Chocolate Digestive Biscuits

From: Serious Eats

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

• 3/4 cup confectioners sugar

• 1/4 cup milk

• 3 1/2 ounces dark or milk chocolate

Procedures

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Put oats in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground, about 5 pulses.

4. Add whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, and baking powder and pulse to combine.

5. Add butter and pulse until butter is size of small peas.

6. Add sugar and and milk and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball.

7. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll dough out to 1/8-inch thick. Prick dough all over with a fork.

8. Cut out circles and transfer to prepared baking sheets.

9. Bake cookies until golden, about 20 minutes.

10. Let cool 5 minutes on sheets then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

11. When cookies are cool, melt chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water or in the microwave.

12. Dip each cookie in the melted chocolate so that one side is completely covered, using a knife to help spread chocolate if needed.

13. Put coated cookies back on wire rack and let chocolate harden completely before eating.

From: Stella Parks

Like graham crackers, digestive biscuits get their distinctive flavor and tenderness from a portion of whole wheat flour worked into the dough. Their crunchy texture and grainy flavor are perfectly offset by a thick layer of dark or milk chocolate, either of which will be easier to temper if you choose a brand with a high percentage of cocoa butter.

WHY IT WORKS

A mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour creates the perfect blend of flavor, crunch, and tenderness.

Buttermilk moistens the eggless dough, while providing a tangy flavor and lactose for browning, along with enough acidity to activate the baking soda.

Baking powder helps the biscuits rise without the excess browning and alkaline flavor of baking soda alone.

YIELD: Makes 16 (2 3/4–inch) cookies

ACTIVE TIME: 1 hour

TOTAL TIME: 1 1/2 hours

INGREDIENTS

• • 4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup, spooned; 125g)

  • 2 ounces whole wheat flour (about 1/3 cup; 55g), plus more for dusting

  • 2 1/4 ounces sugar (about 1/3 cup; 60g)

  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/8 teaspoon (0.5g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or use the same weight

  • 4 ounces cold unsalted butter (about 8 tablespoons; 113g), cut into 1/4-inch cubes

  • 2 ounces cultured lowfat buttermilk (about 1/4 cup; 55g)

  • 9 ounces roughly chopped dark or milk chocolate (about 1 1/2 cups; 285g)

DIRECTIONS

• 1. Make the Dough: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F (177°C). Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cubed butter in the bowl of a food processor. Process until butter virtually disappears into a fine, floury meal. Add buttermilk and pulse to form a damp and crumbly dough. Turn onto an unfloured surface and knead into a ball.

  2. Roll and Bake the Biscuits: On a generously floured surface, roll dough until just shy of 1/4 inch (4.7mm), using as much flour as needed along the way to prevent sticking. Dust away excess flour with a pastry brush and decorate with a docking tool if you like. Cut into 2 3/4–inch rounds and transfer to a parchment-lined half sheet pan. Gather up scraps, knead, roll, and cut as before.

  3. Bake until firm to the touch and light brown all over, about 18 minutes. Cool directly on baking sheet and continue with next step, or store in an airtight container up to 3 days at room temperature.

  4. Temper the Chocolate: Temper chocolate according to one of the methods described here.

  5. Coat the Biscuits: Working with just 2 or 3 biscuits at a time, dollop a generous 1/2 tablespoon, or just over 1/4 ounce, chocolate over each. Spread into an even layer over biscuit and, as chocolate starts to thicken, bounce the tines of a fork across the surface to create a wavy pattern. Repeat with remaining biscuits and chocolate. (Before it hardens, store excess chocolate according to the directions here.) Serve biscuits immediately, preferably with hot tea, and transfer to an airtight container for up to 3 weeks at room temperature.