A chocolate biscuit is a biscuit (called "cookie" in the US) which is covered in chocolate, or which has been made by replacing some of the flour with cocoa powder.[citation needed]

Chocolate biscuits are quite popular in places all over the world, particularly the United Kingdom.[1] The composition and recipe may vary considerably and there is often legislation to specify how the biscuit may be described. In the United Kingdom, a biscuit made without an external coating may only be described as "chocolate" if it contains at least 3% of dry fat-free cocoa solids.[2] If there is a coating, this must contain cocoa butter as the fat to be described as chocolate, rather than just "chocolate-flavoured".[1]

In 1891, the Cadbury brothers filed a patent for a chocolate-coated biscuit.[3]

Tax

The exact structure and composition is significant in determining the taxation applicable in the United Kingdom as value-added tax (VAT). The general principle is that luxury foods such as confectionery are taxable, while basic foodstuffs are not. Case law and rulings have determined that a chocolate-covered biscuit such as a chocolate digestive or KitKat is taxable while a chocolate chip cookie or Jaffa Cake is not.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ Duncan Manley (1998), Biscuit, Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing Manuals, Vol. 5. Secondary Processing in Biscuit Manufacturing, Elsevier, p. 22, ISBN 9781855736245
  2. ^ P. R. Whitely (2012), Biscuit Manufacture: fundamentals of in-line production, Springer Science+Business Media, p. 79, ISBN 9781461520375 An uncoated biscuit that is to be named as a chocolate biscuit in the United Kingdom should contain a minimum of 3·0% fat-free dry cocoa solids in the finished product.
  3. ^ "History Cook: the rise of the chocolate biscuit". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  4. ^ "The bounds of confectionery, sweets, chocolates, chocolate biscuits, cakes and biscuits: Chocolate biscuits", "VFOOD6240 - Food: Excepted items: Confectionery", HM Revenue and Customs
  5. ^ John Connell (9 August 2012), "Bitter-sweet rules on chocolate very taxing for Cumbrian shoppers", News and Star