The Tuesday Treat: Digestive Biscuits

My friend Clare sent me this recipe from King Arthur for digestive biscuits – those cookie-esque, cracker-esque, not-too-sweet biscuits served with afternoon tea in Britain – and I decided to make them over the long weekend. If you’re used to McEvitie’s, these will not taste the same, but they certainly are a decent substitute if they’re not readily available. On her suggestion I reduced the sugar, and I also used granulated in place of the powdered sugar the original recipe called for because I was out (this may have changed the texture a bit but I think it was fairly negligible); otherwise, I kept true to the instructions.

Makes about 2 dozen biscuits

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cold milk

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Measure the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. With a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture. Toss in the sugar and enough milk to make a stiff dough.

Knead this mixture on a floured surface until smooth. (All this can be done almost instantly in a food processor.) Roll the dough out to a bit more than 1/8 inch thick and cut into any desired shape. Traditionally, digestive biscuits are round and about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on greased cookie sheets, prick evenly with a fork, and bake until pale gold, between 15 and 20 minutes.