White Chocolate Crunch Biscuits - RBOK 2

When I first saw the Caked Crusaders post for Syrup Crunch Biscuits, I was keen to make these most tempting sounding treats. I was planning on baking some to take away with us on holiday, but I stupidly didn't bookmark the post and then couldn't remember where I'd seen it. I'd even bought cornflakes specially, not something we normally have in the house; I had to fend off CT, who is rather partial to a bowl of them. As it happened the apple cake we took with us was plenty, so it's just as well I didn't find the recipe. Thankfully Baking Addict had also decided she liked the look of these biscuits and thus reminded me where I'd first seen them.

Vanessa Kimball got such an overwhelming response to her call for Random Bakes of Kindness last month that she's decided to continue with it as a regular event. Waking up early one stormy and rain drenched morning whilst still on leave from work, I thought of those poor staff down at the railway station. Having messed up my first attempt, this seemed like the perfect time to get a second chance at cheering them up. I needed to be quick so that CT could take them a batch on his way to work. Now, how to get the chocolate in? My first thought was to add chocolate chips, but remembering how well white chocolate had worked with the halva flapjacks which contained condensed milk, I thought I'd try that.

This is what I did:

• Melted 250g unsalted butter in a large pan.
• Added 200g condensed milk, 175g golden syrup and 100g white chocolate.
• Placed 175g cornflakes in a bowl and scrunched roughly with my hands to make slightly smaller flakes, but not dust.
• Added these to the pan together with 175g rolled oats.
• Sifted in 100g custard powder, 250g flour (half white, half wholemeal) and 2 tsp bicarb of soda.
• Mixed well then rolled tablespoonfuls into a ball with my hands and placed on lined baking trays - I put 8 on each 23 x 30 cm tray and had 36 balls all together. With only 2 baking trays, this took me quite a while.
• Flattened each ball slightly and pressed in a few crushed cornflakes into the tops.
• Baked at 180C for 10 minutes.
• Slid onto a rack to cool.

Delicate biscuits these are not - they are more of a cross between a biscuit and a cake and are quite substantial in size. But tasty they most definitely are - crisp on the outside and soft in the middle but with a cornflake crunch throughout. Surprisingly, they were not too sweet, perhaps because I was rather cautious with the syrup. CT informed me that the staff were delighted. I shall be very disappointed if my spies report back that he was spotted red handed scoffing the lot.