Classic Empire Cookies

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

37 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 25 servings

Nutritional Info
Per cookie: about	-
cal	117117 cal
pro	1 g1g pro
total fat	4 g4g total fat
sat. fat	2 g2g sat. fat
carb	20 g20g carb
fibre	00 fibre
chol	17 mg17mg chol
sodium	75 mg75mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	11 calcium
iron	44 iron
vit A	44 vit A
folate	66 folate

Served with a cup of tea, these tender sugar-cookie sandwiches – crowned with pieces of candied cherries – are a truly Victorian treat.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter , softened1/2 1/2cup cupbutter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 1/2cup cupgranulated sugar
1 egg 1 1eggeggs
1 tsp vanilla 1 1tsp tspvanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour 2 2cups cupsall-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder 1 1tsp tspbaking powder
1/4 tsp salt 1/4 1/4tsp tspsalt
1/3 cup raspberry jam 1/3 1/3cup cupraspberry jam
Topping:
1 cup sifted icing sugar 1 1cup cupsifted icing sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract 1/4 1/4tsp tspalmond extract
1 tbsp hot water , approx1 1tbsp tbsphot water, approx
25 pieces candied cherries 25 25pieces piecescandied cherrycandied cherries

Preparation

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt ; stir into butter mixture in 3 additions.

Between sheets of waxed paper, roll out dough to 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness. With 2 1/2-inch (6 cm) round serrated cookie cutter, cut out circles; place 2 inches (5 cm) apart on parchment paper–lined or greased rimless baking sheets.

Bake in top and bottom thirds of 350°F (180°C) oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until edges are light golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on pans on racks. (Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container and store for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 weeks.)

Spread jam on half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.

Topping: In small bowl, stir icing sugar with almond extract; drizzle in enough of the water to make spreadable icing. Spread on top of each cookie sandwich; top with cherry piece. Let stand until set, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container and store for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 weeks.)

Additional information : Variations
Apricot Empire Cookies: Replace the raspberry jam with apricot jam and the cherry pieces with dried-apricot pieces.

Chocolate Hazelnut Empire Cookies: Replace the jam and icing with chocolate hazelnut spread and the cherry pieces with hazelnut halves.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: May 2002