So lately I have been going through a total cookies baking phase. Actually to tell you the truth, if there is one thing I'm not so great at, it's baking cookies...even though at first they appear to be the easiest things to make, but from my experience they are the trickiest.
Anyway, so I guess you can say I've been "practicing" a lot lately, and one successful experience I've recently had was making homemade Digestives! Yes indeed, I'm talking about making the famous treats that the UK has blessed the world with- the totally addictive McVitie's Digestive biscuits from scratch!
After some intense Googling, I came across a recipe which worked out beautifully. The end result was fantastic, very close to the store-bought version. This is a recipe you do not want to lose. I'm keeping mine safe, hidden under the bed mattress.
First things first- weigh out the oats and grind them in a mixer
After having mixed in all the ingredients, your dough is ready.
And after a couple of minutes of baking... glorious "Digestive Biscuits" ready for some tea-dunking action.
Recipe for Digestive biscuits (from Pascale Weeks)
Makes 18 biscuits
100gr wholegrain flour
100gr oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
50gr brown sugar
100gr salted butter, softened
2 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Place oats in a mixer and grind until powdery texture is obtained. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add the butter and mix until crumbly. Add the milk and mix dough so it is no longer crumbly but a bit more firm. Form a ball and place in fridge for 15 minutes. Then take out dough, spread out to 3mm thickness and cut out 6cm diameter circles. Bake for 15 minutes, take out and let cool.
Notes:
Sweetness: for some, the result may not be sweet enough- you can increase the sugar to 80gr.
Sweetness: for some, the result may not be sweet enough- you can increase the sugar to 80gr.
Chilling the dough: When the recipe says place the dough in fridge for 15mins, it really means 15mins! I accidentally left mine in for an hour and it came out ROCK HARD.
Chocolate Coating: Next time I'll make these again but coat one side of the biscuit with chocolate. Can't wait to dunk those in a glass of milk! mmmmm!
Oh my gosh, they do look scrumptious indeed!!!
ReplyDeleteyou just lit up my day! We go through a ton of Digestive cookies around my house so I'll surely be making these! thanks :=)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to make these at home!
ReplyDeleteOh gorgeous, I'm definitely trying these!
ReplyDeletethis just made my month! i love these darn things and never find them in the store anymore. thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt's been too long since I've had these; I may attempt a gluten-free version. I'm inspired!
ReplyDeleteHi, these look fantastic! What is whole grain flour? Is it the same as wholemeal or wholewheat flour? Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteHL- yes indeed it is wholewheat flour, sorry bout that! :)
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I are completely addicted to Hob-Nobs, which seem similar to these. We can get them at specialty shops here in the U.S., but they are expensive, so I wanted to try making my own. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteIt's times like this that make me really wish the metric system was being taught when I was a child in school. I learned to cook using measurements such as cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, pince, dash, etc. Your photographs are simply fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to try these! as an American, i only hear my British and Australian friends talk about digestives.
ReplyDeleteAmericans have a similar cookie we call Graham crackers - they use only wholemeal flour that's processed especially for this purpose, called Graham flour (do you have that in the UK?) I think they have McVitie's in Canada, though, so those of us closer to the North know and love them. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteI did some conversions to make these in America: about 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter, the rest of the ingredients are the same. Oven is set at 350 degrees farenheit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe, Marianna.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks Anonymous above for converting it to cup measure.
I have never heard of "digestives" but, I'm glad that I have now. I'll be making these for sure! I'm always hunting for some good whole grain recipes.
ReplyDeleteMost of us expect recipes with the name "digestives biscuits" to taste EXACTLY like McVities, but this should not be the case. Afterall, commercial ones are made with different types of ingredients, like hydrogenated vegetable oil instead of butter, etc. I baked these and expected a tasty oatmeal biscuits (not McVities) and am really happy with the result...YUM!
ReplyDeleteOoh, these are lovely! I got hooked when I visited the UK a couple of years ago. You can actually find them in America if you look hard enough, but they aren't carried in most regular grocery stores. Christmas Tree store is a good bet. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton, Marianna for the recipes. I am a die-hard fan of McVities and Now I get to make them at home. It cant get better than this. I made them and posted about them too...Do have a look when time permits..
ReplyDeletehttp://gattusjournal.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/home-made-digestives/
I just finished baking these and they are delicious oatmeal-shortbread biscuits (not like a McVities, in my opinion, but I wasn't expecting them to be)...they'll be perfect with my cuppa PG this afternoon. SO thanks, Marianna, for the recipe... O and I'm an American girlie, back in the States after living in England for years...stockin' up on my PG online doesn't bother me, but I miss inexpensive biscuits, like the coconut rings from Sainsbury's!
ReplyDeleteI saw this post just before Christmas, but only just got around to making them today.
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous! I will most definitely be making them again.
Just to let you know, I will be writing about making this recipe on my blog but will link back to here and credit you. It needs to be shared!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Lisa I just found your blog. I can find digestive biscuit only on Occasion in World Market but it's 50 miles away.
ReplyDeleteUnlike most of us here in USA I prefer to bake by weight and do have a small scale that weighs both.
I'll try these once we finish up the Christmas cookies.
Hi! I made them last night and they turned out excellent! thank you for the recipe :)
ReplyDelete(I used oat brans instead of oat flakes, cause that's what I had on hand: perfect recipe and perfect biscuits!)
codruta
I made them. They're perfect! thanx for sharing :)
ReplyDeletecodruta
I just made these twice. They are remarkably similar to the brand I used to buy in the UK, especially straight from the freezer, which gives them a terrific crunch. Thanks for this recipe!
ReplyDeleteCan we use canola or olive oil instead of butter.? Pls advise
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous, I would very much NOT recommend olive or canola oil. Especially olive oil as it has a heavy taste that will not work well here. Generally, canola oil can work as a substitute in cakes but not for cookies (except certain exceptions). If you're looking for a veg option, try a non-dairy spread. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteHi:)
ReplyDeleteI baked these goodies today and iam totally smitten with these gems...Really a keeper!!!
I made these for my dad.When he finished with one He said, "They are absolutely McVitie's Digestive Biscuits:))
Iam soooo Thankful to you:*)))
Lotsss of love:*) feel like to hug you tight:)
Erum
I made these last night, and while they don't have the flavor and crumbly texture of McVitie's, they're not bad. I had to use three more tablespoons of milk to get the dough to hang together, and I also made several smaller balls so the dough would be easier to handle.
ReplyDeleteThe next time I try the recipe I'll use graham flour.
Just finished making a batch, perfect recipe, used what's called farine integrale in France, T 150, and added 1/4 of a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, that's the only changes I made, rolled out the dough through plastic bag/cling film to stop it from sticking.
ReplyDeleteBetter than digestives and hob nobs put together.
Thanks very much.
Just made a batch and taking sample & recipe to friend next door and then doing a double mixture for the 'bring & buy' at Church tomorrow.....PERFECT recipe that I have searched for for ages...God Bless..Carolyn, Australia (
ReplyDeleteGot some in the oven at the moment. Instead of chilling in a ball, I made the dough into a log before chilling (as recommended for other similar biscuits) then sliced circles from the chilled log before baking.
ReplyDeleteThen it doesn't matter how long you leave it in the fridge!
My brother has been suffering from digestion problem for a while. Let me try this biscuit. Thanks for the share.
ReplyDeleteI tried this recipe today...i have to tell you they taste and smell exactly like mc vites digestives...thank you soo soo much for sharing this amazing and simple recipe...
ReplyDeleteIm made these as one of my elements in a dish for my food technology GCSE. A* all the way!!!
ReplyDeleteWill have to try this even though I live in the uk and mcvities cost about a pound dunno what that is in dollars maybe 1-1.5 dollars never even thought that nowhere else would have mcvities honestly they are taken for granted here hobnobs are good as some of you have said but chocolate hobnobs take it to the next level
ReplyDeleteJust about to try these out for Christmas, I'm going to use the biscuits as a base for a desert with vanilla ice cream and rum sauce. I used to live in Glasgow but now live in Miami and I really miss digestive biscuits! Graham crackers just aren't the same! Can't wait to try these out, thanks Marianna!:)
ReplyDeleteThis recipe is a Superstar. I made this for the first time and they turn out to be perfect. Everyone at my place loved them . Thanks a ton
ReplyDelete