A Marie biscuit is a type of

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...

similar to a

rich tea Rich tea is a type of sweet biscuit; the ingredients generally include wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oil and malt extract. Originally called Tea Biscuits, they were developed in the 19th century in Yorkshire, England for the upper classes as a ...

biscuit. It is also known (in various languages) as María, Mariebon and Marietta, amongst other names.

Description

The biscuit is round and usually has the name embossed upon its top surface, the edges of which are also embossed with an intricate design. It is made with

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of common wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

or sunflower seed oil and, unlike the rich tea biscuit, is typically

vanilla-flavoured Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

History

The Marie biscuit was created by the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

bakery

Peek Freans Peek Freans is the name of a biscuit-making company based in Bermondsey, London, England which is now a global brand of biscuits and related confectionery owned by various food businesses. History James Peek (1800–1879) was one of three ...

in 1874 to commemorate the marriage of the

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (; – 22 October 1920) was the sixth child and only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine; she was Duchess of Edinburgh and later Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and G ...

to the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

. It became popular throughout Europe, particularly in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

where, following the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the biscuit became a symbol of the country's economic recovery after bakeries produced mass quantities to consume a surplus of wheat. Marie biscuits became popular in South Africa after going into production by Bakers Biscuits in 1898.

Consumption

Many consider that the plain flavour of Maries makes them, like rich tea biscuits, particularly suitable for dunking in

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

. Other popular methods of consuming the biscuit include using two to make a sandwich with

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

and

Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...

condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...

spread in between; covering it with

golden syrup Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance and co ...

; or crumbling it up in

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

and jelly (gelatin dessert). Marie biscuits are also a common ingredient in home-baking recipes. In

, ''

natillas () is a term in Spanish for a variety of custards and similar sweet desserts in the Spanish-speaking world. In Spain, this term refers to a custard dish made with milk and eggs, similar to other European creams as . In Colombia, the delicacy doe ...

'' custard is typically served with a Maria biscuit on top. Natillas-caseras-con-galletas-restaurante-chipiona-venta-aurelio

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, they are served filled with

dulce de leche ''Dulce de leche'' (), caramelized milk, milk candy, or milk jam is a confection commonly consumed after slowly heating sugar and milk over several hours. The substance takes on a spreadable, sauce-like consistency and derives its rich flavour ...

and sprinkled with shredded

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

. In

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, they are soaked in milk and then stacked in layers of chocolate and vanilla-flavoured custard cream, with whipped cream and crushed

cashew nut Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tal ...

s on top to make ''pavê'', a popular Brazilian dessert. In

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, the biscuits are known as Marietta and manufactured by

Jacob's Jacob's is an Irish Brand, brand name for several lines of biscuits and Cracker (food), crackers in Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The brand name is owned by the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, part of Valeo Foods, which prod ...

. In Malaysia, people use them mainly for making

batik cake Kek batik () is a type of Malaysian no-bake fridge cake dessert inspired by the Scottish tiffin, brought in the country during the British Malaya and Borneo period, and adapted with Malaysian ingredients. This cake is made by mixing broken Mari ...

. In India, they are commonly eaten plain with tea or sold in bakeries after coating with chocolate and wrapped in foil.

Manufacturers

The major international manufacturers (initially sorted by country name):

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Biscuit of the Week
a review at

Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down ''Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down'' is a website which mainly discusses tea and biscuits, with content including news and reviews of biscuit brands. It is owned and maintained by Stuart Payne and his wife Jenny Payne, who live in Cambridge, England, ...

Review of Maria Cookies
reviews of various international brands
Photos of Marie biscuits from various countries
Biscuits