Chocolate hobnob-style biscuits (vegan)

It’s open to debate about which is the best ‘dunkable’ biscuit, but a hobnob-style bake certainly make a strong contender. We’ve created our very own chocolate-coated version (and made them vegan too), with oats and wholemeal flour for a more robust texture.

Go on – grab a cuppa and get dunking!

Ingredients

• 100g rolled oats

• 125g wholemeal flour, plus extra to dust

• 50g plain flour

• 100g unrefined golden caster sugar (we used Billington’s)

• 50g unrefined dark muscovado sugar (we used Billington’s)

• 100ml vegetable oil

• 2 tbsp golden syrup

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 2 tbsp boiling water

• 150g melted dark vegan chocolate

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/ gas 3. Mix the rolled oats, flours and sugars with a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl.

2. Put the oil and golden syrup in a large pan set over a medium heat and melt together. Remove from the heat.

3. Mix the bicarbonate of soda and boiling water in a small dish, tip into the warm oil/syrup and stir to combine – it will froth up. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough.

4. Roll spoonfuls of the dough into walnut-size balls. Space them roughly 5cm apart on the prepared baking trays and flatten slightly with the heel of your hand.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes until deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave on the baking trays for 5-6 minutes to firm up a little. Loosen with a palette knife, transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool (see Make Ahead).

6. Once cooled, spoon a little melted dark chocolate over each biscuit and spread with the back of a spoon, or use a knife or fork to create a ridged pattern (see tip).