To bake, preheat the oven to 140°C (285°F). Line two shallow baking
trays with cooking oil spray and a piece of baking paper to fit. On
a lightly floured surface, roll the dough disc out to approximately
35 cm × 35 cm (13¾ in × 13¾ in) and 4 mm (⅛ in) thick. Use a 10 cm
(4 in) round cutter to stamp out the cookies and place evenly but not too
far apart on the baking tray – these folks aren’t super spreaders. If the
cookies stick to the work surface, shimmy an offset spatula underneath
to loosen them. Collect the scraps and roll again. Repeat the process
with the remaining portion of dough to give you twelve to fourteen
cookies. You can re-roll once more – these might shrink a smidge.

You can dough your own way here: use thicker dough (just add extra baking
time) or a fluted cutter.

Prick each cookie with the flat bottom end of a wooden skewer
for distinctive dimples – around twelve per cookie. Bake for
30–35 minutes until set (when you can easily lift one up). The colour
should be a deep flush of tanned brown, and they’ll smell like toasted
wheat – like freshly baked bread crust. Turn the oven off, keep the
door ajar with a folded tea towel (dish towel) and allow the cookies to
cool and crisp slowly for 20 minutes.

When the digestives have cooled, start the glaze by melting the
milk chocolate, coconut oil and vanilla paste in small bowl set over
a double boiler on a bare simmer.

Dipping consistency is like tuning an instrument but instead of pitch, you
want to control temperature. If the dip is too warm and runny (the chocolate
layer will be too thin), pause and allow the chocolate to cool down. You can
always re-dip the first cookie when the dip is cooler and thicker. If the glaze
starts to thicken while dipping, stop and ‘re-tune’ by heating the chocolate
slightly back over the double boiler. In cold kitchens, I take the double boiler
with the bowl on top to my bench to maintain a nice dippy texture from first
to last cookie.

Holding your cookie firmly with the top/dimpled side up, push it into
the dip so the chocolate just covers the edges. Pull the cookie out and
shake it vigorously to remove excess chocolate. This shake also gives
the chocolate a gentle rippled appearance.

Return the cookie to the baking tray with the chocolate side up.

Working efficiently, dip the remainder of the cookies.

Drop a pinch of cacao nibs then some salt flakes across the top of
each cookie. Allow the chocolate to set at cool room temperature for
1 hour; chill if it’s summer or you are working in a warm kitchen.

If the chocolate has set too firm for the cacao and salt to stick, heat with
a blowtorch or warm the cookies VERY briefly back in the oven.

Adaptrix
Dark chocolate
Switch the milk for bittersweet
chocolate (or 70% cocoa, for
a more hardcore flavour) if you
like these a bit darker.