Chocolate Oat Cookies

I had been craving some hobnob biscuits ever since I saw them in the British section of our local supermarket. Having been imported they were pretty expensive, so I couldn’t justify paying that much when I could probably make something similar at home. So, I left the supermarket armed with some oats, butter and flour determined to make my own hobnob biscuits. If you’ve never heard of a hobnob, it’s essentially a buttery, oaty cookie. The OH classifies them as ‘wholesome’, though I think that is being a little unfair. They are sweet, crumbly, oaty and delicious. Hobsnobs come in the traditional plain variety and you can also get chocolate hobnobs, which are my favorite. I experimented a bit with this recipe and added some coconut and ginger to spice them up a little. They have a similar flavor to flapjacks which I made before, but they have a much crunchier cookie texture. The dark bitter chocolate goes so well with the oats and ginger. I have been eating these all week, and I think they may be even better than the classic hobnob.

Ingredients

• 110g of butter
• 50g of golden syrup
• 50g of brown sugar
• 50g of white sugar
• 75g of flour * can use gluten-free or wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of ginger powder
• 2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut
• 200g of rolled oats
• 1 egg
• 75g of dark chocolate

Method

1. Line 2 large baking sheets with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and the golden syrup over a low heat. Once all the butter has melted, take it off the heat and leave aside.
2. Meanwhile, put the flour, baking powder, ginger, coconut and rolled oats into a large mixing bowl. Stir the mixture with a spoon, and then pour in the melted butter, sugars and syrup. Mix well together so all ingredients are combined. Finally add the beaten egg and stir once again.
3. Using a teaspoon, place balls of the mixture onto the baking sheet. Flatten out the cookies into discs. Ensure that there is room between each cookie, leaving room for them to spread while cooking.
4. Place the cookies in the oven for 10-15 minutes. They should be golden around the edges when cooked. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
5. Melt the chocolate and spoon the chocolate onto half of the cookies. Allow to cool and set before serving.