I exactly remember the moment I tasted those biscuits at my friend’s for the first time. It was love at first bite. A thick, dense layer of oats to sink your teeth in. Crunchy & sweet. No super exciting flavours, but down-to-earth. So easy, so quickly made, just a few ingredients. It was this honest simplicity which had me at hello. Obviously I couldn’t hide my fascination and now every time I visit my friend, there’s a box full of these goodies…Oops. I got the recipe and just added some candied ginger, to make it spicy for Christmas time. And I use margarine instead of butter to keep it vegan. Some dark chocolate to add a little indulgence. It’s from a friend from England, so measurements are in ounces this time.
For one baking tray you need:
- 8 oz margarine
- 8 oz rolled oats (a mixture of fine and rough)
- 5 oz ordinary flour
- 4 oz sugar (brown sugar adds a caramel/malty flavour)
- a good pinch of salt (sea salt flakes are nice here)
- half a tsp of baking soda
- 4 oz candied ginger
- 3.5 oz dark chocolate
Preheat the oven to 175 °C/350 °F. Melt the margarine in a microwave or a small sauce pan. Chop the candied ginger into fine pieces. Mix all the dry ingredients [oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking soda] together. Add the chopped ginger and stir the mixture. Pour the melted margarine over it and mix thoroughly with a fork until combined. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and spread the oat mixture evenly on it, about as thick as a finger. The easiest way is to use a knife and press the oats together firmly. You can throw the ingredients together in a hurry but take your time here, otherwise the biscuits will fall apart. Bake for half an hour. Cut the dough into long rectangles as soon as the tray is out of the oven. Let cool completely. Melt the chocolate and dip about half of the biscuits into it. Let dry on a grid. And then it’s time to start nibbling…
kuechlein 