Sometimes events collide in such a way that you have to just go with the flow and call it fate. So when Santa left a brand new cookie stamp in my stocking, and a recent cursory examination of the fridge revealed mountains of cheese but absolutely no accompaniment, a spot of savoury biscuit making was the natural conclusion.
But which recipe to choose? I opted for the ever-reliable Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s digestive biscuits, though having now baked and eaten most of them, I would suggest they are more like oatcakes (and all the better for that). Making these is a messy old business; I suspect Hugh’s tumbling locks needed a hairnet during the critical stages. I’d also suggest allowing some time for your freshly chilled dough to acclimatise back towards room temperature, or you will likely suffer from bicep/wrist strain when attempting to roll out your cookies. Still, I do love a recipe which includes a full-body workout.
Finished article shown below, shortly before being hoovered up by the photographer (that would be me, I’m afraid). These look even prettier before they are baked – see below – and I’ll certainly be trying the stamp on plain cookies for max effect.
River Cottage Digestives – Makes around 40 biscuits
- 250g Wholewheat flour
- 250g Quick cook oats
- 125g soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp of salt (his recipe calls for 2, but one worked great)
- 2tsp baking powder
- 250g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 1tbsp milk
- Combine all of your dry ingredients by pulsing in a food processor. Add the butter bit by bit and mix to form a dough
- Gradually add in the milk – you may want to transfer to a bowl and do this by hand
- Wrap in clingflim and transfer to the fridge for an hour (you can leave it for longer and even freeze it at this stage)
- Bring the dough back upto temperature, preheat the oven to 180/350 degrees and cut out your biscuits before baking for around 10-15mins, until golden brown. Whip out of the oven and attempt to wait until they have cooled before eating – this will make them decidedly less crumbly and be less likely to require a trip to Accident and Emergency.
- I suggest at least 4 should be eaten in the kitchen to test for consistency in quality before offering to family and friends…
in awe of your thought process. I’d have popped to the shops, Clearly our brains are wired differently. Now diligently writing recipie down…..
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