Hogweed Hognobs (Oat Biscuits)
Recipe by Luke Jefford
A foragers take on a classic British biscuit. Perfect for tea dipping!
I've always found it quite funny us British are known as a nation of tea drinkers. Since our "English" breakfast tea leaves come from India, Africa and Sri Lanka. Says a lot about our past (dark) history of colonialism. Strangely, the term 'English tea' was coined in America. Even stranger still, the English black tea blend, is actually Scottish in origin. Anywho, enough geeky tea talk. More about the biscuits...
Hobnobs, for those who don't know, are a rolled oat biscuit or cookie. A favourite amongst Brits for dunking in hot drinks. There is an unwritten code for a good dunking biscuit. Hobnobs hold the best structural integrity for said purpose.
I've been dreaming about a hogweed biscuit for a while. Given they vaguely resemble an oat (not really), Hobnobs seemed a good fit. Hogweed seeds are a really unique spice in our wild British larder. Some say they taste like coriander, cardamom, orange, nutmeg, ginger. We think they're a flavour of their own. And, they work incredibly well with chocolate!
Ingredients
250g Self-Raising Flour
250g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
250g Porridge Oats
1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate Of Soda
250g Salted Butter
180g Golden Syrup
15g Dried Hogweed Seeds
Chocolate Topping (Optional)
150g 72% Dark Chocolate
30g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
15g Vanilla Bean Paste (optional)
50g Whole Milk
Method
Step 1
Combine Flour, Sugar, Oats and Bicarb in a bowl. If you have stand mixer, you can mix them in there. But, by hand is equally as good.
Step 2
Pop your butter, maple syrup and hogweed seeds in a pan and cook on a low heat until the butter has melted. Whilst not necessary, we cooked our butter until it started to brown, also known as ‘Beurre Noisette’. This added a nice nutty flavour to the biscuits.
Step 3
Combine both wet and dry ingredients together until even throughout. Again, machine or hands are both fine.
Step 4
Form into a couple of balls, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Step 6
Divide the mixture into small balls ready for baking. We went for sizes smaller than golf balls. But, this is entirely up to you. Pop the oven on to 160c.
Step 7
Flatten the balls using an object around the kitchen. A Plate is fine. And place onto a baking parchment lined tray.
Step 8
Cook in batches for anywhere between 14-19 minutes. The longer you leave them in the oven, the crunchier they will be. Dare I say, better for dunking.
Step 8
Once cooked, place them on to cooling racks where they will harden up.
optional chocolate step, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Add all of your ingredients (except the milk), to a double boiler or bain marie. This is essentially a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure that the water isn’t touching the bowl. And melt your chocolate. Add in the milk at the very end. Place a teaspoon of chocolate on top of each biscuit and flatten it out using the back of the spoon. Drag a fork over the top to create a nice texture. Leave to set.
