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Gluten-Free Digestive Biscuits are simple yet strong and flavourful biscuits, ideal for tea-dunking or making into your favourite pie crust.
Digestive Biscuits don’t look like much. They are brown, a little bland looking and seem to sit on the plate quite uneventfully. As such they weren’t easy to photograph. Despite my cajoling and tender words of encouragement I could not get them to look that exciting. Maybe you will be surprised then to learn that Digestive Biscuits are my most favourite biscuit or cookie of all time. (Yes, including chocolate chip cookies).
Digestive Biscuits are definitely one of my desert island foods. I’ll set them by my bedside to meekly nibble on when I’m poorly or I’ll devour them whilst slumped on the sofa watching When Harry Met Sally when I’m feeling blue. An open packet in the cupboard is my kryptonite on the Whole30 and they were the only food I included in my hospital bag to give me sustenance during the birth of my children.
Do digestive biscuits really aid digestion?
Digestive Biscuits have been around for a very long time. The first biscuits were produced in 1839 by Scottish doctors to aid digestion. That’s where the inclusion of bicarbonate of soda in the ingredients comes into play. I have to admit that a glass of fizzy bicarb was never far from my side when pregnant. It did wonders for keeping my acid reflux at bay as the alkali in bicarb really helps neutralise stomach acids. However, unfortunately the baking process of the digestive biscuit alters the chemical structure of the bicarbonate of soda, thus neutralising its digestive effects.
Which digestive biscuits are best?
Did you know that the McVitie’s digestive is the best selling biscuit in the UK? Their version in my eyes is without fault, although they do contain that pesky gluten which means I can’t eat them since they are made primarily of wholemeal flour alongside the oatmeal.
Gluten-free digestive biscuits which can pass muster against McVitie’s are not that easy to get hold of. I’m not a huge fan of the supermarket’s own brand versions as they have a plethora of odd ingredients and a bit of a funny taste. However it really is little bother to make your own and these will definitely hold their own in comparison to their wheat filled cousins.
How to make gluten-free digestive biscuits
This digestive biscuit recipe has no need for wheat. These biscuits are made from oat flour (do substitute for sorghum flour if you can’t eat oats, they are quite different in flavour but still produce a very lovely biscuit) and the almond flour and tapioca flour helps to hold the biscuits together and stops them being too hard.
Gluten-Free Digestive Biscuits are also staggeringly easy to make:
- Rub the fat into the flour mix
- Add enough milk to form a coherent dough
- Chill for a few minutes then roll, cut out and bake for 12 minutes.
You will have your biscuits in under an hour. In my house they would be hard pressed to last the following hour but I’m sure you are a lot more restrained than I.
Digestive biscuits do not stand on ceremony and they definitely do not need chocolate. Only on high days and holidays might I consent to a small brush of salted milk chocolate to glaze the surface. Feel free to embellish yours though if you like things a bit more flashy.
How can you use Digestive Biscuits in baking?
Digestive Biscuits are also an essential ingredient for the enthusiastic home baker since they are the perfect biscuit to produce the ideal pie or cheesecake crust. They are absolutely wonderful as the base in this Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Cheesecake. Just add melted butter to crushed Digestive Biscuits and press into a pan and you have the most delicious base for a whole range of desserts.
Chopped Digestive Biscuits can also be added to chocolate to make a Rocky Road or a Chocolate Tiffin. Or you can just bake yourselves up a batch of these delightful biscuits and just dunk pleasurably into your cup of tea, they withhold the moisture surprisingly well.
SHOP THE RECIPE
- Gluten-Free-Oat flour
- Almond flour
- Gluten-Free Tapioca Flour
- Biscuit/Pastry Cutters
- Large Baking Sheet
If you make these Gluten-Free Digestive Biscuits then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own baking creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
If you like this digestive biscuit recipe then why not try these gluten-free tea time treats:
- Gluten-Free Eccles Cakes
- Gluten-Free Scones
- Gluten-Free Victoria Sponge
- Gluten-Free Ginger Nut Biscuits
Gluten-Free Digestive Biscuits
Ingredients
- 140 g oat flour
- 140 g almond flour
- 80 g tapioca flour
- 115 g light brown muscovado sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 160 g unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 3-4 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Whisk the flours, sugar and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the butter and rub into the flour using the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
- Pour in the milk one tablespoon at a time until it forms a smooth dough.
- Shape the dough into a round and then flatten slightly and wrap in cling film. Chill for 30 minutes
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/ 170°C fan/gas mark 5.
- Roll the dough out to 8mm thickness then cut the biscuits into 7cm rounds. Prick the biscuits with the tines of a fork a couple of times.
- Place the biscuits on a baking sheet an inch or so apart and bake the biscuits for 12 minutes. The biscuits can be baked in two batches.
- Remove from the oven, leave on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
These are delicious- thanks for the recipe! They have a great texture and flavor. The only good gluten free digestives I’ve found in the US are Nairn's but they are pricey. These taste better and are much cheaper to make. I made them on the thin slide and about 5 cm in diameter and it made 2 dozen. I also used brown sugar.
Yes, Nairns are my go-to if I need a shop bought digestive type biscuit too. I'm so happy you like the recipe!
These are great! In addition to having to avoid gluten, I can‘t eat anything containing soy (all the ones in the shelves seem to contain soy 🙁 ), so I was looking for a digestives recipe to use for a no-bake cheesecake … found this one an the try out sent it right into my personal top ten!
I'm so happy to hear you like the recipe - thank you!
Made these biscuits today & they turned out well but personally I think they are too sweet. Will cut the sugar back to 100gm next time. I looked up another recipe I made once before which used same amounts of flour (though different - no oats) & 100gm of sugar was the amount in them. I'm striving to cut back sugar where possible in baking as it is such a killer ingredient.
This recipe is the BEST! I loved McVitties before learning that gluten was a problem for me, and had been looking for an alternative since. Nothing like this exists in the US, and after trying multiple recipes, yours is the best by far. GF and non-GF friends alike have asked for copies. Thank you!
Thank you Susan, I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe. I bet that switch with the oats was lovely!
Amazing biscuits! They are sooooo yummy!
Since I am vegan, I used Flora Plant Butter and oat milk, they turned out great, my partner loves them, he said they are the best vegan and GF biscuits I have baked so far (and he is not vegan nor GF).
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
That's great to hear!! Thank you Isabella.
Hi my husband is allergic to nuts can I substitute the almond flour? Thanks Hannah
Hi Hannah, you can substitute the almond flour for a seed flour like sunflower seed flour as they provide the same role. However, it will affect the flavour of the biscuits as sunflower seed flour has a stronger taste. Still delicious but not like a traditional digestive biscuit.
Wow at last I found a recipe for Digestives with GF flours
I used soft brown sugar and stork margarine as I didn’t have enough butter
They came out perfect
Will be a staple in my house as I will use them for cheese cake bases etc
So easy to make
They came out giant sized
So will use a smaller cutter next time
I got 13 out of it
Thank you so much
Hi Helene, I'm so happy you like the recipe. These biscuits are a staple in our house too!
Absolutely delicious. I love digestive biscuits and these are even better. I live in Sweden and the choice of flours is not as extensive as in the UK, but I whizzed up some oats to make a substitute for oat flour, and used semolina flour instead of tapioca flour. Totally successful. Thanks for the recipe.
That's great to hear, I'm so happy you could use what you had to hand to make the recipe!
I live in Sweden too! And their gf floors are definitely not like the range in the UK or Ireland, I just used grounded oats and normal gf flour and they were shipped great, simple and really great recipe thank you!
Such a pleasure - thank you Clare!
I have no clue what muscovado sugar is in r where I might find it in Canada! I always loved Digestive bisquits but since finding that my body does not respond well to wheat I have t had one! I am not Celiac but my daughter is! Therefore I am very excited to try your recipe! Also, is it necessary to double the batch to make a bottom for a pie recipe?
Hi Millie, you can use soft light brown sugar in place of the muscovado sugar. This recipe makes enough for a pie crust.
Came out perfect first time. Great recipe and instructions. Thanks
Hi Hannah - that's great! Thank you for your lovely feedback!
Can you substitute the oat flour with cassava as we don't eat oats ?
Hi Sue, I haven't tried it with that substitution so I'm not sure of the taste. Texture wise it should be fine.
Gorgeous biscuits ! they taste like a hybrid digestive/flapjack/shortbread and all the family (many skeptical about GF foods) - absolutely loving them. I doubled the quantity to make a cheesecake base at same time as. biscuits and the dough definitely gets easier (less crumbly) as you work it. Thank you Georgina, for sharing a winning mix :0)
Hi Jen, that's great - I'm so happy you liked the biscuits!!
Could you use normal sugar or brown sugar instead of the muscovado? Thanks
Hi Sara, I would recommend brown sugar as a substitute as there's only a slight difference in moisture content. The flavour won't be as deep but it will still be lovely.
Delicious! Thank you so much. I can't do dairy, so substituted with coconut milk and Earth Balance Coconut Spread. In this time of Lockdown, I was so hankering after a digestive and these have certainly come up to expectations. Planning to coat half of them in chocolate!
You are very welcome. Great idea with those substitutions - and of course smothering them in chocolate is never a bad thing!!
Taste like gluten-ful digestives. One of the few things I've missed after going GF. Thank you!
Also, easy to make and full of nutritional flours (almond and oat).
Hi Rachel - so happy you enjoyed the recipe!!
Can these be made with honey?
Hi Beth, not really if you want a proper digestive biscuit. The sugar doesn't just provide the sweetness but also helps with the texture of the biscuit. I haven't tried making these with honey but I expect the biscuit dough would end up being too soft to handle very well. By all means give it a go and report back!
I have made them yesterday as I was missing Mcvitie's. They are so yummy. Thank you for the recipe.
I found the dough a bit difficult to handle. When I used a cookie cutter, I couldn't lift it off the parchment. They were breaking. I just rolled small balls and flattened them on the sheet. Can you post pictures during the stages of baking so that I can compare? Or maybe a video? I know I will be baking them always. I can get an idea as to where I am going wrong.
Thanks again,
Sushma
Hi Sushma, I make these all the time as I love digestive biscuits and these are my faves!!!! I'm sorry you found the dough a little difficult to handle, it is a little more fragile because of the gluten-free flours but I've never had a problem with them breaking. I would immediately think that you might need to work the dough a little more. Did you use a palette knife to lift the biscuit dough? However, I take on board your comments and will definitely update the recipe with some process shots. I'd love to do a video too but they are something I haven't incorporated on the blog yet. I'll let you know as soon as the photos are up there!
Thanks for the reply. Should I use a palette knife? I have one. I used my fingers to lift them off the parchment. I have the dough still. I am baking in small batches. I will try. Also can I use normal sugar or should I grind it fine?
Photos are fine too. Thank you!
Hi Sushma, yes I would absolutely use a palette knife to help lift the fragile biscuit. I used regular light brown muscovado sugar in this recipe which helps with the flavour but also adds moisture to the dough to keep it from being dry. Did you use muscovado sugar? This change might have affected the fragility of the dough.
Hi Georgina,
We don't get muscovado sugar here( even if I find it, it would be too expensive). I used raw cane sugar. That was brown, soft and moist so I thought it would work. I will see if I can find a substitute. Thank you for the reply. I am ready for my next batch now.
These are great. Make them all the time. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
That's great! I love these too!!
I am always looking for gluten free digestives when I happen along a British collection of foods here in the US. So happy to have this recipe! I may have to make them today.
Great!! I hope you love them as much as I do!