The humble digestive biscuit is a semi-sweet biscuit that was first developed in 1839 by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion. The term "digestive" being derived from the belief that they had antacid properties due to the use of sodium bicarbonate as a leavening agent when they were first developed.
They were featured in Huntley & Palmers' selection boxes fo 1876 and were first mass-manufactured as a stand-alone product in 1892 and the McVitie's digestive is still the the best-selling biscuit in the UK. It is used typically for dunking into tea with the chocolate-coated digestive being the most popular type. Digestives are not over-sweet and therefore also make a good base for cheese and are often included in cheese biscuit selection boxes.
This is my version of the classic which attempts to get close to the original, whilst reducing the sugar and upping the quatity of wholemeal flour and oatmeal.
In the UK, digestive biscuits are used as the classic cheesecake base.
Go to the printable version of the recipe
Digestive Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients:
60g (1/2 cup) cake flour120g (1 cup) wholemeal flour
170g (1 2/5 cups) medium oatmeal
150g (2/4 cup) cold butter, diced or grated
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g (1/4 cup) dark muscovado sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2-3tbsp milk
Method:
Sift together the flours and oatmeal into a large mixing bowl. Dice the butter, add to the flour and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.Stir in the bicarbonate of soda, sugar and salt then work in just enough of the milk to bring the mixture together as a coherent dough that will hold together well. Flatten into a disc, wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap), place in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
Sit the chilled dough between two large sheets of clingfilm (plastic wrap) and roll out to 4mm (1/6 in) thick. Remove the top layer of clingfilm and cut out your biscuits (re-roll the scraps and cut out more). Divide the biscuits between two baking trays lined with baking parchment. When all the biscuits are done decorate their tops with the tines of a fork, a skewer or a cocktail stick.
Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (360ºF) and bake for between 12 and 15 minutes (12 minutes will give a soft biscuit and 15 minutes will give a crisper result). Allow to cool on the trays for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and harden.
Store in an air-tight tin.
If desired, you can also top your biscuit with melted chocolate. For the chocolate version, prepare the biscuits as above and when cool melt 150g (5 1/2 oz) chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do ot allow the pan to touch the water). Once the chocolate has melted and the biscuits are completely cool carefully dunk one side of each into the chocolate to coat, and set back on the rack to dry — you can repeat this coating process several times to build up the layers.
Printable version of the Recipe
Digestive Biscuits
Digestive Biscuits. This is a traditional British recipe for the classic biscuit (cookie) that is made from wholemeal and oatmeal flours and is the traditional base for cheesecakes.
Ingredients:
- 60g (1/2 cup) cake flour
- 120g (1 cup) wholemeal flour
- 170g (1 2/5 cups) medium oatmeal
- 150g (2/4 cup) cold butter, diced or grated
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 50g (1/4 cup) dark muscovado sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2-3tbsp milk
Method:
- Sift together the flours and oatmeal into a large mixing bowl. Dice the butter, add to the flour and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the bicarbonate of soda, sugar and salt then work in just enough of the milk to bring the mixture together as a coherent dough that will hold together well. Flatten into a disc, wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap), place in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
- Sit the chilled dough between two large sheets of clingfilm (plastic wrap) and roll out to 4mm (1/6 in) thick. Remove the top layer of clingfilm and cut out your biscuits (re-roll the scraps and cut out more). Divide the biscuits between two baking trays lined with baking parchment. When all the biscuits are done decorate their tops with the tines of a fork, a skewer or a cocktail stick.
- Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (360ºF) and bake for between 12 and 15 minutes (12 minutes will give a soft biscuit and 15 minutes will give a crisper result). Allow to cool on the trays for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and harden.
- Store in an air-tight tin.
- If desired, you can also top your biscuit with melted chocolate. For the chocolate version, prepare the biscuits as above and when cool melt 150g (5 1/2 oz) chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do ot allow the pan to touch the water). Once the chocolate has melted and the biscuits are completely cool carefully dunk one side of each into the chocolate to coat, and set back on the rack to dry — you can repeat this coating process several times to build up the layers.
