Empire Biscuits

The best Scottish semi export. I say semi because actually, you don’t find them very often outside Scotland (I may simply be too far South).

Buttery, melt in the mouth, jammy, all the things you want in a biscuit. That said there should be jujubes or jelly tots on top but my 17yr old bottomless pit ate them all and left me with jelly beans! Hence the picture, I apologise to Scots everywhere.

You will need a rolling pin, biscuit cutter (about 2½ inches across), baking tray

Oven 180c/Gas Mark 5

Time 20 mins prep 15 mins bake 10mins put together

Ingredients

• 225 g very soft SALTED butter – £1.45
• 325 g Plain flour – 9p
• 125 g Caster sugar – 22p
• 1 medium egg, beaten -13p

For the filling and top

• 200 g icing sugar – 26p
• Raspberry jam (traditional) or Strawberry -20p
• 14 Small jelly sweets (jujubes or jelly tots) -30p

Method

1. Heat the oven and line a baking tray or two.
2. Cream together the butter and the sugar until smooth and creamy.
3. Add the beaten egg and beat in then add the flour until it becomes a soft, smooth, pliable dough.
4. Roll it out until it’s about ½ an inch thick and cut out 28 rounds with your cutter (you can use a pint glass if you have one).
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Carefully put them on a rack and leave them to cool.
6. Make up a semi flowing icing that you can spread with a knife or that will flow without flowing off the biscuit!
7. Once the biscuits are almost cold, sandwich two together with a thin layer of jam.
8. Spread or drizzle the icing on top and put jelly in the middle, leaving it to harden up.
9. Store airtight if they last that long!

Pricing

£2.65 approx for 14 biscuits works out at 19p each. A little more expensive but well worth it (I am a little biased though)