Empirecookies Recipes

EMPIRE BISCUITS

Steps:

• Put the flour, butter, 85g of the icing sugar, the vanilla and egg yolks in a food processor and pulse in bursts until combined (alternatively, rub together the butter and flour with your fingertips and mix in the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks). Add ½ tbsp water if the mix feels a little dry. Tip the rough mixture onto a work surface and briefly knead until the dough has come together. Wrap and chill for 30 mins.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll the dough out to around 3mm thick. Cut 24 rounds from the dough with a 7cm cutter. Bring the remaining scraps of pastry together and reroll to make more biscuits. Line up the discs of dough on the baking sheets, then bake for 10-12 mins or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• Mix the remaining icing sugar with 2-3 tsp of water to make a very thick icing. Spoon or pipe the icing over the top of half of the biscuits, leaving a border around the edge of each one. Top with a small piece of glacé cherry in the centre, then leave to set for 30 mins. Spread the jam over the un-iced biscuits and sandwich together with the iced halves. Will keep for two days in an airtight tin.

EMPIRE COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter. Add sugar, creaming well. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 2 inch rounds, and place on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned at edges. Cool thoroughly.
• Spread half of the cookies with jam, and top with remaining cookies.
• Combine confectioners' sugar, almond extract, and enough hot water to make a thin icing. Frost tops of cookies. Top each with a small piece of candied cherry.

EMPIRE BISCUITS (CLASSIC SCOTTISH ICED COOKIES WITH RASPBERRY JAM)

Steps:

• Mix the butter and sugar together until it forms a homogenous mixture. Add the egg and mix well. Next add the flour until it forms a crumbly consistency.
• Turn onto a floured surface and form into a smooth dough. Do not overwork the dough. Roll out quite thinly (about 1/8") and cut into rounds with a cookie cutter.
• Place on lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes (I turn them once through baking). Put on cooling rack. Then, when completely cool, choose a mate for each cookie.
• Coat the tops with confectioner's sugar mixed with milk or water (to a thick, but runny consistency as in the photo below).
• Top with a piece of candied cherry in the center, then sandwich together cookies with raspberry jam and enjoy with a cup of tea!

EMPIRE BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour until well blended. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into rounds using a cookie cutter.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Sandwich one teaspoon of jam between two cookies. Repeat with remaining cookies. In a medium bowl, gradually stir the milk into the confectioners' sugar until the icing is of a spreadable consistency. Spread on top of the sandwiched cookies. Top each cookie with half of a cherry while the icing is still wet.

EMPIRE COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter.
• Add sugar, creaming well.
• Beat in egg and vanilla.
• Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Cut into 2-inch rounds, and place on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned at edges.
• Cool thoroughly.
• Spread half of the cookies with jam, and top with remaining cookies.
• Combine confectioners' sugar, almond extract, and enough hot water to make a thin icing.
• Frost tops of cookies.
• Top each with a small piece of candied cherry.

EMPIRE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (190°F). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat butter in a large bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed until very light in texture, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and continue beating until sugar is completely combined, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Combine flour and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture on low speed until well combined.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface about ¼" (5 mm) thick. Cut into shapes with 2" (5 cm) round cookie cutter. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1" (2.5 cm) apart. Continue with remaining dough. Gather scraps together and roll.
• Bake in preheated oven 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on wire cooling rack.
• Filling: Spread bottoms of half the cookies with jam; top with remaining cookies.
• Icing: Beat icing sugar, milk and butter until smooth. Add tsp (5 mL) milk at a time if you have to thin it out for spreading. Spread icing over top of cookies. Top each cookie with cherry half. Let icing set before serving or freezing.

HOW TO MAKE EMPIRE BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 Celcius or 400 Fahrenheit, or 180C/350F for a fan oven.
• Start by beating the butter until it is softened just creamy, but not too fluffed up or airy. Then add the sugar and mix until just combined. You want the sugar to dissolve into the butter to a caster or fine sugar is best.
• Next, add the flour along with a beaten egg and mix carefully until the dough begins to form clumps. At this point, you can get your hands into it and bring the dough together.
• Tip onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough out until it's around 5mm or about a 1/4 inch in thickness.
• You can use a cookie cutter like this one, or the rim of a glass to cut the dough into separate biscuits.Use a spatula or a pastry/dough scraper to move the biscuits onto the baking tray, lined with baking paper or a reusable liner.
• If you have time, chill for about 20 minutes in the fridge to help stop spreading.
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes. The biscuits will stay soft but will start to town slightly and that's when they're ready. Take them out of the oven and allow to cool.
• Match the biscuits into pairs. Spread jam over the top of the biscuit that will be the base, and press the biscuit for the top gently down onto it.
• Mix the icing/confectioners sugar with just enough milk or water to form a thick but runny consistency. We start with a couple of tablespoons and then slowly add more until it's ready. You can either spread the icing with a teaspoon/knife or use the dipping method. If you're using a spoon or knife then start with a small amount in the middle of the biscuit and slowly spread it out, leaving a gap before the edge of the biscuit in case of extra spread. Otherwise, dip the biscuit top side down into the icing to coat it, allow any excess to drip off, and then quickly flip over and pit back on a tray to allow it to harden. You want to try and avoid the icing running down the sides of the biscuit.
• Place half a glace/candied cherry in the centre of the biscuit. Allow the icing to harden and then eat!