Oh, I love McVities HobNob cookies, but they are a bit scarce in Utah and also a bit on the pricey side. My sister, Tonya, and I have talked about making some at home for a while, so yesterday I did. I hunted for a recipe online and found this one  (at a blog called Oggi that I will have fun exploring now- yay!) on Pinterest. I changed it just a bit and here is what I did:

Homemade “HobNobs”

• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats, pulsed in a food processor a few times or chopped up a bit with a chef’s knife
• 1-3/4 cups Graham flour- I used Bob’s Red Mill
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1 small pinch of Ceylon cinnamon- if you only have Cassia cinnamon use a smaller pinch as Ceylon is milder or leave it out- as you prefer
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup light brown or palm sugar- you’ll have to grate the palm sugar if you use it
• 2-1/2 Tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1-1/3 cup Guittard Oro Bittersweet ribbon chocolate or other good quality chocolate

Mix the oats, Graham flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the butter, sugar and golden syrup until the sugar dissolves and the mixture lightens a bit. Take off of the heat and add the baking soda and vanilla. Be careful as it will foam up and sputter. Stir well and then add to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix with a heatproof spoon or spatula until incorporated. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Use a 1-7/8″ scoop (fully packed and leveled off) to place mounds of the cookie dough onto the parchment, leaving space for them to spread a bit on baking. Or you can roll into about 20 uniform balls with your hands. Flatten the mounds down with a glass or your hands and try to make them of an even thickness (about 1/4″) and pressing any bits that flake off back into a circle shape. * I think next time I will roll into a fat log and try them as slice and bake after a good chill- I am sure it would work fine. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. They will still be a bit soft when you remove them from the oven but will crisp up on cooling. Leave on the pans for 5 or so minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to completely cool.

Temper the chocolate or just melt it depending on your ambition. I did a quick temper by melting 3/4  of it in the microwave and then blending in the remaining 1/4 of the chocolate until it is thoroughly melted too. Spoon a tablespoon or so onto the top of each cooled cookie and spread with an offset spatula or knife. You will probably have chocolate left over. Yeah like that’s a problem. 🙂 Cool until the choc sets up and enjoy. Makes about 20.

Hope you enjoy!

xox

Gabi