With more shoppers turning away from ultra-processed snacks, a homemade chocolate biscuit recipe promises a cheaper and simpler alternative to popular supermarket brands. The recipe, shared by Steffan Rhys, makes 10-12 biscuits from six basic ingredients, plus two optional extras, and takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.
Cheaper than Hobnobs
Each homemade biscuit costs around 9p, compared with roughly 16p for a McVitie's Chocolate Hobnob. According to Rhys, the shop-bought version contains far more ingredients and can reasonably be described as ultra-processed.
Rhys said he was surprised by how simple the biscuits were to make and how good they tasted. He also noted that his children loved them, which he described as the tougher test.
What you need
The ingredients are:
- 140g self-raising flour
- 140g brown sugar
- 140g oats
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 140g unsalted butter
- 100g dark or milk chocolate
- 2 tbsp honey or golden syrup (optional, for sweetness and chew)
- Pinch of salt (optional, to bring out the sweetness)
Method
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Melt the butter, then add it to the mixture along with the honey or syrup, if using.
- Divide the mixture into roughly 12 balls.
- Lay the balls on a lined baking sheet and flatten them.
- Bake at 180C for 12-15 minutes until golden.
- Leave the biscuits to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate and top each biscuit with it.
- Put the biscuits in the fridge to set.
The result is an oaty chocolate biscuit that Rhys says is most comparable to McVitie's Chocolate Hobnobs. For those who prefer digestives, a separate taste test by colleague Mia compares supermarket digestives with leading brands.
