks and the vanilla extract and work into the butter mixture.
  3. Finally sift in the flour and bring it togeth