After an unwelcome blast of snow last weekend I am loving the warmer weather!  Mairead was the crankiest kid this afternoon so I slapped a pair of boots on her and we headed to the woods; instant happy child!  We went on a little hike on the trails in the river valley and it felt so good to be somewhere that wasn’t pavement and playgrounds.  It was exactly what my soul needed today.

With Aaron working away I haven’t been baking much and I have been making a conscious effort to cut out more sugar lately.  But a strong craving for an old comfort food changed all that yesterday and I was rummaging through my pantry before I knew it.  But there’s oats in it so it’s healthy right?  Jokes.

I remember dozens of times growing up I would go to the local bakery with my Mom to pick up sweets for someone and I would always suggest these oat cakes and she would always say, “no, something better than that.”  I think what she really meant was something sweeter than that.  But then in high school I got a job at the local bakery and I ate more of these oat cakes than you could imagine.  There was always an odd number going into the bags and no one could figure out why as I stood behind the bakers wiping crumbs off my face.  I friggin’ love these things!

I’ve seen the recipe for these oat cakes called old fashioned oat cakes, Scottish oat cakes, and Nova Scotia oat cakes but to me these are very much a taste of home so I’m calling them Cape Breton oat cakes.  Enjoy folks!

Cape Breton Oat Cakes

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together oats, flour, brown sugar and salt.

Add butter and mix until fully blended.

Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to the oat mixture, mix well.

Form the dough into a ball and press into prepared baking sheet and roll into about 1/4 inch thickness (I made mine a little thicker so they weren’t too crispy and loved it).

Refrigerate for about 15 minutes to allow the dough to firm up.  Next, using a butter knife, score the dough drawing out 8-10 squares to make a cleaner cut once baked.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden.

While still warm, cut oat cakes following the lines you scored before baking and allow to cool.  Enjoy!

By Three Happy Folk

Adapted from The Travel Bite