Hampshire’s Open Sight charity celebrated 100 years of support for visually impaired people across the county this week with a Covid-safe on-line drinks party. While I’m keen, booze at 1130 seemed a bit excessive so a hot drink (not toddy) was the answer. The great and good said their pieces and, most remarkable, the scale and scope of support activities for local people received great coverage.
I’m playing just a small part: the monthly cooking demonstrations. Last year culminated in the free Christmas recipe booklet https://www.pennymelvillebrown.com/free-christmas-cookbook/
. This year we are going Back to Basics to increase kitchen-confidence. The next session at 1030 (London time) on Valentine’s Day 14 February is all about preparing fruit for a super baked salad https://baked-fruit-salad-open-sight.eventbrite.co.uk
We did vegetables last month https://youtu.be/WCztho-h0_Y
These very simple biscuits would go with both the hot drink and hot fruit salad:
Honey Hobnobs.
130g honey.
112g butter.
160g self-raising flour.
160porridge oats.
half tablespoon bicarbonate of soda.
Melt the honey and butter on a gentle heat and cool slightly while weighing the other ingredients into a bowl.
Pour the honey mixture onto the dry ingredients.
Mix thoroughly and form into walnut-sized balls (about 18).
Place the balls three fingers apart on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
Cook for 12-14 minutes at 180C, Gas4 until golden
Allow to cool (if you can wait!): the edges will be crisp and the centres soft, not too sweet.
My Tips:
My adaptation of Louise’s recipe via Karen!
These biscuits cry out for variations: add some crushed hazelnuts; chopped crystallised and powdered ginger; desiccated coconut and chopped glace cherries; other dried fruit; orange zest; chocolate pieces; dip in chocolate – there’s no end to the invention possible.
If you don’t want so much honey which makes a less sweet biscuit, adjust the recipe by replacing the honey with 112g caster sugar that is added to the bowl of flour (reduce to 112g), oats (reduce to 112g) and bicarbonate of soda (reduce to a quarter tablespoon). Add a half tablespoon each of syrup and water when melting the butter and then carry on from there.
