For Brits, there’s no better treat than a scone paired with a hot cup of tea – and luckily, this country doesn’t have enough options.
From humble rich tea to crumbly shortbread, biscuits are a must-have found in millions of homes across the UK.
The average Brit is said to eat three biscuits a day – but some bad options always come last, relegated to the back of the tin.
A furious debate was sparked this week by UK meme account @nocontextbrits, who posted an infographic on X, formerly Twitter, featuring sixteen types of biscuits alongside the question: ‘What’s the worst biscuit ever?’
Now more than 31,800 MailOnline readers have had their say – and the worst biscuit in the UK has officially been crowned.
Featured cookies included classics like Chocolate Fingers, Jammie Dodgers, Custard Creams, Bourbon Creams, Fig Rolls, Rich Teas, Cookies and Chocolate Digestives.
Madeleines, Garibaldis, Ginger Nuts, Pink Wafers, Party Rings and Shortbread also featured, along with Jaffa Cakes and Weetabix – two entries which were excluded from the MailOnline poll as they are not biscuits.
One cookie stood out from all the rest as the all-time worst — garnering 2,000 more votes than its closest competitor.
The pink wafer received a whopping 22 per cent of all votes, with avid readers clearly declaring it the UK’s most hated biscuit.
The cookie was criticized on Twitter for its artificial taste, airy texture and overly sweet profile, with one person writing: ‘Pink wafers, they’re like finely chopped styrofoam.’
Another individual described the pink-colored cookies as “sick” and “insubstantial.”
Closest contenders for worst cookie included the fig roulade (4,848 votes) in second place, and with 4,341 votes in third Garibaldi – unsurprising as one person described them as “like eating a fly sandwich”.
Fig rolls were criticized for their unusual texture and taste, with many users finding the combination unappealing.
One person wrote: ‘The fig rolls are an abomination,’ while another said: ‘The fig rolls. Terrible taste.’
A surprise contender – Party Rings (3,978) – took fourth place.
Party Rings even beat Rich Tea on the list of hated cookies, which followed in fifth place with 3,222 votes — a 10 percent share of the vote.
Rich Tea Cookies were deemed bland and uninspired online and emerged as the front runner for the worst cookie title.
One Brit raged: “Rich tea. Deep disappointment,” while another wrote: “Rich tea. What the hell is that for?’
Another blasted the plain cookie for being ‘bland, boring and forgettable’.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the luxury chocolate finger and chocolate digestif fared the best in the British polls, receiving just 171 and 178 votes respectively.
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Cookie (458 votes), Shortbread finger (459 votes) and Jammie Dodger (916 votes) also topped the table.
Other “worst” biscuits included Garibaldis, with one person describing them as “like a fly ate a sandwich”, as well as Jammie Dodgers, with one Brit comparing the filling to the consistency of “industrial contact glue”.
The MailOnline debate has since caused a stir on social media, with Irish musician Garron Noone revealing he was “absolutely furious” at some of the biscuits on the list.
In a post on his Instagram account, @garron_music, he said: “Oh my god Britain, you let me down again. I was getting over everything and now you come up with this monstrous list of the worst cookies.’
He began to point to various options in the MailOnline image and at first objected to Chocolate Fingers even being listed as an option.
In their defence, he shouted: “They’re in fun form, so they have a fun factor. Chocolate and cookie combine perfectly in the mouth to delight your senses.
“You can dip them in your tea and suck up all the chocolate! Every moment spent in the company of chocolate fingers is a moment well spent.”
Garron praised the chocolate digestives for their “simplicity” but admitted that the ginger nuts “are a bit too spicy” and the party rings are “****”.
The perfect biscuit is a matter of personal preference, but one thing seems to remain clear: the British passion for biscuits, loved or hated, is as strong as ever.
Meanwhile, food scientists from London and the Netherlands have revealed that the best biscuit flavors to pair with a classic cup of English breakfast tea are earthy, oat biscuits such as digestifs or Hobnobs.