A heart-felt "thank you" to all who offered assistance with my Lyle's Golden Syrup search...

M

marilynfl

Moderator
to make authentic-tasting oatmeal Hobnobs.

I had been looking in my immedate area since we have so many British and Canadian visitors, but with no luck. Misplaced_in_AZ saw my post, located them at World Market and mailed me a few bottles. They just arrived and I am thrilled. The taste really is unique...very thick with butterscotch overtones. Misplaced and I are kindred spirits when it comes to Hobnobs.

In addition, I also received kind offers of assistance from barb_b, Lana_in_Fl, Beth, as well as Pat_in_NoCAL to locate the Golden Syrup. Gay_R supplied a substitute recipe which I plan to test now that I have a true control for comparison.

I am most grateful for the warmth and generosity of this site. It truly is a family.

After working in a spreadsheet with Hobnob data, I did a cursory baking test last night using the Real Stuff. I am darned pleased with the first attempt. Not quite as crunchy as real Hobnobs and there a bit too much rising agent taste, but for a cookie that is 60% rolled oats and whole wheat...I'm happy.

Will keep you posted with future test results.

Again, many thanks to each of you!

PS: I used joanie's crunchie recipe method of melting the butter and syrup together and then adding the baking soda...which causes it to foam up. Hers is a British recipe and so are the Hobnobs, so that's why I did it. But...can anyone tell me the purpose of this...foaming it rather than adding the powder to the dry ingredients? Am I expending the "rising-ness" of the agent by adding it to a hot liquid before the baking even takes place? Is it just for color? I actually don't want the cookie to rise...the original is a flat as my chest in 1963, so I don't need it for that. However, the ingredient list from the package lists both Sodium Bicarbonate and Ammonium Bicarbonate. It also uses Palm oil, while I just used butter. Would that change affect the crunchiness?

 
I think butter adds to the crunchiness of cookies. If I want softer cookies, I usually add some

shortening with the butter, so if you wanted crispy then using all butter would be the ticket. If you do find a recipe that requires the baking ammonia, my Mom found hers at the pharmacy.

 
HI Mar....I see that HobNobs....

are a Brand o biscuit....made by MacVities...oat nobblies coated in chocolate. No wonder I have not heard of nor could I find a recipe in any of my English cook books.
I am intrigued to see how they will turn out and to read your account (which always has me in hysterics).....

The crunchies I made to my Mum's real recipe turned out very like hers do but my camera is at the fix-it shop. So I will have to make some more and post photos when the camera is back.....

Looking forward to hearing/reading about the hobnobs

 
Looking forward to your thoughts on hobnobs....How are they different from a flapjack? I have

ingredients at hand, just purchased today some "Fresh" oatmeal, will be trying to get the chewy type of bar, vs a crumble....
((Tx to Misplaced for sending Mar some Golden Syrup!! Will be fun!!))

Please keep me posted!!
Best,
Barb
P.S. Not sure if you went on their site, but lyles has a website with recipes; including pics...Did not peruse it entirely, but the chicken looked fabulous!!

http://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/LylesGoldenSyrup/Recipes/default.htm

 
barb, I'm not sure what an authentic "flapjack" is, but a hobnob is a crunchie cookie

made from oats and whole wheat....and not too sweet. There is also a variation which has chocolate coating on top. Those are almost impossible to stop eating. I think those are called 'digestives".

This version is chocolate-less.

 
is this of the Peak Freens(sp) variety---found only in Canada? love those PF products!

We do get a few of those prducts up here in Alaska.

 
Ah yes, digestives. Plain, or coated with milk or dark choc (in which case they're curiously called

"family digestives," as if maybe single people don't eat chocolate?). No oats though. I think the English also call them whole-meal biscuits. Didn't know they were related to hobnobs. The only hobnobs I can picture are found in British-import shops.

Digestives (sans the chocolate) are great with butter and honey, and with sharp cheeses.

 
YES!!! The are flapjacks in the North...but to us down in Southern Africa Flapjacks were ......

very like the American pancake....and now I find that the flapjack of my youth is also very like a Dutch breakfast pastry .....and one can buy these in packs like one can buy crepes (or in our parlance...pancakes...in packs) It can be all so confusing....LOL!

There is also another Dutch pastry which I am posting found on the web, similar to recipes I have used to make these..."Oliebollen"

1 lemon
1 sour apple*
500g flour
75g raisins*
1/2 litre milk
20-25g fresh yeast (or one small package which is approx. 7g)
50g chopped candied peel*
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation

-Wash the lemon, dry it, and grate the peel. Chop the lemon in half and squeeze the juice in a glass.
-Peel the apple, chop it in 4 pieces, remove the core. Cut the 4 parts into tiny little pieces, put them in a bowl and mix them with the lemon juice.
-Wash the raisins, and let them dry out.
-Heat the milk in a saucepan until it's tepid.(max 40°C, so don't let it boil!)
-Crumble the fresh yeast, mix it with the sugar and 100ml tepid milk in a bowl, and stir until it's a nice smooth mixture.
-Mix the flower with the salt in a big bowl. Make a little hole in the centre, and pour the yeast mixture into it. After that add the (tepid)milk that is left into the same hole. Mix it with a hand blender or a spoon until it's a nice smooth mixture.
-Mix the grated lemon peel, the apple pieces (with the lemon juice), the raisins, the chopped candied peel and the cinnamon into the mixture.
-Cover the bowl with some foil and let the batter stand (rise) for about an hour on warm spot.

Heat the deep-frying fat until it reaches 180ºC. Now, you can do the next step with a soup spoon (a deep big one). Stick the spoon in the heated fat for a couple of seconds; this will prevent the batter from sticking to the spoon. Use the spoon just as you would use it to serve soup. Make sure the spoon is filled with the batter, and carefully dip it into the oil/fat. Repeat this, but don't have more than 4 of them into the oil at the same time (this also depends on the size of your pan). Fry the 'oliebollen' for about 8-10 minutes until they are nice gold brownish.(rotate the them with a fork after 4 minutes, so the whole thing gets fried equally).

Repeat this step until the all of the batter is used.)

 
I am so glad....

I often feel that the recipes I offer don't work out...and it is true as sometines I use the SA ingredients and then the American ingredients and while the later are good it is not necessarily a recipe one would rave about...Flour is one and now it deff is the fact of Golden syrup and JUNGLE oats!!!!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top