What's an Oatcake?

It's a dense, oaty, hearty, not-too-sweet, but very tasty and satisfying muffin-like (only in its shape) little cake. They make a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. And the maple syrup gives them a delicious flavor.

I make them on the smallish side since they're so dense and anything larger would be too much in one serving.

Next time I make these I'm going to try it with coconut oil only and leave out the butter ... just to see if it makes much of a difference taste-wise. Pecans, or a mix of pecans and walnuts, are also good in these. The original recipe calls for spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour. I've made them with half spelt and half whole wheat pastry flour, which worked fine also.

The original recipe also calls for flax seeds instead of the flax seed meal I use. It's simply personal preference -- I prefer the meal consistency over tiny seeds that get stuck in my teeth!

The dry mixture:

The wet mixture ... melting coconut oil, butter, maple syrup, and sugar together:

Mixing wet with dry:

And you get oatcakes! 

Oatcakes

(ever-so-slightly adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day)

Note: Some of the measurements may seem a bit odd; that's because I halved the original recipe to make 12 small oatcakes.

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup spelt flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp flax seed meal
1/3 cup (generous, rounded 1/3 cup) chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
3 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3/8 cup maple syrup (or estimate 1/2 of 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

First, lightly toast the walnuts (or other nuts) in a 350-degree oven (will take 5 minutes or so).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Oil a standard 12-cup muffin pan (with coconut oil or butter).

Mix together the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, flax seed meal, and nuts in a medium bowl.

Melt together the coconut oil, butter, maple syrup, and sugar over low heat on the stovetop in a medium saucepan. Stir until the butter melts and the sugar has dissolved, not letting the mixture get too hot.

Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture and mix. Then add the lightly beaten egg and stir until well combined. Divide the mixture into the oiled muffin pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (my oven takes 27 minutes), until the edges are deeply golden. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then run a knife around the edges and lift out onto a cooling rack.