Grandad's sweet oatcakes

Good evening! Who doesn't love a bit of festive baking? If you follow me on Instagram then you will know where this blog post has come from – if not, let me explain.

This morning, I shared a photo of the cliffs at Eshaness and explained that it was a stormy day here in Shetland and that I was stuck at home with two snotty bairns so I planned on baking the Christmas oatcakes – we are massive cheese fans in this house, and Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the bumper annual cheese delivery from pong.com.

My lovely, engaging followers were quick to respond, and to message, asking that I share the recipe, so here it is. As many of my followers are not from the UK, a lot of are unfamiliar with this classic Scottish/Shetland recipe, still a store cupboard staple today.


So, as promised - here it is:

Ingredients:

~3 cups of medium oatmeal

~3 cups of self-raising flour

~1/2 to 1 small cup of sugar

~ A splash of milk

~ 1/2 tsp of salt

~ 8oz marg (I used butter)

~ 1 beaten egg


Method:

~ Rub the margarine into the dry ingredients (I used my Kitchen Aid because I'm lazy).

~ Add the beaten egg, and a little milk (just a splash) until the mixture binds together into a dryish consistency.

~ Roll the mix out onto a floured surface to about 1/4" which (or however you personally like them). 

~ Bake for 20 minutes in a moderately high oven.

(For AGA ovens: bake on rack in the foot of the top oven with the cooling tray above to prevent burning).

Allow to cool before enjoying with copious amounts of cheese and butter.

Happy baking... I'd love to see your results, please tag #shetlandwithlaurie or @shetlandwithlaurie online so I can see your efforts.

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The winter solstice and a Neolithic temple

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A recipe for Trench Cake: Remembrance Day thoughts