You’ve gotta love Twiglets! Those gnarly little marmite flavoured sticks that are the perfect accompaniment to pre-dinner drinks. Probably a very British snack (they are flavoured with divisive marmite after all), I reckon anyone would have a hard time not enjoying these little savoury sticks.
Problem is they’re not safe for us, as they may contain milk, eggs and sesame. We’ve always bemoaned this as Big S loves marmite and they would have been the perfect non crisp snack for her. I just know she would love Twiglets.
So, I started thinking, could I recreate Twiglets just in time for Christmas? I wasn’t sure, but I did some research and came across a few recipes online. Good start, but these didn’t ring true to me – Twiglets are essentially very crunchy so simply baking a dough as these recipes opted for was not going to work, in my opinion. Then my mind turned to the little crunchy tomato taralli biscuits I made last year. They were super crunchy and moreish so maybe the same technique would work? Wow, it really did work! By adding the boiling stage before baking you get wonderfully crunchy little sticks that keep well and have just the right Twiglet crunch! It is essential to use the wholemeal flour as Twiglets have a wheaty taste as well as the marmite flavour. Even D, who is a true Twiglet expert said these little marmite sticks are incredibly authentic and delicious 🙂
It may be a faff to make your own Twiglets, but if you’ve missed them as much as us, it’s well worth the extra effort
Homemade Twiglets
(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, sesame-free, vegan and vegetarian)
makes about 80
125g wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp salt
40ml water
40ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp marmite
to glaze: 1 tsp marmite mixed with 1 tsp dairy-free milk, flaky salt crystals
- Stir in the salt into the flour. Add the marmite, olive oil and water and bring together to a soft dough.
- Knead until silky and smooth.
- Wrap and rest in the fridge for at least an hour
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade Fan, 190 degrees non-fan
- Grab small grape sized pieces of the dough and then roll into half cm wide sausages. Cut into stick lengths and try and make them uneven and gnarly. Place on the lined baking tray while you shape the rest.Bring a pan of water to the boil. Drop in the Twiglets, ten or so at a time and boil until the rise to the surface. This will take a minute or two.
- Place back on the lined baking sheet.
- Brush with the glaze and sprinkle with the salt.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
- Cool on wire rack. These will get more crunchy as they cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week (if they last that long!)
