Crunchy oat biscuits are my own version of a popular well known brand of biscuits. As with most biscuits they are easy to make. Only one baking bowl is needed and no pans are required, so they don't generate too much washing up either (which has to be a big plus!). The quantities below are sufficient to make around 25 biscuits using a 7cm diameter biscuit cutter, but they can be made smaller or larger if you prefer.
Ingredients
- 150g butter at room temperature
- 150g Demerara sugar
- 100g runny honey (2 tablespoons approximately)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 150g wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 200g oats
Equipment needed to make crunchy oat biscuits
- Kitchen scales
- Large baking bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Metal baking tray/s
- Non-stick baking sheet/s
- 7cm diameter plain edged biscuit cutter
- Wire cooling rack/s
How to make crunchy oat biscuits
Weigh the butter (150g) and Demerara sugar (150g) into a large baking bowl. Cream together using a wooden spoon.
Add 2 level tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 150g wholemeal flour and 200g oats and mix together until evenly combined. The mixture is likely to look as though it is too loose but this is how it should be. Form the mixture into one mass using your hands.
Lay the non-stick baking sheet on the metal baking tray. Take some of the mixture and place inside a biscuit cutter on a tray and flatten with your fingers to form a biscuit shape, approximately 7 mm thick. Leave a space of around 2cm to 3cm between each biscuit. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
Cook in the centre of the oven at 180oC, 350oF gas mark 4 for around 10 minutes. If you have an Aga cook each tray of biscuits on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven with the cold plain shelf on the second set of runners. The biscuits will be ready to take out of the oven when they are just starting to turn slightly golden at the edges. They will still be soft at this stage but will harden as they cool. Leave on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Repeat with the next batch of biscuits until all the mixture is used up. You may need to cook the biscuits in 3 batches, depending on the size of baking tray used.
Tips
- The butter can be brought to room temperature by removing from the fridge ahead of starting to bake, or can be softened in a microwave using the appropriate setting.
- Before weighing the honey, heat the tablespoon in hot water or by placing in the flame of a gas ring so that the honey slides easily off the spoon.
- If you don't have a plain edged biscuit cutter you could use a fluted cutter upside down.
- The biscuits do not spread very much during cooking so you don't need to leave a large space between each biscuit. I suggest leaving a space of around 2cm to 3 cm.
- Don't be tempted to leave the biscuits in the oven too long as they will easily become overcooked. They will still be soft when they are ready to be taken out of the oven.
- The biscuits can easily be coated with melted cake chocolate to create a half coated chocolate version. I found that 100g cake chocolate was sufficient to coat around 9 biscuits. (7cm diameter).
You may also like to try chocolate chip and oat cookies, another simple recipe for delicious homemade biscuits.
Or you may wish to try lavender shortbread biscuits which make a perfect addition to afternoon tea.
Crunchy oat biscuits (homemade hobnobs)
Ingredients
- 150 g butter at room temperature
- 150 g Demerara sugar
- 100 g runny honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 150 g wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 200 g oats
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.
- Add the honey, vanilla essence, baking powder, flour and oats and mix well.
- Lay a non stick baking parchment on a metal baking tray.
- Place a biscuit cutter on the tray and spoon some of the mixture into the biscuit cutter and flatten with your fingers or a teaspoon to form a biscuit shape 7 mm thick.
- Repeat with the rest of the mixture leaving a space of 2cm to 3cm between each biscuit.
- Bake in batches in the centre of the oven at 180C, 350F, gas mark 4 until the biscuits are just starting to turn golden at the edges. This will take around 10 minutes but check regularly to avoid overcooking.
- Leave the cooked biscuits on the tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
robert
a bit sweet, but quick and easy.
I used salted butter, and added a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Judith
That sounds and good idea, and very tasty!
Jules
Delicious! They are a keeper. They don't store well, but freeze very well & fast to defrost, so I freeze and just take out what I want to keep them fresh and crunchy 😁
Judith
Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed them. Yes, they are perfect for freezing, I usually make a big batch and defrost as needed. 🙂
Emma
Can I use regular all purpose flour? I haven’t any wholewheat in at the moment 🙄
Judith
Yes, of course. This recipe will work well with all purpose flour, the biscuits will just have a slightly different flavour.
April | Chaos & Wine
These were delicious and my kids loved making them and cutting out the biscuits!
Judith
Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed them! It's great that your kids enjoyed making them too. 🙂
Jazzmin
One bowl recipes are my favourite! These crunchy oat biscuits look so addicting and delicious! I know that I will have to stop myself from eating the entire batch in one day. 😊
Judith
I find them delicious too! I often give some away or put some in the freezer, that way there aren't too many to eat in one go. 😁
Any
These look so crunchy that I can't wait to try them!
Judith
I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
Radha
I love anything with oats and have a weakness for cookies. These oat biscuits are a perfect treat for me and I love the addition of honey here. I need to try this.
Judith
I love oats and cookies too! I hope you enjoy these biscuits 🙂
DanC
Hi Judith -
I don't have any honey, so can I substitute golden syrup (and maybe reduce the demerara too as I don't want them too sweet) ?
Many thanks,
Dan
Judith
Yes, of course. Golden syrup can be substituted for honey, and the demerara can easily be adjusted to suit your taste. I hope you enjoy your biscuits 🙂
Odile
Quick cooking oats or old fashioned?
Judith
Use old fashioned oats (rolled oats) rather than quick cooking oats. Ordinary small oats work well in this oat biscuit recipe and there is no need to buy jumbo oats which are often more expensive.
Emma
I am struggling to get these to come out crunchy - they're crunchy round the edges but not in the centre. I am using an air-fryer, I thought it was the glass dish first so then did them on tin foil direct into the pan but still soft in the middle. I've even tried rebaking some for another five minutes, upside down but still soft in the middle. Where am I going wrong?
Judith
Hi Emma, thank you for trying this recipe. However, this recipe is for baking in a traditional oven and not an air fryer. All I can suggest is that you try baking them in an oven or look for a recipe specifically for using an air fryer.
Amrita Chugh
Hi! I really want to try this recipe, it looks lovely.
I have a small doubt. 2tbsp honey measures to approx 40-45gms. But the recipe mentions 100gms. which one should I work with ?
Judith
Hi Amrita, thank you for pointing this out. Use 100 grams honey. It should read "2.5 tablespoons approximately" instead of "2 tablespoons approximately", but it is more accurate to weigh. I hope you enjoy your biscuits! 🙂