Salty Oat Cookies

[takomabaker]

I have looked everywhere for a recipe for salty oat cookies? I buy them at Teaism in Washington DC and I have heard that Marvelous Market sells them as well.

[achevres]

Are you referring to oatcakes, such as Walker's Oatcakes? I would also love a recipe for these, but made without shortening.

[achevres]

OK, I found a few recipes for the oatcakes, if that is what you were looking for. This one has pictures. It calls for (just) one tb of lard. I have nothing against lard, but don't keep it on hand. I wonder if clarified butter could substitute. Also, what, specifically, is "medium oatmeal"? I know it is a grind of the whole oatmeal, but what would be the product in the US?

Scottish Oatcakes

[Rhea_S]

If you want something like McVities Hobnobs, there's a recipe in Nancy Silverton's Pastries from LaBrea that comes out very similar. There's also one that I've been wanting to try in Patricia Wells' At Home in Provence. I can PM you both recipes when I get home, or paraphrase and post to this thread. I think they're both called Oat Biscuits.

[Woods]

I found this on cooks.com:

1.5 c flour

1c sugar

1c crisco

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp bp

3 c quick oats

Mix, put in 9X13 pan and press down. Sprinkle with salt.

375 for 15-20 mins

Maybe its similar.

Woods

[Malawry]

Marvelous does indeed sell them, Takomabaker. It's just an ordinary oatmeal cookie with a sprinkling of coarse salt on the top. Not sure what version Teaism sells, nor do I have a recipe, but I thought I'd tell you you're right about there being a second salty oatmeal cookie in the DC metro area.

[takomabaker]

If you want something like McVities Hobnobs, there's a recipe in Nancy Silverton's Pastries from LaBrea that comes out very similar. There's also one that I've been wanting to try in Patricia Wells' At Home in Provence. I can PM you both recipes when I get home, or paraphrase and post to this thread. I think they're both called Oat Biscuits.

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I actually have both of those books, so unless someone else wants them posted I can look them up when I go home and save you the typing. Thanks for the direction...

[dexygus]

i tried a recipe at work for oatcakes that were pretty tasty. unfortunately, the recipe is at work. i'll try to remember to get it tomorrow.

[Rhea_S]

I had already typed one of the recipes out before I checked the postings, so here's the one based on the Silverton recipe.

Oat Biscuits

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons AP flour

½ cup stone-ground whole-wheat flour

3 cups rolled oats

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

8 oz unsalted butter, frozen and cut into 1-inch cubes

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Combine flours, oats, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar in a mixer using the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low until the consistency of fine meal. Make a well in the center, pour in the buttermilk and draw in the dry ingredients using one hand, mixing until combined. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to gather into a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm. Roll the dough out to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out biscuits using a 3-inch round cutter. Scraps can be gathered together and rolled out to make more biscuits. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, ½-inch apart. Chill for 10 to 15 minutes or until firm. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned. Yield: 50 biscuits

[dexygus]

well, i have the recipe from work, but it is definitely not a salty oatmeal cookie, if that's what you're looking for. it's more like the recipe rhea_s posted. let me know if you'd like it.

[ludja]

I found an interesting food website a while back called: "The Foody" specializing in foods and recipes of Great Britain. I thought they might have something like this.

Here is a link to two oatcake recipes; not sweet

staffordshire oatcakes

derbyshire oatcakes

The two recipes look similar...

(Be sure to check out the whole section on historic recipes too if you feel like browsing).

[kitwilliams]

Here is a link to two oatcake recipes; not sweet

staffordshire oatcakes

derbyshire oatcakes

The two recipes look similar...

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While the above recipes make a fabulous product (actually, this oatcake is specifically credited to North Staffordshire), it is very much like a crepe made hearty and sturdy with oat flour and leavened with a touch of yeast. The proverbial "they" say that every culture has its flatbread. This must be the British Midlands version. Oatcakes are delicious and usually filled with bacon, sausage, egg, cheese, mushrooms and brown sauce or variations thereof, or just a slathering of butter and jam for a sweet treat. I once visited North Staffordshire for the sole purpose of learning a bit about oatcakes. Little did I realize that I would wind up on both BBC radio and the BBC Midlands News because of my little venture.

Neither of these are the "cookie" for which Tacomabaker is searching. But I highly recommend North Staffordshire Oatcakes and visiting The Potteries in order to sample the real thing. Go to Hamil's Oatcakes in Stoke-on-Trent and order The Whopper with your choice of fillings. Another great shop is Glenn & Sue's. I particularly liked their Pikelets, a slightly thicker, slightly sweeter version of the oatcake -- great with butter and jam. Tell them Kit sent you -- it's been a few years so remind them that I'm the American woman who came through with BBC roving reporter, Terry, about seven years ago! What a terrific day that was... think I'll go whip up some oatcakes! So simple and good for you (very low fat) until you fill them with all the good stuff!

[ludja]

Thanks for the fascinating info kitwilliams!

That's true that the yeast should have been a tip off to me that these are not cookie-like!

Thank you much though for informing (at least me!) of something new. Sounds like the kind of food adventure I would love to check out when I get to England for the first time! --and maybe I'll try these at home also.

[Redsugar]

First of all, what are we proposing to use – oatmeal or rolled oats? If oatmeal, what grade? I purchase mine in small sacks from a grist mill situated about 35 miles outside of the city. The facility has a huge stone to grind the various grains into flours. The flavour is simply wonderful. Oatmeal is produced from grinding the kernels of oats; and remains nutritious because it retains the bran, kernel, and endosperm. Besides oatcakes, I use it to prepare the porridge that goes into my Maritime Brown Bread.

Oatmeal is available in several grades, the most easily obtainable for most shoppers is found in supermarkets and is known as “Scotch type” oatmeal. Coarser ground oats are commonly called “groats” and are sold at natural food stores. Oat groats cook in about 45 minutes, but you can buy steel-cut oats (the groats are cut in smaller bits); rolled oats are steamed & flattened groats which cook in about 15 minutes. Please note that oatmeal does not store indefinitely; with its high fat content, it easily acquires a bitter flavour.

Rolled oats is the much commoner form of oats, the coarse ground oatmeal being rolled out into flakes. It, too, comes in several grades: Old-fashioned, or “large,” is for slow cooking, as well as the quick-cooking and instant varities. Quick-cooking oats & instant oats have been steamed longer and cook in several minutes. For the purpose of breadmaking, the slower cooking type produces bread with the best nutty flavour and texture.

Recipes

The first baking instructions I’ll offer in this entry, are for basic oatmeal griddle cakes. These unsweetened griddle cakes are fundamental Scottish fare cooked by the traditional method. They can be cut, sprinkled w/ crushed coarse salt crystals, then baked on the top shelf of a hot oven; then left to dry with the door propped open.

1½ tsp salt

2-and-2/3 cups medium-ground oatmeal

1 oz bacon fat or lard

up to 10 fl oz boiling water

fine oatmeal for rolling out

Mix the salt into the oatmeal. Melt the fat in a little of the boiling water and stir into the oatmeal, gradually adding enough wter to make a soft dough. On a board sprinkled with fine oatmeal, thinly roll out the dough. Cut into triangles Cook on a fairly hot oiled griddle until the edges start to curl – about 5 minutes.

The next recipe is for those bakers who want to produce sure-fire popular oatcakes in volume. When I worked at a mid-sized resort in the late ‘90s, we baked these oatcakes at the end of every afternoon shift in order to supply next morning’s breakfast buffet. Later, they were packaged and sold in the gift shop for a healthy profit. I recall one day on which a Floridian tourist offered me $20 for the recipe because, he said, his wife just had to bake them at home. (Why not him, too?) Substitute the fats as dictated by your health-consciousness and/or budget.

6 cups oatmeal

6 cups flour

2 cups granulated white sugar

3 small tsps baking soda (not heaping)

2 teaspoons salt

1 lb 80% butter, softened

1 lb lard

Mix all ingredients and add water to desired consistency; it should not be wet, but you want a mixture pliable enough to roll out in a sheet pan. The above proportion amounts provide 3 sheets. We rolled the oatcakes from between ¼- and 1/3-inch thick. They were baked for approx. 12 min. in a 350° oven.

The following are my father’s fav. oatcakes, and when I visit my parents he will want a batch made. He freezes then, and eats one for breakfast each morning – unthawed!

2 cups oatmeal

2 scant cups flour

½ cup granulated white sugar

½ cup packed light-brown sugar

1 cup uns. butter (if preferred, you can use ½ cup each butter & vegetable shortening)

1 tsp soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water

1 egg, lightly beaten

Mix, roll out, cut into rectangles, and bake in a 325° oven.

The last two recipes are for the rolled-oats type. Experiment by using various sugars, such as turbinado & demerara. They were given to me at the resort by the exec. chef from his previous post at a country inn.

3 cups rolled oats

1½ cups flour

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup vegetable shortening

½ cup cold water

Cut into squares and bake at 350° until golden brown on the bottom.

On supermarket & import-foods shops, you’ll find rough oatcakes (such as those made by Walkers or Nairns) that contain bran. The last set of ingredients provide something along that concept of oatcake:

½ tsp baking soda dissolved in ½ cup boiling water; let stand till cool

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups bran flakes cereal

1¼ cups granulated sugar

1¼ cups vegetable shortening

Roll out the dough, cut into 2-inch squares, and bake in a 450° oven until quite golden. Serve w/ a small pitcher of cream, maple sugar, marmalade, and pour a nice cuppa.

[achevres]

Redsugar, thank you so much for the different recipes. I just need one clarification. Do you use the medium-grind oats in the recipes for the Floridian oatcake and your father's favorite oatcake? Is it like the Oatmeal of Alford (http://www.oatmealofalford.co.uk)? Thanks.