It’s amazing how the sight of foods that you grow up with bring you so much joy, right? Just like old TV commercials, the foods that you grew up with also make you feel nostalgic. Well, ‘Marie Biscuits’ are one such cookie that most of us from India are very familiar with. The marketing department of Brittania Industries must have been working overtime those days to make sure that Marie Biscuits were comfortably ensconced inside every Indian kitchen! In fact, tea time in India is synonymous with Marie Biscuits and also Glucose biscuits(which are another similar biscuit aka cookie):) And do you know that Indians have tea twice in a day? LOL!
OK so after moving to the US, we were happy to find our favorite ‘Marie Biscuits’ being imported from India by our local Indian grocers. I have ‘fed’ my two children ‘Marie Biscuits’ lovingly when they were younger having been told that these were ‘healthy whole wheat biscuits’ ! Let’s say I was pretty ignorant about nutrition in those days. My daughter when she was a toddler, used to like these a lot and used to call them ‘Mario biscuits’ for some reason, which till date I find so adorable 🙂
Fast forward to my Paleo life. I have been doing fine without the presence of too many baked treats in my life. So how did I suddenly think of making a Paleo and AIP version of these ‘Marie Biscuits’? Well, the husband is quite fond of these as well and these days I am trying to get him to be gluten free. So that’s how this grain free and dairy free version was born. I looked at the recipe from ‘Yummy Tummy Aarthi’ and decided to replace the flour and the dairy with Paleo alternates. A couple of tries and tweaks later, this recipe was ready and had my family’s full approval!
These cookies are great as a snack with a tea or latte during late afternoons. These are only lightly sweetened and hence they don’t feel over indulgent. Now that might be a problem as you might feel perfectly comfortable gorging on more than a couple at a time! These cookies don’t have any additional flavor – you could add vanilla I guess. But since I used maple syrup as a sweetener, the cookies had a nice maple flavor which I love. These would be a great dessert with a dairy free ice cream too I am guessing!
Do let me know in the comments section how you liked this recipe! Please watch the video below for a step by step tutorial of how I make these cookies!
Recipe Notes:
- So for the ingredients, I have tried this recipe with two types of flour. One is Cassava Flour. Not all Cassava flours are the same especially when it comes to baking. I only use Otto’s brand for baking. And the other one that I have made these with is ‘Gluten Free flour blend Measure for Measure’ from King Arthur.
- For sweetener, I used maple syrup once and raw unrefined cane sugar another time. Both came out well.
- For the fat, I used coconut oil and have tried with grass fed butter as well. Both were equally delicious!
- For the milk, I have used canned coconut milk. You could also use any nut milk if you are not AIP.
- 2 tbsp coconut milk (homemade or canned organic, unsweetened)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup (or coconut sugar )
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup cassava flour or gluten free flour (Use cassava flour for Paleo and AIP)
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil, softened
- Pre heat oven to 325 F (160 C)
- In a large mixing bowl, add the coconut milk and maple syrup (or coconut sugar) and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds. (You can also warm this mixture in a small sauce pan. Add the baking soda to this mixture and mix with a spoon to get a frothy mixture.
- Next measure out the flour and mix with the sea salt on a parchment paper.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the coconut milk mixture. Add the coconut oil too and stir everything well using a spatula.
- Use your hands to knead into a dough.
- Divide dough into two portions and then roll out one piece at a time between parchment sheets to about ¼ inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut into rounds of desired size. Form cookies with the rest of the dough the same way.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Use a spatula to transfer the dough rounds on to the baking tray carefully. These cookies don't spread too much so you don't need to keep them too much apart. Prick tiny holes on them like 'Marie' biscuits using a fork or a toothpick.
- Bake at 325 F for about 12 minutes or so until the bottom of the cookies are slightly golden brown. Take the tray out of the oven and flip each cookie and place the tray back in the oven and bake for another 2 minutes.
- Take the tray out of the oven and let the cookies cool for a few minutes before enjoying them. Transfer to an air-tight container and keep at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Would avocado oil work?
Can you make ahead and freeze these?
hmm…I have not tried freezing. I am guessing that they will get soggy. You can try freezing the dough. Hope that helps!
I made these with gluten-free all purpose flour and coconut sugar. They were very crumbly when I tried to cut the cookies. They taste good tho!
Which gluten free blend did you use? I like to use King Arthur Measure for Measure. Also I am thinking that since you used coconut sugar, the dough became a bit dry. Next time try adding a bit more coconut milk or water to the dough. Do all check out my video so you can see the texture of the dough. Glad you liked the taste!
I don’t have cassava flour or any coconut derivatives in my area. Can i substitute them for oat flour and oat milk?
Hi Samantha, Sorry I don’t know the answer to that question since I haven’t tried this recipe with oat flour. But you can try any gluten free flour mix if you get that?
order from the AIP store or Amazon
My 1st batch was too dry (apparently my cassava flour-Otto’s, is very dry). Having experienced greasy baked goods before, I added water. Wow, what tough, chewy biscuits! But with such a delightful flavor! I’ve made several batches. I & someone else (who sampled the 1st batch before I realized they were very tough & chewy) actually enjoy that tough chewiness, LOL. Thank you so much for such a tasty, easy recipe for those limited by energy & food intolerance.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I am so glad you are enjoying them! Next time the dough turns out too dry, you could also add some extra coconut milk instead of water. But so glad they turned out good still!
These were easy and delicious! Making a second batch now. Thank you for the recipe!!
[…] Marie Biscuits from Cook 2 Nourish *These tea “biscuits” feature cassava flour and come together quite quickly. […]
Oh goodness, time to put the kettle on I think!
Yes definitely 🙂 Thanks Kate. Hope you can try them!
These Look fantastic, i will make them this weekend 😊💛
Great! Lmk how you like them! 🙂