An Empire biscuit (Imperial biscuit, Imperial cookie, double biscuit, German biscuit, Belgian biscuit, double shortbread, Empire cookie or biscuit bun) is a sweet biscuit eaten in Scotland, and other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

countries. It is popular in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, and it is an iconic cookie in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

as well as the greater Hamilton, ON region, Canada.

History

Empire biscuit was originally known as the "Linzer biscuit", and later as the "Deutsch biscuit". With the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it was renamed in England to ''Empire biscuit'' and in Scotland to ''Belgian biscuit'' because Belgium had just been invaded, but in

it remains known as the ''German biscuit'' or ''biscuit bun''. In Scotland the name now varies depending on the region, with the North-east typically calling it a double shortbread and the West an Empire biscuit. In Northern Ireland it is commonly found with a jam and coconut topping. It is also known as the "Belgian biscuit", due to being topped in a similar way to a

Belgian bun A Belgian bun is a sweet bun containing sultanas and usually topped with fondant icing and half a glace cherry. Some recipes also include lemon curd. The bun is round or square shaped, with rounded off edges, making it similar in appearance to ...

, which is made of pastry or dough. There also exists a biscuit similar to the Jammie Dodger which is referred to as a Linzer biscuit.

Ingredients

The typical Empire Biscuit has a layer of

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

in between two biscuits, typically shortbread. The top is covered with white water icing, usually decorated with a

glace cherry Candied fruit, also known as glacé fruit, is whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it. Depending on the size and type of ...

in the centre, but Dew Drops are common too. They are derived from the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n Linzer Augen, a similar shortbread cookie sandwich which has 1-3 small round cut outs (the "eyes") in the upper cookie and is dusted with powdered sugar. The empire biscuit does not have a cut-out section on the top and is decorated with white icing.

Similar products

Empire biscuits are similar to Viennese whirls.

New Zealand

Batch of Belgian biscuits Edmonds Cookery Book 1998

Known as a "Belgium" or as a "Belgian biscuit" in New Zealand, this type of biscuit gained popularity towards the end of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and is now typically found either in biscuit or slice form. Typically, spiced biscuits are filled with raspberry jam and topped with pink or white icing, with raspberry jelly crystals scattered on top instead of the cherry. These are quite different to the Empire biscuit, which bears more similarity to a NZ 'Shrewsbury'.

References

External links

Review
of biscuit on

Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down ''Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down'' is a website which mainly discusses tea and biscuits, with content including news and reviews of biscuit brands. It is owned and maintained by Stuart Payne and his wife Jenny Payne, who live in Cambridge, England ...