12 February 2021

8 interesting biscuits to try from around the world

12 February 2021

Biscuits have been revealed as the UK’s favourite snack in a survey by the British Heart Foundation, with the baked treats taking 42% of the vote.

From crunchy ginger snaps to chocolate-filled cookies and classic digestives, everyone’s got their go-to biccies, but if you’re always chucking the same packets into your supermarket trolley each week, you may be missing out on a whole world of flavour.

Here are eight lesser-known biscuit varieties from around the globe…

1. Matcha cookies

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Made with matcha powder and sometimes flavoured with chopped nuts, these green Japanese cookies are pretty to look at, and you can argue they’re ‘healthy’ because matcha tea leaves are rich in antioxidants.

2. Pepernoten

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Pronounced ‘paper-noteh’, these bite-sized biscuits hail from Holland. Flavoured with honey and spices, they’re traditionally eaten at the Dutch Sinterklaas celebrations in December.

3. Pesto biscuits

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Who says biccies have to be sweet? Italian-inspired pesto biscuits flavoured with the basil and garlic sauce make a delicious savoury snack.

4. Kourampiedes

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A Greek Christmas tradition, kourampiedes (also known as kourabiethes) are almond biscuits often flavoured with rosewater and topped with a generous dusting of icing sugar or flaked almonds.

5. Belgian biscuits

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You might be surprised to learn that Belgian biscuits don’t involve any of the nation’s most famous food export, chocolate, and they’re actually more popular in New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries.

Also known as empire biscuits, they’re created by sandwiching two rounds of biscuit with jam in the middle, adding pink icing and a sprinkle of sugar on the outside.

6. Monte Carlo biscuits

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Another sandwich-style biscuit, Monte Carlos are an Australian classic, comprising two golden brown layers filled with jam and buttercream.

7. Iced VoVos

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Also hailing from Down Under, Iced Vovos are wheat biscuits covered with two strips of pink fondant and a central strip of jam, and sprinkled with desiccated coconut. Homemade versions are sometimes made with pink marshmallow instead of fondant.

8. Melomakarona

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A festive favourite in Greece and Cyprus, melomakarona are soft, egg-shaped treats made with honey, semolina, orange zest and cognac, drizzled with honey syrup.

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