The biscuit list
what to buy and what you can make
There was a light dusting of snow on the ground earlier this week and a bitter chill in the air. Since making shortbread last week I have been firmly on the biscuit train. When I am out and about I have been drawn to gluten free biscuits. I am amounting quite the collection, it is as if I am preparing for a second winter. Maybe this is some form of temporary hibernation whilst it persists to be so cold in March. I am here for sunshine and spring bulbs, I am not here for snow and steamed up glasses every time I come back inside from the cold.
Whether you have time to bake your own biscuits or not there are lots of biscuit options in this newsletter. These are some of my favourite biscuits of the moment.
Biscuits from the shops
This week has been so dreary and grey that as an incentive to go outside for a walk I added buying gluten free biscuits to my to do list, all in the name of research of course. So off I popped to the nearest Waitrose which was in Greenwich, just a casual walk past the cutty sark on a thursday afternoon. I went to Waitrose as I was hoping to find some top tier biscuits I have not had before. I didn’t find the chocolate and raspberry ones I was after but I did find some firm favourites that I thought I would include here. Some of these biscuits invoke the memories of beloved biscuits I can’t eat anymore, to find a gluten free equivalent is joyful. The new discovery this week has been the chocoful bars by Prewett’s, a handbag gamechanger.
Schaer Custard Creams: These are wrapped in twos which in my opinion leaves you wanting more, two tiny biscuits is often not enough. They do resemble the classic custard cream though which is sometimes just what you need. I would say they are not overly handbag friendly as they crumble quite easily.
Morrisons cookies and cream: I am yet to find the illusive gluten free oreo and have only eaten supermarket own brand versions. I will say that the amount of cream in them is stingy, it is a fairly nice biscuit but they don’t bring as much joy as other biscuits do.
Morrisons golden crunchies biscuits: These are the answer to Fox’s golden crunch creams, they are moreish and completely delicious. They are not individually wrapped so best for eating half the pack in one sitting at home or shared with a friend. They taste buttery and golden, if golden is a taste. You will know what I mean if you try them!
Prewett’s Chocolate Gingers: I used to be a devout Border Chocolate Gingers consumer, I think I have mentioned my love for them previously. These are everything that I had been missing from a biscuit. These ones are for the butter lovers, the packet states that they are 35% dark chocolate, 16% crystalized ginger and 13% butter, I like these percentages, it is an indulgent biscuit.
Prewett’s Chocoful: These individually wrapped chocolate coated biscuits remind me of a slightly more refined rocky bar, the way the chocolate pools in the top of the biscuit is just the ticket. Also as they are individually wrapped they are great for putting them in your handbag. I would say this is the sturdiest biscuit in this list, making it a perfect emergency snack.
Which biscuits should I look out for next? If you have any recommendations, let me know!
Biscuit breaks
‘have a break, have a kit kat’ is a tagline that is ingrained on my brain from adverts when I was a kid, ironically I can’t eat kit kats now but the tagline remains. I do like the sentiment of dedicating time to eating a biscuit. Also if you are in the market for a gluten free version of a kit kat these are great.
A cup of tea and a biscuit is a great way to stop, it is a short delightful pause in the day. Popular biscuit breaks are elevenses and afternoon tea which both became popular during the industrial revolution when tea rooms started opening everywhere in the UK. The industrial revolution also allowed biscuits to be produced on mass making them more available. The Mcvities chocolate digestive appeared in 1899, possibly one of the worlds most moreish biscuits, if you are gluten free Prewett’s do a great version of them.
Why are biscuits so comforting? I associate biscuits with my Mum, she has the ability to eat most of a packet of scottish shortbread fingers in a rapid amount of time. I definitely get my biscuit cravings from her. Biscuits remind me of my family and all the times we share eating biscuits, on walks, doing the crossword with a coffee or in the evening with a cup of tea. I love sharing biscuits, it is a time to pause and have a natter whilst consuming butter and sugar: absolutely perfect. There is great comfort in the texture and the melt whilst you bite into a biscuit, the way they satisfy the craving for something sweet. When I think of the ideal moment to eat a biscuit it is to be curled up on a sofa under a blanket watching something good.
Coconut Macaroons
Is this a biscuit? I would say it falls into the biscuit category more than the cake one and I hope it isn’t as divisive as the jaffa cake debate (I miss jaffa cakes a great deal). I made coconut macaroons at the bakery and really loved the taste of the homemade ones, they are also really quite easy to make. The coconut macaroons I consume the most though are Mrs Crimble’s of course, she is reliable and sold in most places. They are unfortunately moreish and leave you with a coconut coated throat. My personal favourite is the chocolate coated ones but the jam ones are great too. Like my love for hummus, it goes in waves where I eat so much of them that I have to forget them for a while. The rediscovery of these favourite items is blissful. I wish I could forget films in the same way and come back to them, Notting Hill in particular.
Biscuits to make
Biscuit making has become slightly less calming since the gluten has been taken away. I used to love making bagfuls of biscuits at the bakery, filling the racks with trays of golden festive biscuits. Even gluten free biscuits can be therapeutic but they also take a huge amount of patience and attention to detail. There is a very fine line with the bake time on biscuits, the goal is to achieve that perfect texture whether it is a ‘snap’ or chewy. I love cookbooks and I love making new recipes, it turned out that a few books I already owned had some great gluten free recipes in. I have linked 6 recipes that have brought the biscuit making passion back into my life and would be great to bake if you have gluten free friends coming round for a cuppa.
If you want biscuits without using gluten free flour blends then the amaretti recipe and cinnamon star recipe from below are the recipes for you. They contain only a few ingredients and are simple to make. The gluten free dark chocolate cookie recipe also doesn’t use a flour blend, all you need is a bit of cornflour. I find biscuits are fun to make with kids too, especially cookies, my nieces love getting involved in rolling the cookie dough. The beauty of cookie making with kids is that because of the rolling the labour is equally divided so there are less chances of arguments on who gets to do what. Another reason why you should make cookies is that you can freeze the raw cookie dough in balls in the freezer ready to go in the oven whenever you need them.
Some of the gluten free biscuits I have made so far and loved are:
Ravneet Gill’s gluten free dark chocolate cookies
Becky Excell’s biscotti (page 79 of How to Bake Anything Gluten Free)
Anja Dunk’s cinnamon stars
Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh’s amaretti
Emma Hatcher’s miso and chocolate chip cookies which I will continue to recommend.
Katarina Cermelj’s tahini cookies
Things to do whilst eating biscuits:
Listen to an audiobook
Sit on a bench mid walk for a biscuit break
Catch up with a friend
Slurp a big mug of tea
Curl up with a good book, my current read is Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Daydream
How sweet this week has been, maybe next week will be more savoury but if the weather continues then so will my sweet tooth. I will continue my search for gluten free biscuit based snacks and would love to hear what your favorites are. I am also dreaming of picnic season…
