Empire Biscuits

Who doesn't love an Empire biscuit, the crumbly goodness sandwiching jam with icing and a jelly sweet on top... PERFECTION. I made these for the first time recently and took them to my other half's work, where the batch of over 50 biscuits lasted less than 2 hours. These biscuits have been voted their favourite bake so far and even better than our local bakers. Super easy, these make a great addition to any gathering and will keep for a few days in an air tight tub, if you can resist them that long. I used a square cutter as I'm in kitchen limbo at the moment and couldn't find my traditional round ones, these were popular though as for those blessed with a more generous gob, they are bite size!

The finish product

Ingredients:

For the biscuits:
230g butter softened
85g icing sugar
340g plain flour

For the topping and filling:
your jam of choice, I used raspberry
230g icing sugar
water
your favourite jelly sweets, I used jelly tots

All sandwiched together waiting for icing in their masses...

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160c and flour a baking sheet. Cream the butter and slowly add in the icing sugar so it doesnt fly everywhere until the mix is light and fluffy. Add in the flour and tip onto a floured surface. Use your hands to bring the dough together to form a smooth ball. I would recommend chilling this in the fridge wrapped in clingfilm for ten minutes to make it easier to cut out.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface using a floured rolling pin to roughly 2mm thick. Dip your chosen cutter in the flour and cut out as many biscuits as possible. Place these on the baking sheet and roll the dough scraps back together and repeat the process until as much of the dough as possible is used. I often roll out the last scraps and have a 'bakers treat biscuit' to munch while I decorate the rest. Try to ensure you cut out an even number but if there is one extra... ooops!

Bake the biscuits for around 15 minutes until golden brown. While the biscuits are still hot, add the jam and sandwich them together taking care not to burn your fingers, I used around half a teaspoon of jam per biscuit but it will depend on their size. Place on a wire rack and leave to cool.

Once the biscuits are cooled, place some sheets of kitchen paper under the wire racks to catch icing drips and save on cleaning. Place the icing sugar in a bowl and gradually add water in small amounts until the sugar comes together into a consistency like double cream. Gently spoon this onto the biscuits and add a sweet or two to the tops to set into the icing.

Super easy to make and even easier to eat, these are sure to be a firm favourite. If you try this recipe please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife. ENJOY!