Description
Classic homemade digestive biscuits with a wholesome blend of wholemeal flour and oats, lightly sweetened and optionally topped with melted milk chocolate for an extra treat. Perfectly crunchy and golden, these biscuits make a delightful snack or accompaniment to tea.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 200g wholemeal flour
- 100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 100g porridge oats
- 80g caster sugar
- ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¾ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 300g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp milk
Optional Topping
- 150g milk chocolate
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Place the wholemeal flour, plain flour, oats, and butter into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rub the butter into the flour mixture using your hands. Stir in the caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Pour in the milk and bring everything together to form a cohesive dough. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it, and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Shape the biscuits: Lightly flour a clean work surface and tip out the chilled biscuit dough. Roll the dough to approximately 0.5cm thickness. Use a 6-7cm biscuit cutter to stamp out rounds. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking trays. Chill them for another 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours, to firm up before baking.
- Bake the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) or gas mark 6. Optionally, make a pattern on the tops of the biscuits using a fork or skewer if not topping with chocolate. Bake the biscuits in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on the trays.
- Optional chocolate topping: To cover the biscuits with chocolate, melt the milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Line a cooling rack with baking parchment. Once the biscuits have cooled, dip the top of each biscuit into the melted chocolate, then transfer to the rack to set. Decorate the chocolate tops by dragging a toothpick through in wavy lines if desired.
Notes
- Chilling the dough before and after shaping helps maintain biscuit shape during baking.
- You can substitute milk chocolate with dark chocolate or white chocolate as preferred.
- Store baked biscuits in an airtight container to keep them crisp.
- This recipe can be adapted for gluten-free by using gluten-free flours and oats.
- The food processor method is quicker but rubbing in by hand gives a more rustic texture.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12-15 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: Digestive biscuits, homemade biscuits, British snack, oat biscuits, tea biscuits, chocolate dipped biscuits
