Homemade Chocolate Hobnobs Recipe: Crunchy Oat Cookies

Homemade Chocolate Hobnobs Recipe: British Crunchy Oat Biscuits (Cookies)

This is my take on the classic British chocolate Hobnob, a crunchy oat cookie that is only lightly sweet, with flavors of toasted oats, butter, and caramel. It is a copycat of the McVitie’s chocolate Hobnob biscuit, and it comes together in less than an hour with ingredients you probably already have in the pantry.

If you have ever dunked a Hobnob in tea and wondered why it tastes so much better than a plain oat cookie, the answer is golden syrup. It gives these cookies a slightly caramelized flavor you will not get from corn syrup alone, and the oats are pulsed just enough to keep them crunchy.

What Are Hobnobs?

First, a quick word about the word biscuit, because it means two very different things on either side of the Atlantic. In America, a biscuit is a fluffy or flaky baked good that looks a lot like an English scone.

In Britain, a biscuit is what Americans would call a crispy cookie when it is sweet, or a cracker when it is savory.

Hobnobs are a McVitie’s brand name. The name reportedly comes from the verb to hobnob, which means to socialize with people of high social status, a fitting name for a biscuit that has always felt a little posh next to a cup of tea.

A Hobnob is a sweet British biscuit, essentially a crunchy oat cookie with a subtle sweetness and a rich buttery flavor. They are just as good plain as they are with tea, coffee, or a cold glass of milk, and they come in several flavors, with chocolate being the most popular.

The magic ingredient is golden syrup, an invert sugar syrup similar to corn syrup. It prevents sugar crystallization and gives the cookies their distinctive buttery, caramelized taste. That is the flavor people are chasing when they reach for a Hobnob instead of an ordinary oat cookie.

Why You’ll Love This Hobnobs Recipe

These biscuits are subtly sweet rather than overly sweet, with buttery, toasted, caramel and vanilla notes that make them work as a dessert, an after school snack, or an afternoon pick me up.

You only need a handful of ingredients, and most of them are probably already in your pantry. The one exception is golden syrup. If you do not have it, you can substitute honey or simple syrup, and you can find golden syrup on Amazon, at British markets, or in the international aisle of a larger grocery store.

The process is easy and takes less than an hour from start to finish. There is no chilling, no rolling pin, and no fuss. You will love how quickly a tray of these biscuits goes from mixing bowl to cooling rack.

Hobnobs Ingredients

Here is everything you need to make 14 cookies. The full measurements are listed below, followed by notes on what each ingredient does and how to swap it if you need to.

• 125 grams old fashioned rolled oats
• 125 grams unsalted butter
• 20 grams golden syrup
• 125 grams golden caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 125 grams all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 125 grams good quality milk chocolate, or dark chocolate (optional)

Ingredients Explained

Old fashioned rolled oats are the base of the whole biscuit. Do not use instant or quick cooking oats here. Pulse them just 3 times in a food processor. If you over process them, the cookies turn out cakey instead of crunchy, and there is no fixing that later.

Unsalted butter gives the cookies their richness and their crunch. If you only have salted butter on hand, that works fine as long as you leave out the added salt.

Golden syrup is the ingredient that makes a Hobnob taste like a Hobnob. It is a light amber invert sugar syrup about as thick as honey, a byproduct of refining sugar cane or beet juice, with a buttery caramel flavor. You can swap it 1:1 with maple syrup, honey, or simple syrup, though the flavor will shift a little.

Golden caster sugar is the unrefined version of superfine sugar, and it boosts the caramel notes. Regular caster sugar works well too. If you cannot find caster sugar at all, pulse granulated sugar briefly in a blender or food processor, stopping before it turns into powdered sugar.

Vanilla extract adds flavor and aroma. All purpose flour gives the biscuits their structure. Baking powder and baking soda work together as leaveners, and a little salt keeps everything from tasting bland.

The optional 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon adds depth without shouting over the oats. The optional chocolate is for coating. Use good quality milk chocolate or dark chocolate, whichever you prefer.

How to Make Chocolate Hobnobs

Preheat the oven to 350F and line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper.

1. Pulse the oats 3 times in a food processor, about 1 second per pulse. Do not overdo it.
2. Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a large microwave safe bowl or in a double boiler, whisking to combine. Whisk in the golden caster sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy. If it is not turning thick and glossy, heat it briefly again in the microwave or double boiler, but do not overdo it. Whisk in the vanilla.
3. Add the pulsed oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon if using, to the bowl with the butter mixture. Stir to combine. The cookie dough will seem a bit gritty and dense, which is normal.
4. Use a 1.5 tablespoon scoop to measure out the dough, slightly compacting it into the scoop as you measure, and roll each portion into a ball. Compact the dough with your hands as you roll so it forms a nice round shape.
5. Arrange the dough balls spaced evenly apart on the baking trays and slightly flatten each one. Bake until the cookies are golden to your liking, about 14 to 16 minutes.
6. Let the cookies cool completely, about 20 minutes. Once cool, melt the chocolate and spread it evenly across the bottom of each cookie. Let the chocolate set before serving or storing.

If you want perfectly round cookies, there is an optional extra step. Immediately after baking, while the cookies are still hot and soft, place a 4 inch round ring around one cookie at a time and gently swirl it so the sides press flat against the ring.

A bowl, a large glass, or a large cookie cutter works just as well.

One note from my own kitchen: the dough stiffens as it sits, so scoop and roll fairly quickly once it is mixed. I usually get both trays into the oven while the dough is still easy to handle.

Storage

Once the chocolate coating has set, layer the cookies in a cookie tin with wax paper or parchment paper between the layers. If you leave the chocolate off, you do not need paper layers at all.

They keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Tips For the Best Homemade Hobnobs

Pulse the oats exactly 3 times, 1 second per pulse. Over pulsing makes the cookies cakey rather than crispy, and there is no way to undo it once the oats are too fine.

Work fairly fast when scooping and rolling the dough, because it becomes harder to handle as it cools.

Baking time controls the texture. About 13 to 14 minutes gives you cookies that are chewy in the center and crisp at the edges, while roughly 16 minutes gives an all over crispier result. I prefer the crispier end of that range.

For rounder cookies, immediately after baking, run a 4 inch round ring around each cookie to flatten the sides while the biscuit is still soft.

Chocolate bottoms are optional, and honestly I prefer these biscuits plain. The chocolate can overpower the buttery caramel and toasted oat flavors that make a Hobnob worth baking in the first place. If you do add it, use good quality chocolate so it earns its place.

For reference, the source nutrition for one cookie is about 216 calories, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of protein, 11 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, 84 milligrams of sodium, and 19 milligrams of cholesterol.

More Classic British Desserts to Make

If you enjoy baking British classics, these are a few more to add to your list: Aussie Crunch, which is a coconut chocolate slice, mini Victoria sponge cakes, mincemeat tarts, and custard creams.

Let’s Connect

If you make these chocolate Hobnobs, I would love to see them.

Tag the blog on social media so I can share your bake. I am the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog, and my goal is simple: to inspire you to cook with joy and to create memorable moments around the table.

10 Appetizer Recipes From Around The World

If you like collecting recipes from different cuisines, appetizers are a great place to start. Around the world, small plates and starters do the same job. They wake up the appetite and set the tone for the meal that follows.

Think of Spanish tapas, Italian bruschetta and arancini, Greek mezze with dips and olives, Indian samosas and pakoras, Chinese dumplings, Japanese edamame and gyoza, Mexican guacamole with chips, Middle Eastern hummus and baba ganoush, Thai fresh spring rolls, and French gougeres.

Pick one or two for your next gathering, add a plate of these oat biscuits for dessert, and you have a table worth lingering over.

FAQs

Chocolate Hobnobs Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Homemade Chocolate Hobnobs Recipe: British Crunchy Oat Biscuits (Cookies) This is my take on the classic British chocolate Hobnob, a crunchy oat cookie that is only lightly sweet, with flavors of toasted oats, butter, and caramel. It is a copycat of the McVitie’s chocolate Hobnob biscuit, and it comes together in less than an hour with ingredients you probably already have in the pantry.

• Total Time: 0 min
• Yield: 14 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients
125 grams old-fashioned rolled oats
125 grams unsalted butter
20 grams golden syrup
125 grams golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
125 grams all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
125 grams good-quality milk chocolate

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Instructions
1-Preheat the oven to 350F: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper.
2-Pulse the oats 3 times (for 1: Pulse the oats 3 times (for 1 second each pulse) in a food processor (don’t overdo it!).
3-Melt together the butter and golden syrup: Melt together the butter and golden syrup in a large microwave-safe bowl or in a double boiler, whisking to combine. Whisk in the golden caster sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy (TIP: if it’s not turning thick and glossy, heat it briefly in microwave or double boiler after adding the sugar, but don’t overdo it). Whisk in the vanilla. Add the pulsed oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon (if using) to the bowl with the butter mixture. Stir to combine (TIP: the cookie dough will seem a bit gritty and dense; which is normal).
4-Use a 1: Use a 1.5-tablespoon scoop to measure out the dough (slightly compacting the dough into the scoop when you measure), and roll each into a ball (compact the dough with your hands as you roll it so it forms a nice round shape).
5-Arrange the dough balls spaced evenly apart: Arrange the dough balls spaced evenly apart on the baking trays. Slightly flatten each dough ball. Bake until the cookies are golden to your liking, about 14 to 16 minutes.
6-Let the cookies cool completely (about 20: Let the cookies cool completely (about 20 minutes). Once cool, melt the chocolate and spread it evenly across the bottom of each cookie. Let the chocolate set before serving or storing.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

• Prep Time: 25 min
• Cook Time: 15 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1cookie
• Calories: 216kcal
• Sugar: 15g
• Sodium: 84mg
• Fat: 11g
• Saturated Fat: 6g
• Carbohydrates: 29g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 3g
• Cholesterol: 19mg