Iced Gems

Iced Gems are tiny shortbread cookies topped with a dollop of meringue icing. They are so tasty and "poppable." 

Iced Gems originated in Great Britain and are sold in snack packets by McVitie's. They also make Chocolate Gems, which are shortbread topped with a dollop of milk chocolate, and Unicorn Gems, which also have different fruit flavors in the icing. 

There are also popular versions in Malaysia and Singapore as well as Puerto Rico (Florecitas). 

These were absolutely fun and easy to make too! You'll need less than a cup of flour to make enough dough for 90 little cookies! Plus, you can bake them all on a single baking sheet. 

This was my first time making these Iced Gems and they disappeared pretty quickly. 

Ingredients You Will Need:

For the Shortbread Cookie Base: Unsalted butter, sugar, vanilla, egg yolk, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. 

For the Meringue Icing: Egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, flavored extracts and gel food coloring of your choice. 

Lessons Learned:

Be sure to beat the icing ingredients until you have very stiff peaks. While I used a star tip to pipe the icing on top of the cookie, they did not hold their shape, probably because I didn't beat them long enough. It's helpful to use an electric mixer and take about 8 to 10 minutes to beat the icing. 

Also, after removing them from the oven, once the cookies had cooled, I placed them in an airtight container. Overnight, the icing developed tiny bumps. I think I should have left them out to dry fully for a bit longer before covering them. Fortunately, the meringue/royal icing texture of the icing stayed solid and was not affected. 

Equipment You May Need:

Rimmed Baking sheet/Half sheet pan

Mini Food Processor: For quickly mixing the dough. 

Parchment Paper 

Small Star Tip for Piping

Small fluted or round cookie cutter (about 3/4 inch)

Gel Food Coloring: You can use standard food coloring, but I recommend the gel because you only need a drop to create pastels and two drops for more intense colors. Therefore, it will not dilute your meringue. 

Recipe Variations:

While I used vanilla extract to flavor the cookie and the meringue, you can definitely use fruit flavored extracts for the meringue such as lemon, strawberry, lime, orange, maple, rum, and peppermint. 

I made these with pastel icing, but you can use a more intense color by adding an additional drop of gel coloring. 

Note: You will likely have extra icing. If you like, you can pipe several small dollops directly onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 225 degrees F. 

I had never heard of Iced Gems until I researched foods that begin with "I" for our 2025 Alphabet Challenge, where every other week throughout the year we are making a food that begins with a specific letter (see below). 

Once I discovered these, I had to make them, and I'm so glad I did! They are so tasty and fun to make. They were a huge hit with my taste testers, and disappeared in a flash. 

I'm excited that I found these... that's what's so cool about our Alphabet Challenge. 

2025 Alphabet Challenge - Letter "I"

I is for Italian, Ice Cream, Ice Irish, and Indonesian:

• Sneha’s Recipe: Instant Urad Dal Flour & Rava Medhu Vadas 
• Blogghetti: Italian Chopped Salad 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Ice Apple Salad 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Ice Cream Wafflewiches 
• Food Lust People Love: Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Italian Ice 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Iced Gems 
• A Messy Kitchen: Irish Colcannon Mac and Cheese 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Sun-Dried Tomato & Kale Italian Pasta Salad 
• Culinary Cam: Es Teler (Indonesian Drunk Ice)

Last year, for the letter I, I made Italian Pane de Genzano, a regional Italian bread, which is baked in a pie tin! It's a tender and delicious bread. 

Iced Gems Cookie Recipe

Yield: 91

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 1 MinCook time: 30 MinInactive time: 1 H & 45 MTotal time: 2 H & 16 M

Iced Gems are tiny shortbread cookies topped with a dollop of meringue icing. They are so tasty and "poppable." 

Ingredients

For the Shortbread Cookies

• 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1/2 inch squares
• 30 grams (about 2 generous tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 100 grams (3/4 cup) all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Icing

• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Gel food coloring

Instructions

To Make the Shortbread

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place all of the ingredients into the bowl of a mini food process. Pulse until the dough comes together.
3. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3/4 to 1 inch fluted round cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place them about 1/2 inch apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting more cookies.
4. Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to overnight.
5. Heat the oven to 340 degrees F. Place the sheet pan on the center rack and bake the shortbread for 12 to 15 minutes, until set. Cool the cookies on the pan.

To Make the Icing and Finish the Iced Gems

1. Heat the oven to 225 degrees F.
2. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy.
3. Add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time while continuing to beat.
4. When all of the sugar has been added, add the vanilla and beat on high for 8 to 10 minutes, until you have stiff peaks.
5. Divide the icing into three bowls, and stir in the food coloring. Place a small star tip in a piping bag and place some of the icing into the bag. Pipe 1/3 of the cookies with a dab of the icing on top. Repeat with the rest of the icing and cookies.
6. Place the iced cookies in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until set. Turn off the oven, slightly prop open the oven door, and let the cookies sit in the oven for 45 minutes more.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool completely on the pan.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

15

Fat (grams)

1 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

0 g

Carbs (grams)

2 g

Fiber (grams)

0 g

Net carbs

2 g

Sugar (grams)

1 g

Protein (grams)

0 g

Cholesterol (grams)

4 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2025/04/iced-gems.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

Iced Gems, shortbread, cookies

dessert

British

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