McVitie's Gluten Free Milk Chocolate Hobnobs: The Coated One

Chocolate on one side of a rough oat biscuit is how the Hobnob earned its place in British tins, and this version brings that pairing to a gluten-free kitchen. It is labelled gluten free by McVitie's, and it tends to vanish faster than anyone expects.

How it compares with the plain gluten-free Hobnob

We stock both gluten free Hobnobs, and they suit different moments. The plain one keeps the toasted oats at the front and is the everyday biscuit. This one adds a full face of milk chocolate, creamy and sweet more than cocoa-rich, and it is usually the first to disappear from the tin. The coating also makes it the sweeter of the two, so it wants an unsweetened cup.

Taking the gluten out changes a Hobnob more than it changes a smooth biscuit, because the open, craggy structure is the whole character. The crumb is more delicate than in the wheat Hobnob, and here the chocolate earns its keep: once set, it acts as a rigid backing that holds the oats together better than the uncoated gluten-free version can manage.

What the label says

Per the published allergen statement, it contains gluten-free oats, milk and soya, and may contain egg and nuts. Oats also contain avenin, a protein that some people with coeliac disease react to as well. The gluten-free declaration is the brand's own, so a coeliac household, or a nursery with its own allergen rules, should read the physical pack rather than any web page.

The other number worth reading is the weight. Free-from packs usually run small, and this one is 150g. In a mixed kitchen everyone likes a chocolate Hobnob, not just the person who needs it gluten free, so the pack can be empty before the one it was bought for gets a look in. Buy two and put one out of sight.

Dunking, storing and baking

Without gluten there is less to bind the crumb once it is wet, so it softens faster than a wheat Hobnob. Dip only the bare oat edge, for a second at most, keeping the chocolate out of the tea. Pair it with a firm black tea taken with a dash of milk or none, or a black coffee; the chocolate already brings the sweetness, so the cup should bring the bitterness.

Keep the pack cool and dry, away from the oven, with the wrapper folded shut or the biscuits tipped into a tin; warmth turns milk chocolate grey and damp softens the oats. Skip the fridge, where the chocolate turns waxy. In a gluten-free kitchen it is also a useful baking biscuit; crush it cold with melted butter for a cheesecake base that brings its own chocolate, or break it into a fridge cake.

The packs we stock

• McVitie's Gluten Free Milk Chocolate Hobnobs Biscuits, 150g (barcode 5000168195162)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for McVitie's Gluten Free Milk Chocolate Hobnobs Biscuits, 150g (barcode 5000168195162) says it contains gluten-free oats, milk and soya, and it may contain egg and nuts. Oats contain avenin, a protein some people with coeliac disease also react to. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to drink with it

• Yorkshire Tea Original Loose Leaf Tea, 250g: A loose leaf everyday black tea brewed strong in the pot, with the tannin to cut through a full chocolate face.
• Twinings English Breakfast Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g: A breakfast tea for a quick mug, taken with little or no milk so the cup brings bitterness rather than more sweetness.
• L'Or Espresso Ristretto Coffee Pods, 10 Pods 52g: A ristretto pod, small and concentrated, to supply the bitterness a sweet coated oat biscuit wants.
• Tetley Redbush Pure, 40 Tea Bags 100g: A plain redbush for anyone off black tea, letting the toasted oats come through the chocolate.

Elsewhere in the McVitie's range

• McVitie's Club Layers Orange, 39g
• McVitie's Club Mint Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 Bars 154g
• McVitie's Club Orange Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 Bars 154g
• McVitie's Club Salted Caramel Flavour Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 x 22g
• McVitie's Dark Chocolate Digestive Biscuits, 266g
• McVitie's Digestive Pink Raspberry & Cream Flavour, Limited Edition, 232g

The full range is on the McVitie's brand page.

FAQ

How do the gluten free milk chocolate Hobnobs differ from the plain gluten free ones? They add a face of milk chocolate, which makes them sweeter and gives the fragile oat crumb a firm backing. The plain version keeps the oats to the fore.

Do they contain milk? Yes. The published allergen statement lists gluten-free oats, milk and soya, and says they may contain egg and nuts.

Can you dunk gluten free chocolate Hobnobs? Briefly. Dip the bare oat edge for about a second and keep the chocolate out of the tea.

How big is the pack? 150g, which is small by biscuit standards, so a shared household may want two.

Can I bake with them? Yes. Crushed cold with melted butter they make a chocolate cheesecake base, or break them into a fridge cake.

Curator's note: Dip the oat edge, never the chocolate, and pour the tea strong with barely any milk. Then put the second box somewhere nobody else looks. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: McVitie's Gluten Free Milk Chocolate Hobnobs: The Coated One

More from the tea wiki

• Tea and Biscuits
• Biscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Tea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)
• Tea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles
• Tea with Chocolate: Pair by Cocoa Percentage
• Tea and Chocolate Pairing
• Allergens in tea: how to read the label

Download as PDF