These Hokey Pokey Biscuits are a classic New Zealand recipe! Made with only 4 basic ingredients... they're quick, easy and so, so delicious!
If you have butter, golden syrup, brown sugar and self-raising flour on hand, you can have these biscuits prepared, baked and ready to eat in just 20 minutes.
When I was young, my Mum used to make Hokey Pokey biscuits all the time, I guess because they were a quick and simple biscuit recipe that kept us kids happy!
The original recipe for these biscuits was from the NZ Edmonds Cookbook that every New Zealander grew up with. Now, this recipe is not the original Edmonds one, but it is just as good as I remember - and only requires 4 ingredients! So....Easy....
Another NZ classic biscuit from this cookbook is crunchy chocolate Afghans made with cocoa and cornflakes - you really MUST try them!
Hokey pokey is what we, in Australia, would call honeycrunch or honeycomb flavour, and these hokey pokey biscuits get their beautiful caramel flavour from the combo of brown sugar and golden syrup.
Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
There's nothing better than a batch of warm cookies out of the oven, especially when they have a comforting, caramel like flavour.....
- One bowl - 4 ingredients - that's it! Just butter, golden syrup, brown sugar and flour - melt and mix together, roll into balls and bake - how easy is that? Prepped and baked in 20 minutes!
- No fail - simple enough for kids to make - once the butter, sugar and golden syrup has been melted together, the kids can add the flour, mix, and then those little fingers can roll up and flatten the biscuits on a baking tray.
- Budget friendly and basic ingredients - I'm pretty sure you will have all 4 ingredients on hand!
- Perfect for lunchboxes - and definitely those hungry tummies after school too!
What You Need
Made with basic pantry staples, these Hokey Pokey biscuits require no fancy ingredients at all!
And I just love a one-bowl recipe - just as much as the kids love a wooden spoon to lick!
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method!
- Butter - either salted or unsalted is fine to use.
- Golden syrup - easily purchased in your supermarket, or you can substitute it for corn syrup, honey or maple syrup. You can even make your own golden syrup, however convenience really is the key here!
- Brown sugar - either light or dark brown sugar is fine to use. It is the brown sugar that gives a slightly caramelised flavour to these biscuits.
- Self-raising flour - use store-bought self-raising flour (also known as self-rising) or make your own by sifting 2 teaspoons of baking powder through every 1 cup of plain all-purpose flour.
Step By Step Instructions
Such a quick and easy recipe, these Hokey Pokey biscuits are prepped and baked in 20 minutes!
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method!
Step 1 - Melt
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan forced) and line two baking trays.
Place the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 50% power in 30 second bursts, stirring each time.
Microwave until the butter has melted and the brown sugar has dissolved, then set aside to cool.
Step 2 - Sift Flour
Sift the self-raising flour into the same bowl.
Fold the flour gently into the melted butter mixture until a soft dough forms.
Step 3 - Roll And Bake
Roll tablespoon sized balls and place on your baking tray.
Flatten slightly using a fork gently pressed on top.
Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
I did mention they are easy, didn't I?!
Expert Tips & FAQ's
The Edmonds Cookbook was first published in New Zealand in 1908. It has been republished many times over the years and contains some old favourite recipes that have survived the decades, as well as some updated ones to reflect more modern cooking tastes. The Edmonds Cookbook is a staple item in just about every Kiwi (New Zealand) home.
Golden syrup is readily available in supermarkets, however you can substitute it with corn syrup, honey or maple syrup. You can even make your own golden syrup if you like.
Gently fold through the self raising flour - don't overmix!
Store your Hokey Pokey biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (if they last that long!), or they can be wrapped well in an airtight container and frozen for up to 1 month.
Related Recipes
Whipping up a batch of biscuits can be so quick and easy, and really, you just can't compare store bought with the flavour of biscuits home-made with love!
Why not try some of these? The kids will love to help!
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4 Ingredient Hokey Pokey Biscuits
Ingredients
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 115 g (⅓ cup) golden syrup
- 60 g (⅓ cup) brown sugar
- 225 g (1½ cup) self-raising flour sifted
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
- Place the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar into a microwave-safe bowl and melt on 50% power, stirring each 30 seconds, until melted. Stir until all of the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.Note: Alternatively you can melt the ingredients in a saucepan on the stovetop over low heat.
- Sift the self-raising flour on top of the melted butter mixture. Stir until a soft dough forms.
- Form tablespoon sized balls with the dough and place onto the baking trays.Note: If the mixture is too soft to roll into balls, add a little more flour and mix again.
- Press the dough balls down lightly with a fork.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden.
- Leave on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (the cookies will soften over time but still as delicious!)
Thermomix Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
- Place the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar into the TM bowl. Melt for 2 minutes, 80 degrees, Speed 2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Melt for a further 2 minutes, 80 degrees, Speed 2. Leave to cool slightly.
- Add the self-raising flour to the TM bowl and mix for 20 seconds, Speed 2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat.
- Form tablespoon sized balls with the dough and place onto the baking trays. Press down lightly with a fork.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden. Leave on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (the cookies will soften over time but still as delicious!)
Notes
- Golden syrup - is readily available in supermarkets, however you can substitute it with corn syrup, honey or maple syrup. You can even make your own golden syrup if you like.
- For a crunchy 'outer' and a soft 'inner biscuit - gently fold through the self raising flour - don't overmix.
- Storing - store your Hokey Pokey biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (they will soften over this time), or they can be wrapped well in an airtight container and frozen for up to 1 month.
Tracy
Hey Bec, helllp! I've run out of brown sugar could I use caster sugar? Ta
Lucy
Hi Tracy, the brown sugar is what gives these biscuits their chewy caramel flavour! I wouldnt substitute it sorry!
Kelly
These are delicious!!!
Thanks for the great, easy peasy recipe. I love that there's no beating of butter and sugar!
The mixture was a bit too runny (couldn't form balls), probably because i didn't measure the butter or golden syrup properly, so just added more flour.
First tray i cooked for 10 minutes - perfect!
Second tray i cooked for 15 minutes - also perfect, just harder (which i love) and awesome for dunking.
Next time I'm going to add ginger, as these reminded me of the yummy hard ginger nut biscuits we love.
Thanks for the great, easy peasy recipe. I love that there's no beating of butter and sugar!
Cheers 🙂
Lucy
That's absolutely fantastic!!! Thanks for the lovely feedback!
Bron
I’d never tried or heard of hokey pokey biscuits but this is now a well, and regularly used recipe in our home. Thank you Lucy.
We roll them quite small (to fit in bento school lunch boxes) as an added bonus to this, they take no more than 6 minutes in the oven (we also appreciate them more soft).
My littlies help me making the biscuits, their favorite job being to press the fork on top, as such they are affectionately named “stripey biscuits”.
The biscuits freeze remarkably well and we keep the freezer stocked so we can add these little treats easily and quickly over the school term. We do also make larger ones as an even bigger treat by using these for ice cream sandwiches, delicious.
Lucy
That's absolutely fantastic to hear Bron!! Thank you for all your feedback and tips!
Monica Seet
So so yummy. We love this recipe with the addition of powdered ginger to give it a bit of a kick.
Lucy
How delicious!!
Kathryn
Hi, the NZ recipe uses baking soda to make a hokey pokey type mixture (milk and syrup melted together and then add baking soda and it foams up) that you mix into creamed butter and sugar. I made some this morning, delicious. I haven’t tried this recipe. Yet!