A digestive biscuit, sometimes described as a sweet-meal biscuit, is a semi-sweet biscuit that originated in the United Kingdom.   I am going to show you how to make my version of homemade digestive biscuits.   The term “digestive” is derived from the belief that they had antacid properties due to the use of sodium bicarbonate when they were first developed.Historically, some producers used diastatic malt extract to “digest” some of the starch that existed in flour prior to baking.

The typical digestive biscuit contains coarse brown wheat flour (which gives it its distinctive texture and flavour), sugar, malt extract, vegetable oil, wholemeal, raising agents (usually sodium bicarbonate, tartaric acid and malic acid) and salt.

Digestive biscuits are frequently eaten with tea or coffee. The digestive biscuit is also used as a cracker with cheeses, and is often included in “cracker selection” packets.  Digestives are also popular in food preparation for making into bases for cheesecakes and similar desserts.

This recipe makes about 20 biscuits but will depend on your cookie cutter size.
Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat spelt flour or wholemeal flour
• 1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/3 cup dark soft brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 115 grams dark or milk chocolate, chopped (optional)

Method

• Preheat the oven to 175C/350° F. Get a baking tray for cookies and put it to one side
• Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix, with a wooden spoon, until they begin to come together and make into a ball using your hands.
• Alternatively, put all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Gather the dough together with your hands and knead once or twice to bring it together, being careful not to over-handle it.
• Place the dough on a well floured work surface between and roll it out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.
• Using a round cookie cutter, cut out your biscuits, and place them on the baking tray.
• Bake for 17-20 minutes, until just golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.