These chocolate-coated gluten-free digestive biscuits are an upgrade to plain digestive biscuits, made with the same ingredients: wholesome ground gluten-free oats and almonds and that essential addition of bicarb of soda/baking powder, to give it that extra crunch.
For those preferring a plain digestive biscuit, head to this blog for the recipe
How to eat gluten-free chocolate digestive biscuits?
There is something unique and nostalgic about these biscuits. The chocolate takes them to the next level and is so delicious when enjoyed with a cup of milky tea or hot chocolate to enjoy dunking into.
The best method to dunk them is sideways, submerging the biscuits in the hot liquid for a mere few seconds, then swiftly biting into the biscuit before they fall back into the cup!
Different chocolate toppings
I recommend using a good-quality dark or milk chocolate to coat the digestive biscuit. Dark chocolate with a high cocoa percentage, such as 70%, is ideal as it is less sweet than the lower percentage chocolate and milk chocolate. As the digestive biscuit is already sweet, the dark chocolate tones the sweetness down nicely, giving it a nicely balanced flavour.
Of course, if you prefer your biscuit sweeter, then aim for a higher sugar-content dark chocolate or milk chocolate.
How to design the chocolate coating
Make sure the chocolate is melted at a low temperature in a bain-marie (bowl over a simmering saucepan) slowly without stirring it until the end. This will ensure a shiny and smooth texture.
Pour half a tablespoon of the melted chocolate on the underside of the baked biscuit
Spread the chocolate evenly around the biscuit, leaving a thin border exposed.
Take a teaspoon and gently dip the it into the chocolate-coated biscuit, lifting, moving along and dipping again until the entire row is marked. Go to the next line above and repeat the same action. Once the whole biscuit is marked, you should see a nice pattern on the chocolate coating, which is similar to the store-bought chocolate digestive biscuits.
FUN FACT
According to Wikipedia, MacVite’s (the leading UK biscuit company) sell over 71 million packets of their chocolate digestive biscuits each year, which calculates to 52 biscuits being eaten per second!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Digestive Biscuits
Equipment
- Round cookie cutter 7 cm is the ideal size for digestive biscuits
Ingredients
- 180 g gluten-free oats (processed into oat flour) or store-bought gluten-free oat flour
- 160 g almond meal (processed into almond flour) or store-bought almond flour
- 50 g tapioca flour
- 40 g rice flour
- ½ tsp xanthan gum (optional)
- 110 g brown sugar
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 160 g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces (do not use ghee or oil as an alternative)
- 2 tbsp golden syrup or runny honey
- 3 tbsp boiling water
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda or baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Preparing the dough
- Mix all the flours, optional xanthan gum sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Although the baked biscuits hold their shape, the xanthan gum will make the biscuits more robust and less crumbly.
- Rub the chilled butter into the flour mixture either using your fingertips or processing it in a food processor until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
- The mixture should resemble a crumbly texture.
- Combine the boiling water with the golden syrup or honey and the bicarbonate of soda/baking soda until it foams slightly and appears well mixed.
- Add this golden syrup mixture to the flour mixture, along with the cinnamon powder, milk and vanilla extract. Mix well until the dough comes together.
- Mix well with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. It will be a soft dough, but should it feel too sticky, add an extra tbsp or more of tapioca or rice flour. Please note that the dough will become firmer after chilling.
- Place the dough on a portion of plastic film and shape the dough into a rough disc.
- Wrap the dough up with the plastic film and chill for one hour.
Assembling
- Place the dough onto a sheet of baking paper, covering the top with the plastic film to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll out the dough until it measures 3mm thick approx.
- Using a 7-cm cookie cutter and cut out the biscuit. Transfer them with a floured fork or spatula underneath to lined baking trays, keeping them 3 cm apart. They spread slightly.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 325°F. If using fan-forced, lower it by to 160°C/320°F
- Bake for 15 minutes on the middle shelf and cool on the baking tray for 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the biscuits to cool completely on a wire rack. Once fully cooled, store them in an air-tight glass or tin container.
Chocolate coating
- Break up the chocolate into pieces and place them in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not in contact with the water and keep the heat on medium-low. Leave the chocolate alone without mixing it until the very end.
- Once the chocolate is fully melty and glossy, remove the bowl from the saucepan and place it near the baked biscuits to begin coating them.
- Pour half a tablespoon of melted chocolate on the back of the baked digestive biscuit. Spread the chocolate all over the biscuits, leaving a tiny border around the edges.
- Take a teaspoon and gently dip the it into the chocolate-coated biscuit, lifting, moving along and dipping again until the entire row is marked. Go to the next line above and repeat the same action. Once the whole biscuit is marked, you should see a nice pattern on the chocolate coating, which is similar to the store-bought chocolate digestive biscuits (except they use a machine!).
- Leave the chocolate-coated biscuits to set before transferring them to a airtight container to either store at room temperature or chilled (highly recommended in warm climates).
Notes
- Keeps for 3 to 5 days in an airtight tin or container
- Chocolate digestive biscuits are great to freeze, but if you want to preserve their appearance, place small squares of baking paper between the biscuits to prevent them from sticking.
