Published by Sheena Strain, last updated
Recipe
These delectable Scottish Gluten Free Empire Biscuits are tasty little shortbread cookies sandwiched together with jam and iced on the top, perfect with a nice cup of tea!
How to make gluten free Empire Biscuits
I’m feeling a little nostalgic today writing up my recipe for gluten free Empire Biscuits! I grew up eating these iconic little Scottish cookies which are found in the window of nearly every Scottish bakers shop from Gretna Green to John O’ Groats.
I’m not sure if they have them in England or not but their popularity in Scotland isn’t in doubt, you can even see them in the Disney movie ‘Brave’ in the scene where the little boys steal a basketful of them from a maid in the castle.
I didn’t grow up eating them gluten free of course and now that I’m living in Mississippi my only option is to make them myself if I want one.
They’re really just a simple buttery shortbread cookie sandwiched together with jam and iced on the top. Usually they are topped with a cherry but sometimesa jelly tot is used instead, it’s a sugary British gummy candy.
Either way they are quite delicious and perfect to have with a hot cup of tea or coffee! I used dairy free margarine instead of butter to make them, you could use either.
I rolled the dough quite thin so that they wouldn’t be really thick when I sandwiched them together, but that also meant they were a little fragile so be careful when handling them that they don’t break apart. The icing is very simple, just powdered sugar, water and a little lemon juice and if you’re like me you won’t even want to wait for it to dry before tucking in!
Looking for an alternative, then you’ll want to take a look at these gluten free almond meltaway cookies from Veggie Balance.
Gluten Free Empire Biscuits
Delectable Scottish Gluten Free Empire Biscuits are tasty shortbread cookies sandwiched together with jam and iced on the top, perfect with a cup of tea!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Total Carbs: 40 g
Protein: 2 g
Servings: 9
4.78 from 61 votes
Ingredients
- 2/3cupdairy free margarine, or butter, 150g
- 1/4cupsugar, 50g
- 1.5cupsall purpose gluten free flour, 200g
- 1tspbaking powder
- 1tspxanthan gum, omit if your flour already has gum added
- 1.5cuppowdered sugar, 200g
- 4tspswater
- lemon juice
- raspberry jam or jelly
- cherries, for topping
Instructions
PLEASE READ THE NOTES FIRST!
Turn the oven on to 350F
Cream the margarine and sugar together in your mixing bowl.
sieve the flour and mix into the butter/sugar.
roll out thinly to about 3-4mm or 1/8th inch and use a cookie cutter to cut into rounds.
Place them on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes (remove as soon as biscuits are firm on top but still pale)
Once baked place them on a wire rack to cool
Sandwich biscuits together with jam
mix the icing sugar with a little lemon juice and water and coat the top of the sandwiched biscuit and leave until the icing dries.
These cookies are best eaten the day they are made, or you could freeze them
Recipe Notes
1. I bake by weight as I find that gives the most consistent results, especially when baking gluten free. One cup of your gluten free flour blend may not weigh the same as my blend, all the commercially available blends have different mixes and ratios of flour in them. I’ve weighed cups of different blends of flour and noted that a cup of gluten free flour can vary in weight from 125g up to as much as 170g depending on how you scoop it, and what type of mix you use. You can see how this could drastically alter the outcome of a recipe.
I recognise that most Americans are used to the cup method which is why I also include those measurements,but they may not give you accurate results. If you are a keen gluten free baker I would encourage you to invest in a scale, you can get one for only $10 - $15.
2.I prefer to use my own homemade gluten free flour blend as it's cheaper and I get really great results.
3. If you can, avoid buying flour with gums already added. The reason for this is that you have no way of knowing how much gum is in there and that can alter the outcome of the recipe. So for example, too much gum can give you a more sticky texture in a cupcake. And though the cupcake recipe will still work, it won’t be as nice as if you measured and added the gum yourself.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten Free Empire Biscuits
Amount Per Serving
Calories 288Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Sodium 169mg7%
Potassium 63mg2%
Carbohydrates 40g13%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 25g28%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 600IU12%
Calcium 42mg4%
Iron 0.8mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutritional information on Noshtastic is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Author: Noshtastic
Course:Cookie
Cuisine:British
About Sheena Strain
Sheena Strain is the proud owner of Noshtastic, a gluten free website that specializes in easy family meals including Low Carb, Keto, Paleo, Whole30, and many pressure cooker recipes.
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Carina F. says
I used to be a seasoned baker before my husband got Celiac Disease. Now our home is gluten free and I’ve struggled to get back to the level of baking I used to be at. This is the first gluten free cookie I made that I was actually proud of! It tasted about as close as you can get to the actual gluten cookie! Love it. Thank you.Reply
Sheena Strain says
That’s great to hear! 🙂
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Karen MacDonald says
Just made these and they taste just great, I’m in Scotland so we know exactly how they should taste. We topped them with jelly tots. It was easy to follow and everyone loved the new coeliac friendly empire biscuits!Reply
Miasia says
Followed the recipe by weight, but ended up with a batter that was too wet to roll out and use a cookie cutter. So I ended up adding a tablespoon of vanilla, used a scooper to make even balls, which I the pressed in the middle and added the jam to make thumbprint cookies, and baked for 15 mins. Turned out wonderful. The cookies are fragile, but they are a perfect light buttery texture when eating! Will make again!Reply
Miasia says
Also wanted to note, the cookies stay pretty pale, even when all the way baked. I just looked under the parchment paper to check the color of the bottoms of the cookies to judge when they were done.
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Alex says
biscuits melted into one, were still not cooked on the top after 20 mins in the oven and as soon as they were cool they broke into a million pieces. Really disappointed.Reply
Suzanne says
I’m sad to report that these spread out to very thin wafers as they baked. I used Bob’s 1 to 1 baking flour. The recipe was followed but no luck. Yours look beautiful, but I sadly didn’t get that result.Reply
Sheena Strain says
I’d try a different flour blend and weight it if you have a scale
Reply
Margaret says
Fabulous recipe! Even better than the gluten version. Thank you. However some of the biscuits disintegrated as I lifted them onto the cooling rack. How should I alter the recipe as I will definitely be making these again?Reply
Sheena Strain says
Hi Margaret! It might depend on your flour blend, or next time add a 1/4 tsp more xanthan gum and see if that helps. That said, they are pretty fragile cookies but I felt that trade off was worth it to get the taste and soft texture right. 🙂
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Amanda Marshall says
These are my favourite biscuits and made this recipe today, but just wondering, as I bake a lot, I noticed that there is no eggs in this recipe, is this deliberate, or have you forgotten to write it in. X
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Sheena Strain says
Hi Amanda, I’m really pleased you like them as they are one of my favorite biscuits too! I didn’t forget the eggs as it’s essentially a shortbread cookie and they are not typically made with eggs, most shortbread recipes are just butter, sugar and flour.
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Sarah says
Bingo! I made them last night and they are perfect gluten free empires – a childhood favourite (that has lasted into adulthood!). Thank you!Reply
Sheena Strain says
Hooray!! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
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Lizz says
OK so before I make these I need to make about 100 hundred of them and on your serving thing I noticed a slider is that like 4 cookies per serving or only one or two cookies per serving? Thanks, LizzReply
Sheena Strain says
Hi Lizz,
it will make about 9 sandwich cookies as written, maybe more if you use a smaller cookie cutter so you can adjust up from there. 100 cookies is a LOT! 🙂 I would maybe just multiply the whole recipe x 10, that’s easier math (at least for me, lol!)Reply
Am I the only one who calls these Belgium cookies? Either way they look delicious!
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Sheena Strain says
Hi Amanda, thanks for your kind words! I’ve only ever heard them called Empire Biscuits in Scotland, but they may be the same things as your Belgian Cookies.
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Cathy Trochelman says
These look like the perfect special occasion cookies! So pretty!
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Holly @ 3 Yummy Tummies says
These look so delicate and beautiful…makes me want to start having tea time everyday!
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These look absolutely perfect, Sheena! How wonderful to have a GF option for Empire Biscuits!! Wonderful job!Reply
Sheena says
Thanks Christina! It’s been such a long time since I’ve had any so it was good to finally come up with a nice recipe 🙂
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These are so pretty and delicate! I can’t wait to make these!
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These are absolutely stunning. Love!
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Sheena says
Thanks for your kind comment Justine!Reply
Oh, are these ever pretty!
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Sheena says
Thanks Dorothy!Reply
I can’t stop staring at these, they’re so pretty!!
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Sheena says
Thanks Amanda! 🙂Reply
I remember these from that movie! I have a lot of Scottish ancestry, Irish too – and often think about traveling to Scotland and I’m going to eat some of these! They look wonderful. Pinning!
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Sheena says
Tricia, I really hope you make it to Scotland someday, you’d love it and the food! 🙂Reply
