Lemon Flaxmeal Biscuits

A few years ago, in my pre gluten-free days, I used to receive Graze boxes.

If you haven’t heard of Graze before, they are a subscription service that send you healthy, tasty, snacks through the post. You can dictate how often you receive them and now I think there are more than one kind of box. If you didn’t like something you just popped on the website and removed it from the list and equally if there was something you really really loved you could let them know and you would receive it on a more regular basis.

It was perfect for me because I would have little boxes of yummy treats to take to work and nibble on, without having to buy large bags of everything to make up my own, which would probably have gone off before I could eat it all. It probably wasn’t as cheap as buying in bulk, as it were, but it was convenient.

Of course all that changed with the need to avoid gluten and by the time I had removed all the gluten containing items from the list there really wasn’t much left to choose from and therefore I saw no point in continuing with the subscription.

But one of my favourite nibbles that I have missed and – intermittently – craved was the mini lemon oat cakes with a little tub of honey to dip them in. My, they were delicious. The lemon flavour was delicate and there was just something about the oaty, slightly savoury, not too sweet biscuit being dipped in honey that was a pure delight. I was always happy when I opened my box to find one nestled in there (another favourite was the Jaffa Cake concoction – hazelnuts, large dark chocolate chips and orange flavoured raisins, yum – and as you can now buy orange flavoured raisins, easy enough to make up yourself, and I would recommend it, it really does taste like a jaffa cake).

Therefore it made sense to have a go at creating something similar. As oats are off the menu I thought my flaxmeal biscuits would be a good place to start. They are crisp, not too sweet and the flaxmeal gives them a wholemeal / hearty texture and flavour that is akin to that of an oat cake.

The result was exactly what I had hoped for – crisp, not too sweet, wholemeal-like, with a delicate, subtle hint of lemon.

If you would prefer a much larger lemon hit then I would suggest using the zest of two lemons rather than one. But then I fear that you may be heading dangerously towards a cleaning product vibe, which may be unpleasant when combined with the honey and result in something similar to a cold remedy. Especially as the lemon flavour does develop over time. But if that is what you like, then who am I to say otherwise.

Anyway, back to these. When dipped in a little honey they provided the same satisfying sweetness as those little oat cakes did. I mean, let’s face it, in all reality the biscuits are just a carrier for the honey, but it does have to be the right biscuit, and these are the right biscuit.

Although the list of ingredients (especially the flours required) is a little long, they are really easy to make – just whizz all the ingredients together in a food processor – so it is only the weighing out that takes a little time.

Finally I need crave those little Graze tubs no more. Now all I need to do is work on replacements for the rest . . .