With today marking National Biscuit Day, food and drink writer, Karla Sinclair, put Scotland’s favourite biscuits to the test by dunking them into a hot cuppa.
The great dunking debate has been around for years, and it’s one that we Scots take very seriously.
Tea and biscuits go together like chocolate and wine, bacon and eggs, strawberries and cream, and fish and chips, so it’s important your biscuit of choice is up to par with your cuppa.
With that said, I decided to get my hands on some of the country’s top biscuits and rate their dunkability.
To do this, each one was dunked halfway into a freshly brewed warm cup of tea and held in place for two to three seconds, before going through a taste test.
The contenders were a bourbon, chocolate digestive, custard cream, shortbread, ginger nut, Rich Tea and a Hobnob.
Personally, I’m an avid lover of custard creams. Crispy on the outside and soft and velvety on the inside, they have always been my go-to when I’m looking to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Team verdict
But what do my fellow food and drink team members look out for in the biscuit aisle?
Despite not being the biggest fan of tea or coffee, head of food and drink, Julia Bryce, says her biscuit of choice would be the chocolate digestive.
“I’m not a big tea or coffee drinker but when I do have a cuppa, and a biscuit to hand, then my go-to would have to be chocolate digestive,” she said.
“I love when the chocolate melts and the biscuit gets a little soggy – but not too soggy though.
“I do also enjoy a Kit-Kat and dunking that in when I have them in, but to be honest I’m not the biggest fan of dunking. I prefer having mint tea and I don’t think that really works with dunking biscuits!”
A classic
Food and drink writer Brian Stormont’s favourite biscuit stems from his great auntie.
“My favourite biscuit is a Wagon Wheel,” he said. “It goes back to the early 1980s when I used to visit my great auntie who had the most incredible biscuit barrel full of every biscuit you can imagine.
“That was the first time I ever tried one and it was unbelievable. I also have a wee soft spot for a Jacob’s fruit Club biscuit, but Wagon Wheel is my number one.”
Fellow team member, Rebecca Shearer, added: “Biscuit dunking is an absolute must, though it does depend often on the biscuit.
“Shortbread, custard creams, chocolate chip cookies, a bourbon, a Hobnob or even a ginger nut, if it’s big enough for me not to get my fingers soaked in tea but still get a good amount of soggy biscuit then I am dunking it.
“Those with a little more chocolate to them, such as chocolate digestives, are a good life hack for turning your tea into an unexpected hot chocolate.”
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