Hobnobs Oaty Cookies: The Hobnob Without a Coating

McVitie's Hobnobs Oaty Cookies with Milk Chocolate Flavour Chips

Take the chocolate off the top of a Hobnob and bake it into the dough as chips, and the famous name ends up on a quite different biscuit. The oat stays; almost everything about how it eats, keeps and travels changes.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

McVitie's Hobnobs Oaty Cookies with Milk Chocolate Flavour Chips, in summary: No coating, just milk chocolate flavour chips baked into the Hobnob oat dough. It travels and shares a tin well, tastes more of oat than a coated Hobnob, and suits a medium-strength tea.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

Take the chocolate off the top of a Hobnob and bake it into the dough as chips, and the famous name ends up on a quite different biscuit. The oat stays; almost everything about how it eats, keeps and travels changes.

Chips through the dough, nothing on top

A classic chocolate Hobnob carries its chocolate as a slab on one face. This cookie drops that altogether and scatters milk chocolate flavour chips through the oat dough, so the chocolate turns up in pockets rather than in every bite. Around them is coarse, toasted oat with a faintly nutty edge, more flapjack than flour biscuit in character, and that is what you mostly taste.

Note the wording on the pack: flavour chips, not chocolate chips. The distinction is a regulated one, and the full recipe for those chips is printed on the pack in your hands. The published allergen advice lists wheat and oats, which contain gluten, plus milk and soya, so an oat cookie is still no answer for a coeliac diet.

What the missing coating changes

No outer layer of chocolate means nothing to soften, smudge or rub off, so this is the Hobnob that copes with a warm room, a lunchbox or a car. Mixed into a biscuit tin, it leaves its neighbours clean, and it survives a trip in a bag without leaving half of itself on the wrapper. For picnics and packed lunches, that is the case for choosing it.

It is also noticeably less sweet than a coated Hobnob, since a scattering of chips adds up to far less chocolate than a full face of it; the published nutrition puts sugars at 27g per 100g. That is why the packet tends to empty faster than planned: no single mouthful feels like the end of the matter, so reaching for another seems entirely sensible.

A brief dunk and a gentler cup

It dunks, as any oat biscuit does, but briefly. Give it three seconds at most and accept a few crumbs, because oats take up tea quicker than a plain flour crumb, and the rim goes before the centre. Dip it decisively and lift it straight out rather than holding it under.

With less chocolate to balance, a heavy brew simply smothers the oat. A black tea of middling strength, softened with a little milk, keeps the toasted oat in front. For coffee, pour a plain black cup rather than an espresso; its bitterness meets the chocolate pockets instead of the oat, which takes the edge off the sweetness.

The packs we stock

McVitie's Hobnobs Milk Chocolate Flavour Chips Oaty Cookies, 155g (barcode 5000168007038)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for McVitie's Hobnobs Milk Chocolate Flavour Chips Oaty Cookies, 155g (barcode 5000168007038) says it contains wheat and oats (gluten), milk and soya. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Typical values per 100g	Per 100g
Energy	525 kcal
Fat	28.1g
of which saturates	13.5g
Carbohydrate	59.5g
of which sugars	27g
Fibre	4g
Protein	6.6g
Salt	0.7g

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

Twinings English Breakfast Loose Tea, 125g: Loose English Breakfast brewed to middling strength and softened with milk, so the toasted oat stays in front.
Glengettie Welsh Breakfast Tea, 80 Tea Bags 250g: An everyday breakfast brew for the lunchbox flask; keep it on the gentler side of strong for this cookie.
Nescafe Gold Blend Intense Instant Coffee, 190g: Made black, an instant coffee gives the plain bitterness that brings the chocolate pockets forward.
Tetley Redbush Vanilla, 40 Tea Bags 100g: Vanilla redbush for a softer afternoon cup that will not bury the oat.

Elsewhere in the McVitie's range

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

FAQ

Is this the same as a chocolate Hobnob? No. A classic chocolate Hobnob has chocolate on one face; this cookie has no coating and carries milk chocolate flavour chips inside the oat dough.

What do the words flavour chips on the pack mean? Pack wording is regulated and flavour has a specific meaning. The ingredient declaration on the current pack shows exactly what the chips are made from.

Is the oaty cookie a good dunker? Yes, briefly: about three seconds, then lift it out, and expect a few crumbs.

Will they make a mess in a lunchbox? Much less than a coated biscuit. With no chocolate on the outside there is nothing to melt onto the wrapper or smear over the rest of the lunch.

Are they less sweet than coated Hobnobs? Yes, noticeably, because the chips add up to far less chocolate than a whole coated face.

Curator's note: This is the Hobnob I would pack for a picnic every time. It comes out of the bag looking exactly as it went in. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: McVitie's Hobnobs Oaty Cookies with Milk Chocolate Flavour Chips

Field	Detail
Brand	McVitie's
Packs we stock	155g
Category	Cookies
Allergens (as published)	It contains wheat and oats (gluten), milk and soya.
Dunkable	Briefly, about three seconds
Best with	Medium-strength black tea with milk
Travels well	Yes, nothing on the outside to melt