I know it’s not my place to criticize people on the internet – that’s a job for literally the rest of the internet. However, I can’t quite understand the sheer amount of Empire Cookies, from the Pixar movie Brave, that look absolutely nothing like they do in the movie. Based on my extremely detailed research (watching the movie), Empire Biscuits look more like little mini cakes then actual cookies.
There are lots of examples of websites that recreate the cookies. And while they are certainly beautiful looking, they aren’t even close to the cookies the triplet brothers eat in the movie. Plus, for once, making the recreated recipe is actually easier than the “insta-worthy” one and if there’s anything I like doing it’s taking the easy, lazy way out of things. Here we go!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2-3 cups flour (depending on how sticky the batter is)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
Icing
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons whole milk
- Glacé cherries
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine four, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream together softened butter and sugar. Next add milk, followed by one egg at a time, and then vanilla extract. Slowly add in flour mixture until well combined. Drop cookie dough onto a baking sheet and bake 7-9 minutes. Let cookies full cool before icing.
Combine confectioners sugar with milk and mix until a not too runny consistency is formed. You might need to experiment by adding more milk or icing sugar until the right consistency is achieved. Top iced cookies with glacé cherries.
These turned out great! Light and fluffy texture and not too sweet, but combined with the icing they were just right. Plus I didn’t have to deal with getting jam all over the place. I DID use this as an opportunity to practice my Scottish accent. Of course, that accent sounds exactly like Groundskeeper Willie, so how authentic it was is up for debate.
Cromulence: 9 Will O’ the Wisps out of 10
Empire Biscuits recipe from: Brave (2012)
I sort of used this recipe but as I am celiac and lactose intolerant I modified it quite a bit and I thought it would be worth it to report here how it went :). I used 2.5 cups of 1-to-1 baking gluten free flour, coconut oil instead of butter and lactose free milk and they turned out GREAT! They were not crumbly at all, my 4yo who requested Merida’s cookies enjoyed making them while our family and some friends that got to enjoy them as well loved them! Thank you so much for helping to make a preschooler happy!… Read more »
The bigger the cookie the easier it is to say “I’ll just have ONE more” without feeling guilty.
How many cookies does this yeild
This makes about two dozen cookies.
I was really excited to make these at first, but the measurements and time were VERY off. I needed much more flour, much more time to bake, more more sugar for the icing or it would just look clear on the bread, also don’t forget to sift the powdered sugar in your icing. Next time, I am using my own recipe and adding a filling in them…
Apologies the recipe didn’t work for you. I aim for “looks like the thing” style recipes (despite my questionable skills in cooking and baking) but have seen quite a few versions of the style you mention online. Those Empire Biscuits tend to have more of a shortbread quality and include a jelly filling – best of luck!
How much salt do you use? It doesn’t say on the ingredient list.
I know “real” bakers don’t like to, but I tend to use salted butter in my cookie recipes. If you use unsalted butter, I would say a pinch of salt is all you need.
[…] Cartoon Cuisine, a cooking weblog, replicated the biscuits in 2019. The weblog’s recipe requires flour, sugar, butter, complete milk, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and candied cherries. The total recipe can be discovered here. […]
[…] Cartoon Cuisine, a cooking blog, replicated the biscuits in 2019. The blog’s recipe calls for flour, sugar, butter, whole milk, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and candied cherries. The full recipe can be found here. […]
[…] Cartoon Cuisine, a cooking blog, replicated the biscuits in 2019. The blog’s recipe calls for flour, sugar, butter, whole milk, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and candied cherries. The full recipe can be found here. […]
So the Disney/Pixar films are fair game for you huh? I hope you are prepared for this. After all, the fancy french cuisine from Ratatouille could be a problem. Unless of course you have a rodent with exceptional culinary skills sitting on your head.
I WISH I had a rodent with expert culinary skills sitting on my head. That would certainly help me with the more challenging dishes I make that aren’t just combining several gross ingredients together and calling it “food”.