As a child I loved empire biscuits, so I thought I’d make my own this week and add a little bit of festive holly to them.  I can’t claim the making of the holly, I bought it on-line and it’s edible!  When I made this batch I made some with a 7mm and some smaller dainty ones with a 5mm cutter.  I have to say they were rather lovely and kept for a few days in an airtight container.  I will certainly be making more prior to Christmas.

Makes around 12 (depending on the size you choose)

Ingredients

175g plain flour and a little extra for rolling out the dough

100g cold salted butter cubed

335g icing sugar

½ tsp vanilla

2 medium egg yolks

50g glace cherries quartered

100g good quality raspberry jam

Edible holly (optional)

Method

1. Put flour, butter, 85g of icing flour, vanilla and egg yolks in a food processor and pulse until combined
2. Tip mixture out and knead until it comes together to make a dough.  Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes
3. Heat the oven to 180C/160C (fan) and line two baking sheets with baking parchment
4. Lightly dust some flour over your work surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of approx. 3mm – I made mine slightly thinner since you are sandwiching two biscuits together
5. Cut out the rounds with a 7mm (or smaller) pastry cutter, place on baking trays and place in oven for approx. 10-12 minutes until slightly golden
6. Transfer to a wire tray to cool completely
7. Mix the remaining icing sugar with 2-3 tablespoons of water to make a thick icing
8. Spread icing on top of 12 (or half) of the biscuits, top with half a glace cherry and holly (if using) and set aside  to set
9. Spread the raspberry jam of the remaining biscuits and sandwich together