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The nation loves Chocolate Digestive Biscuits – it´s probably one of the most popular biscuits in the UK! Now, no one in their right mind would probably ever decide to make them themselves (especially when you can buy a big pack for only a pound), but we´re in lockdown, I was bored and I thought hey, why not give it a go?
Now, by no means are these homemade Chocolate Digestive Biscuits anywhere near as good as the real ones (McVitie´s), but they´re not too far off and still a nice little treat to have with your afternoon cup of tea as they are a perfect candidate for dunking! You could also use these biscuits to make a Loaded Rocky Road or as a base for these Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes!
What are Digestive Biscuits?
For those of you unfamiliar, on the biscuit-front, digestive biscuits are probably as British as it gets! They are a nation-wide favourite and lend themselves very well for dunking in your tea! The leading brand is McVitie´s, and whilst they are good, the off-brand biscuits come pretty close to their flavour and our cheaper (I especially like Lidl´s version).
If the name weren´t so well-established, I feel like they´d change it, because a “digestive” biscuits doesn´t really sound that appealing… Whilst nowadays, they are considered a treat, at first, they were developed to improve people´s digestion, hence the name…
Plain digestive biscuits can be okay to eat once dunked in tea, but in my opinion, they are much for making the base of a cheesecake! Chocolate-covered digestive biscuits, now that´s where the real thing´s at! You can get a milk and a dark chocolate-covered version, and one with chocolate and caramel. McVitie´s has also recently created a thin version of the biscuits (“Digestive Thins”), and “Digestive Twists” (not covered in chocolate but instead contain chocolate chips, coconut and caramel bits). I´ve tried them, but in my opinion, they are nothing to write home about! I will be sticking to my favourites: Dark Chocolate Digestives!
What ingredients do you need to make Chocolate Digestive Biscuits?
When you look through the ingredients for these chocolate digestive biscuits you may think “Hey, those look like pretty healthy ingredients”! Haha, well, yes, the recipe does contain oats and wholemeal flour, but once you´ve added all the rest and covered them with a thick layer of chocolate on top, I don´t think there is a lot that it healthy about them. That´s probably why they taste so good!
In terms of recipe alterations, you can also use wholemeal spelt flour instead of the plain wholemeal flour if you like. For a savoury version of these biscuits, to enjoy with cheese and chutney for example, simply reduce the amount of brown sugar by half and obviously omit the chocolate coating.
When it comes to the chocolate coating, choose either good-quality milk or dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids). Although not exactly traditional, you could also use white chocolate if you fancy it. I mean you are already making homemade chocolate digestives – why not do something even crazier and make them with white chocolate?!? Or use different chocolate and create a marbled effect! Product development people at McVitie´s, please feel free to contact me!🤣😅
For this kind of thing, where you are having to melt the chocolate and you are using it for decorating, I´d always recommend using proper “baking chocolate”. I tend to use Dr. Oetker´s “Chocolate for Bakers”.
Tips for making these Chocolate Digestive Biscuits
When making the chocolate digestives, try not to overwork your biscuit dough, or the biscuits will become very chewy. Handle it as little as possible, just until all the ingredients come together. Then make sure you chill the dough well before rolling, otherwise it will be sticky and stick to your surface.
Another good tip when rolling out biscuits (and other pastries too actually), is to always flour the surface and the rolling pin, but never the dough itself. Otherwise you risk incorporating too much extra flour which will make the dough dry and crumbly! Make sure you roll the biscuits out quite thinly, about 2mm, to ensure an even bake and a crisp biscuit!
It´s also important to briefly chill the biscuits again before baking to prevent them spreading in the oven. Also remember to prick them with a fork so that they don´t puff up to much.
Finally, when melting your chocolate, there are a few things to look out for. One, as Mary Berry would say, chocolate melts in a child´s pocket, so don´t have the chocolate over too high a heat! Make sure your bowl is not touching the water and the water is only barely simmering! Slow and steady wins the race! Also, avoid getting any water into the chocolate mix at all cost, otherwise, it will seize, split, and become unusable! For more tips on working with chocolate, check out my baking basics post here: How To Master Chocolate: Melting, Tempering, Decorating | Baking Basics #2.
Book Recommendations
In case you were wondering, I found this recipe in the “GBBO Bake it Better Classic Cakes and Biscuits” book. Such a great book, I´d highly recommend it. I managed to get this 2-in-1 book, but I think now it is mostly available as the two individual books: “Bake it Better – Classic Cakes” and “Bake it Better – Biscuits“.
If you are just starting off baking and are looking for a good beginner´s baking book, then it might be exactly what you need! Another great book to get you started is Mary Berry´s Baking Bible.
I have amended recipe slightly and also halved the original recipe – because I don´t think I have a tin large enough to store 36 chocolate digestives!!! The recipe below makes about 16-18 biscuits, but you can easily double it if you want to make more!
More British Baking Classics
If you are looking for more British Baking Classics, make sure to check out some of my other recipes:
- Traditional Scottish Shortbread
- Mary´s Bakewell Tart with Feathered Icing
- Mini Blueberry Bakewell Tarts (with Dairy-Free and Vegan Options)
- Classic British Trifle
- Hot Cross Buns
- Spiced Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mary Berry´s Lemon Drizzle Traybake
- Orange Zest and Fruit Scones
- Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
- Swiss Roll Cake with Strawberries and Cream
- Cheese and Chive Scones
- Mary´s Frosted Walnut Cake with Boiled Icing
Homemade Chocolate Digestive Biscuits |
A British Baking Classic
Recipe
Ingredients (makes 16-18):
FOR THE BISCUITS:
- 90g plain wholemeal flour (or wholemeal spelt flour)
- 35g plain flour
- 50g porridge oats
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
- 100g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 40g soft light brown sugar
- 1.5 tbsp milk
TO DECORATE:
- 120g milk or dark chocolate
- ½ tsp sunflower oil
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
Method:
- Combine the two types of flours, oats, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl. Add in the butter and rub it in using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Next, stir in the soft brown sugar until well combined. Make a well in the middle and add in the milk, then use the palette knife to stir until the mixture start to come together.
- Use your hands to gently work the ingredients into a dough and shape it into a rough disk. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for an hour until firm.
- Line two baking trays with baking paper and dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour.
- Roll out the chilled dough until about 2mm thick, then use the 7cm round cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Gather up any off-cuts, re-roll and stamp out more biscuits until you have used up all the dough.
- Place the stamped out biscuits onto your baking trays and prick them with a fork. Chill the biscuits in the fridge for 20 minutes whilst you preheat the oven to 170°C.
- Bake the biscuits in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until firm and lightly golden. Leave them to cool on the trays for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool and firm up completely.
- Break the chocolate into small pieces and put in a heatproof bowl along with the sunflower oil. Place over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl isn´t touching the water. Stirring occasionally, gently melt the chocolate until smooth.
- Dip the underside of the digestive biscuits into the chocolate. You may want to use a palette knife to make sure the chocolate is spread over in an even layer and scrape off any excess.
- Set the biscuit chocolate side up back on the wire rack. Once the chocolate has almost set (after about 5 minutes), use the tines of a fork to create wave-like ripples in the chocolate. Then leave the chocolate to set completely before serving or storing your homemade chocolate digestive biscuits in an airtight tin.
