Hobnobbing with Oat couture

Last week saw the 25th anniversary of my mothers passing and  I have spent many recent hours reminiscing. Growing up beside her in our kitchen and absorbing her recipes, learning her often wayward methods, and culinary tricks. Of course it has brought to mind many of my favourite things, feeling this nostalgia. One of them was these wonderful oat cookies she used to bake.I couldn´t get enough of these as a child. As fast as they came out of the oven I was a munchin munchkin, barely allowing them time to cool on the rack. Her version was cooked as a tray bake which she then cut up into long rectangular slices. For the reincarnation I made them as regular round cookies, and surprising  myself, they turned out like that most popular of British biscuits, the hobnob.I haven´t baked biscuits or cookies all summer, but with the afternoons drawing in and the main ingredient
being oats, I convinced myself that these would be good, and with halloween just around the 
corner that it was time to start baking comforting goodies again.
This recipe is so simple and easy and quick to make. The thespian likes his chocolate and I thought like a florentine, digestive, or hobnob these would lend themselves to the addition of chocolate backing, and I just couldn´t resist running the tines of a fork through the chocolate to give them that florentine signature.

Oat Biscuits

makes 12-18 cookies

150g plain flour

120g Oats

60g golden caster sugar

tsp baking powder

60g lard

60g butter

1/4 cup honey

Preheat the oven to 180c 

Cream fats sugar and honey until well combined.Add the dry ingredients and form a dough.

Make 12 equal sized balls or 18 if you want really large biscuits.I made 14 balls which were the sizeof regular hobnob.Line abaking tray with parchment and press the balls flat to 1 cm thick rounds.a cookie cutter helps here.Bake for 15-20 minutes until starting to brown around the edges.Transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes.If you want to apply chocolate wait until the biscuits are completely cool