Oat Biscuits

Oat biscuits are a classic bake, always a popular biscuit in the biscuit tin, and for good reason. Made with store cupboard ingredients, this easy egg free biscuit recipe is loved by young and old. Delicious with a cup of tea or glass of milk, these are biscuits that are made for dunking!

Jump to:

• Why we love this biscuit recipe
• Ingredients notes and substitutions
• How to make this oat biscuit recipe
• FAQ
• My recipe tips
• Variations
• Storage
• More easy biscuit recipes
• Oat Biscuits

Why we love this biscuit recipe

• I have been making this recipe for years as these easy oat biscuits are quick to make, last for ages in the tin, and can be frozen too.
• Oats are a delicious and budget friendly ingredient, and make the best cookies / biscuits, from flapjacks or oaty biscuits.
• These east oat biscuits are a biscuit that I love to make as they are a simple biscuit recipe that takes just minutes to prepare and is a melt and mix recipe.
• They travel well, so are great biscuits for taking on a picnic, packing in a lunchbox or grabbing for an after school snack on the way to sport lessons.
• Like Smarties cookies, Scottish shortbread, and bourbon biscuits, they are an egg free cookie.

Ingredients notes and substitutions

• Oats – rolled oats or porridge oats.
• Flour – I use wholemeal flour as I like the slight nuttiness it adds to the biscuits which reminds me of a Hobnob. You can use white flour if you prefer.
• Sugar – White sugar and soft brown sugar provides a crispness but also a slight chew.
• Golden syrup – this light inverted sugar syrup is a pretty common ingredient in many British cakes and bakes, the most popular brand being Tate and Lyle. You can get CSR golden syrup in Australia, or use supermarket own brand of syrup.
• Butter – you can use margarine if you prefer.
• Bicarbonate of soda – aka baking soda. Helps create a light cookie.
• Baking powder – adds extra lift to create light cookies, and also creates a soft oat cookie with a slight chew.

How to make this oat biscuit recipe

For full recipe and ingredient quantities, please scroll down to recipe card at end of post.

1. Mix the flour, oats, baking powder and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter/margarine, soft brown sugar, white sugar and golden syrup over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally to help the sugar dissolve. Don’t let it boil (although if it starts to boil, don’t worry).

3. Take the butter and sugar mixture off the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda then stir, as you stir it should fizz up and look like the picture on the left below.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

5. Leave to cool slightly for a couple of minutes – the biscuit dough will thicken as it cools and therefore be easier to roll into balls.
6. Take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into a ball between your hands, around the size of a walnut or golf ball.

7. Place the biscuit dough balls on 2 baking sheets lined with baking paper, leaving a gap of 2-3 cm / 0.75 – 1.2 inches between them.
8. Flatten the balls gently with a fork. Towards the last balls the fork will begin to stick slightly, you can gently pull it off, or if it is sticking too much and breaking the biscuit dough, give the fork a quick rinse under the tap and dry before using it again.

9. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are light golden. Leave on the tin for a couple of minutes then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

FAQ

My recipe tips

• On the day they are baked the oat biscuits are crunchy, but over the next days they soften slightly. Whilst still firm, they will not have quite that crispy crunch.
• Don’t use too much bicarbonate of soda as too much will cause the biscuits to have a bitter taste.
• Wait a few minutes after they have come out of the oven before you move them to a cooling rack as they are quite delicate when warm.

Variations

• Chocolate – drizzle 80g (2.5 oz) of melted milk chocolate or dark chocolate over the cooled biscuits. You could also use a combination of the two.
• Raisins or sultanas – add 80 g (½ c) of raisins or sultanas to the dough – stir in to the dry ingredients.
• Cinnamon – stir in ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon in with the flour.

Storage

• Room temperature: Store the biscuits in an airtight container/tin for up to 5 days.
• Freeze: Cool the biscuits completely, then wrap well in baking paper or baking paper, and place in a sealable plastic bag or container with a lid to help prevent freezer burn. If you wrap them individually in baking paper then you can easily take out as many as you need at a time.

More easy biscuit recipes