Amazing Digestive Biscuits

Throw out those boxed biscuits for tea!

Sometimes all you want is a simple cookie for snacking. Whether it’s for dunking in a cup of coffee during a mid-morning break or nibbling little bites with a comforting cup of tea on a lovely afternoon. You don’t need to always have something fancy. A plain cookie can be a wonderful thing. These Digestive Biscuits are just the right answer. They are not very sweet and have buttery whole wheat flavor that is addictive. The perfect thing to munch on while sipping that cup of Earl Gray or dare I say, shockingly not British, a gourd full of yerba mate.

Digestive Biscuits originated in Scotland in 1839. Two doctors developed these cookies to aid in digestion. The term digestive came from the belief that sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) was an antacid. Little did those doctors know that digestive biscuits would become one of the most popular cookies in the world. The chocolate covered version is the #1 best-selling biscuit. To me it is funny that the real reason digestive biscuits are “healthy” is the fiber from the whole wheat and the oats.

I work with several people from the UK or the Commonwealth, and there are always boxes of these crumbly tasty cookies lying around in the various departments and dressing rooms. But could I make a better version? Why, yes David, I think you can! These buttery flavorful cookies are far superior and delicious. I brought a bag of them to work and was told to keep them out of sight, as one friend was too tempted by just the sight of them sitting there stacked neatly by her tea kettle. They kept calling her to eat them all.

I’ve found recipes for versions using all whole wheat, but this recipe has ground oats which adds even more texture and flavor. I’m not known for always having easy recipes, but these are very easy and simple. I found that if you let them rest for a bit to let the dough absorb some of the moisture, they handle easier. The Oats need to be pulsed a few times in a food processor to grind them into a course meal. You could use oat flour or all whole wheat if you must.

The decorative rolling pins I used can be found on Etsy. They are made by this woman in Poland, and they are not very expensive. By no means are they necessary. But I do think they are beautiful, and I try and find uses for them every time I can.

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Digestive Biscuits

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

1 hr 20 mins

 

Homemade digestive biscuits are far and away better than the store bought ones.

Course: Snack, Teatime

Cuisine: British

Servings: 24 biscuits

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
• 1 stick butter 8 oz, 1/2 cup
• 3 tablespoons milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk

Instructions

1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. 
   

2. In a food processor pulse the oats for a minute or so to grind them into a meal, it doesn’t have to be fine ground it’s just to break them up a bit, there should still be some oats still visible. 

3. In a medium bowl add the oats and mix in the whole-wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. 
   

4. With your fingers or a pastry blender, rub in the brown sugar until there are no big limps. 
   

5. Using just your hands, or a pastry blender, blend in the cold butter until there are no big clumps visible, this is not like American biscuit dough you can work this dough to make sure the butter is blended well, the mixture should look like bread crumbs with no visible butter chunks. 
   

6. Sprinkle the milk over the flour mixture and mix it in with a fork or spoon. The dough will be just slightly sticky. 

7. Knead it for a bit on a clean work surface sprinkled with a little flour. 
   

8. Form onto a flat disk about 2 inches in thickness, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. The reason here is to let the moisture be absorbed into the dough it doesn’t have to be cold.
   

   

9. When the dough feels firm, roll out onto a floured work surface to about 1/8 inch thick. 
   

10. Using a round 3” cookie cutter cut out as many as possible,
    

11. Place each cut biscuit onto the prepared baking sheets.
    

12. The leftover dough can be re-rolled and cut. But, be careful not to over work the dough. You should get 24 biscuits.
    

13. Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes while you pre-heat the oven to 350°. Letting the dough chill will help the biscuits keep their shape while baking.
    

14. Bake for 20 -25 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets at 10 minutes. 
    

    

15. Check at 20 minutes, they should be just golden around the edges. Do not over bake. 
    

16. Let cool on a rack. They will keep a week or more sealed in a plastic container or bag.