Robyn's hokey pokey bikkies

One of my favourite recipes growing up, was Mum's hokey pokey bikkies. Recently I went home to New Zealand for a holiday & enjoyed flicking through Mum & Nanas' recipe books for inspiration.  I took photos of lots of recipes, which I can't wait to share with you all. It was like a trip down memory lane for me as I stumbled upon recipes from my childhood. Recipes that I had forgotten about, including these hokey pokey biscuits. It occurred to me that I had never made these myself, so what better time to give them a go & share the recipe with you.

Like many of Mum & Nanas' recipes, the ingredients for these bikkies are basic & the recipe is simple to make.  The biscuits are a little bit crunchy, with a slightly chewy centre. They really do have the flavour of hokey pokey, that lovely toffee, caramel-y flavour with a hint of fizz from the baking soda. I do hope you give these a go & enjoy them as much as I do.

Fun fact: when you add baking soda to the golden syrup & milk, it will instantly froth up. This is because baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. When baking soda is added to a liquid containing an acidic ingredient, in this case the milk, bubbles of carbon dioxide are released.

Makes approx. 28 biscuits.

Ingredients

1/2 lb softened butter (this equates to 226 grams)

1 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons milk

2 cups of plain flour 

2 dessertspoons of golden syrup

2 teaspoons baking soda

What to do

1. Pre-heat your oven to 160C fan or 180C static.
2. Line two large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
3. Soften your butter by zapping it for short bursts in the microwave. Watch that it doesn't melt.
4. Add the sugar to the butter & cream until pale & fluffy (you can do this by hand with a whisk or, take the easy option & use a hand held or free standing electric mixer). 
5. Heat golden syrup & milk in a small saucepan over a medium heat. You're really just wanting the golden syrup & milk to melt in together, so watch that it doesn't burn. Remove from heat & add the baking soda. Mix until the baking soda is dissolved & frothy. 
6. Add the baking soda mix to the butter & sugar. Mix well.
7. Add the flour & mix everything together until well combined. 
8. Roll the mixture into heaped teaspoonful balls & place on the baking tray - leaving a gap of at least 4-5 cm in between. Press each one lightly with a fork. Don't flatten the biscuits too much, as they will flatten & spread in the oven. 
9. Bake for around 20-25 minutes - you want the biscuits to be a warm golden brown with lots of cracks in the top. Remember to rotate the trays in the oven if one tray is baking faster than the other.
10. Remove from oven & cool on a wire rack. 

My bikkies were a bit too close together on the baking trays, so most of them spread into their next door neighbour! If this happens to you, just wait until they have cooled slightly & then gently pull them apart before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.