Digestive biscuits are one of the most popular commercially-baked biscuit varieties in the UK. The name Digestive derives from its high content of baking soda as an aid to food digestion. Digestives are not overly sweet and here in Italy are often used in cheesecake preparations. I personally like their taste, but in the last few years I eliminated a lot of store bought products and started to prepare my own. I prefer to know what the ingredients are and where they’re coming from. Thus, I’ve started making my own digestive biscuits too.

I found this recipe in a site that I often visit for its healthy recipes and interesting posts, and thought they would have been ideal for my breakfast. The original recipe Sonia found used whole wheat flour, but she changed it to whole rye flour, which I also prefer. Oat bran adds a depth and a rustic consistency to the biscuits.
Digestives are not exactly the same as the store bought ones but close enough and I should add much healthier. I added a tiny bit more sugar and also a pinch of baking soda to give the biscuits that tingly sensation that is typical for them.

I now enjoy digestives biscuits for breakfast with a cup of espresso coffee while my kid eats them with his milk. I have to count the biscuits before I start eating them otherwise I keep munching until they’re all gone. Its salty-sweet taste is really addictive, but what I like a lot is its simplicity and straight forward flavor.

Digestive biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 Tbsp. oat bran
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. whole rye flour
7  Tbsp. lightly salted butter
1/3 cup white natural cane sugar
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. aluminum free baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. natural vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. milk

Preparation:

In a food processor blend rye flour and oat bran until they resemble course sand. In the meantime melt the butter at low heat until almost all melted. Add the butter, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and milk to the flour mixture and quickly blend them until well combined.
Form a ball using your hands and gently flat it down, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate  for 30 minutes.
Warm up the oven to 350° and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Flour your working surface and with a rolling pin flat the dough until 1/4-inch thick. I used a pastry sheet but you can also roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.
Cut the biscuits with a 2-inches cookie cutter and place them on the baking sheet.
Cook them for about 10 minutes or until the sides start getting golden brown.
When ready let the biscuits rest for a couple of minutes and then place them on a wire rack until cool.
Store the biscuits in a tin box so to keep them fragrant. Enjoy!

Healthy breakfast alternatives:

orange lemon cake
mom’s apple cake
yogurt cake
healthy banana bread muffins
rolls with raisins