Here’s another oat cake recipe, because when it comes to these biscuits, you don’t want to run out. Recently someone asked Granny, “what’s your favourite thing to bake?” and without hesitation, she answered with “Shortbread!” I’ve already shared Granny’s famous Shortbread recipe but inspired by recent events, I thought it was now time to share another variation of the classic Scottish Shortbread – which incidentally is my favourite kind – Highlander Shortbread!

Traditionally speaking, an empire biscuit would be made with butter, giving it that familiar flavour, as well as the golden hue. If you want to omit the dairy from your recipe – or are simply looking to cut costs a little – margarine is a fantastic alternative. And in actual fact, most shop-bought Empire Biscuits you buy these days use margarine too. Store the shortbread in an airtight container for up to several weeks. Its flavor and texture improves over time. Match the biscuits into pairs. Spread jam over the top of one biscuit to form the base, then press the other biscuit on to the jam gently.Repeat for all the biscuits. Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.The icing on an empire biscuit is simply a water icing, made with icing sugar and some hot water. The most difficult part is getting the right consistency but otherwise it is a very simple way to finish a biscuit! Today they’re enjoyed in many countries besides the UK including Denmark, Australia and New Zealand. Using a round cookie cutter cut out 16 biscuits and place them on a lined baking tray. We used a 7/8mm cutter but you could use a bigger/smaller one to get more/fewer biscuits. The Empire Biscuit was originally called many of the names above, including the German Biscuit or Deutsch Biscuit, but it’s said that the outbreak of WWI led to a more patriotic name instead, given this was the time of the British Empire. Plain or chocolate covered, the Digestive is one of the nation’s most popular biscuits. Originally called Homewheat biscuits in 1839, McVitie’s used British-grown wheat instead of imported produce – however, the name was later dropped. According to McVitie’s, the name Digestive comes from the baking soda that was used in the production of the biscuits. It was presumed that it settled stomachs, hence the biscuit name. The classic chocolate covered digestive was released in 1925.

We’re making Scottish shortbread the traditional way with just 3 ingredients: Flour, Sugar and Butter. Well, and a tiny pinch of salt, too. Nothing else is needed, no fancy ingredients, no flavor enhancers. The key to a good Scottish shortbread is the quality of the butter. That is what flavors the shortbread and the shortbread is only as good as the butter.You can either spread the icing with a teaspoon/knife or use a dipping method, holding the biscuit gently by the base and dip the top into the icing. Shortbread is very simple, very easy to make and once you’ve made it yourself there will be no need to buy it again! Of course, taste and opinions are both subjective, however, a butter cookie usually has other ingredients and isn’t as plain and simple as this shortbread cookie recipe. Shortbread, and shortcrust pastry are just as they sound–they don’t have eggs and other binders, so the result is a short, crumbly texture. When you put a good shortbread biscuit in your mouth, it’s a crumbly, buttery, sweet bite of goodness! When shortbread was first invented, it wasn’t the creation you and I are used to eating. It had yeast in it, was also made savory, and had lots of added ingredients. Here’s a recipe from Mrs. Frazer who wrote a cookbook in 18th century Scotland. Courtesy of Culloden Battlefield (wordpress.com)

Place the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and cream together until smooth and light in colour. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract. Sift in the flour in small batches and mix well until combined.

Next, add the flour along with a beaten egg and mix carefully until the dough begins to form clumps. At this point, you can get your hands into it and bring the dough together.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes. The biscuits will stay soft but will start to brown slightly and that’s when they’re ready. Cadbury’s Fingers are now available in four different flavours – toffee, white chocolate, dark chocolate and double chocolate. Similar chocolate fingers are sold around the world including Europe, the USA, South America and Asia under various brands. My mold is from Brown Bag Cookie Mold Cookie Art company. It’s unglazed ceramic and is dishwasher safe. The designs for the molds are adapted from antique butter molds. This is the first time I’ve used a shortbread mold, and I’m happy with the results. The design is soft, but beautifully decorative. All the shortbread needs is a sprinkle of sugar. how to make sure your Scottish shortbread releases from the mold Match the biscuits into pairs. Spread jam over the top of the biscuit that will be the base, and press the biscuit for the top gently down onto it.or other flavoring of your choice. You can use another extract like almond, or you can use a spice like nutmeg or ginger. This shortbread cookie recipe is directly from Scotland. You can be sure it’s authentic; and if you follow all my tips, you’ll have the best tasting Scottish shortbread, ever! (And I’ll tell you why it’s truly not even a cookie!)