Scottish Oat Cakes

I've had a hankering for oat cakes for a while and what better way to get them than to make them myself! These are super east to make and feel lovely and wholesome.

Scottish Oat Cakes
(Makes about 14)

225g oats
60g wholewheat flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
60g butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
60-80ml hot water

Pre-heat the oven to 190C.

Mix together the oats, flour, salt, sugar and bicarbonate of soda. Add the butter and rub together until everything is mixed and has the consistency of large bread crumbs.

Add the water (from a recently boiled kettle) bit by bit and combine until you have a somewhat thick dough. The amount of water varies; depending on the oats.

Sprinkle some extra flour and oats on a work surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2 cm thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes.

Place the oat cakes on a baking tray and bake for 20-30mins. or until slightly golden brown.

Blueberry, Oat and Chia Seed Muffins

These muffins are a bit dense but they are very tasty. They used up lots of stuff I had in cupboards and they are slightly more complicated than a straight forward muffin but tasty.

Blueberry, Oat and Chia Seed Muffins (from Time Out)
(Makes 12)

75g wholemeal flour
125g plain flour
200g rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp chia seeds
2 really ripe bananas, peeled
2 large eggs, separated
250 milk
2 tbsp runny honey
3 tbsp oil
125g blueberries

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a muffin tray with paper cases.

Cobmine the flours, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, chia seeds and a pinch of salt in a bowl, the create a well in the middle.

Mash the banana in a separate bowl, then add the egg yolks, milk, honey and oil. Mix well, then pour it into the well. Mix everything gently until a wet batter forms.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold them into the muffing batter with the blueberries until evenly mixed.

Divide the muffin mix between the paper cases and bake for 25 mins or until cooked through and golden.

Courgette Kinda Cookies

I managed to grow a marrow out of one of my courgettes and it's not really good for anything apart from grating so I made some cooking with it. These are a little bit healthy in that they include wholewheat flour, honey and courgettes and they are very tasty!

Courgette Kinda Cookies (from Time Out)
(Makes 20)

100g butter
100g honey
1 large egg
28g wholewheat flour
140g rolled oats
170g raisins
150g courgette, grated
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Melt the butter in a bowl and add the honey. Leave to cool and then beat in the egg.

Combine the flour, oats, raisins, courgette, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Stir in the wet ingredients.

Roll into balls, flatten and put onto a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins.

Oatmeal Brownie Bars

I made these delicious bars to take to the last Staff Meeting of term as my team was on snacks. They went down really well and are a lovely variation on a brownie.

Oatmeal Brownie Bars (from The Sweet's Life)

For the oat layers
155g cups plain flour
90g rolled oats
200g packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
75g cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

For the brownie layer
40g butter
85g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
125g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
250g caster sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 23 x 33 cm baking pan with baking parchment.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter and rub with fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside one third of the mixture and press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake crust for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly while you make the brownies.

Heat a pan of boiling water. Add the butter and chocolate to a bowl and put the bowl on top if the pan, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Leave the mixture to melt, stirring occasionally until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, water, and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the chocolate/butter mixture and continue beating to combine.

Using a metal spoon, add the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Spread the brownie batter over oat crust, using a spatula to spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over brownie layer. Bake for 18-20 mins, until the edges are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Butterscotch Oat Bars

I made these for my Staff Meeting this week and they went down a treat. I wasn't at the meeting but I got lots of compliments when I got back. They are yummy and you can now find butterscotch chips in Sainsburys.

Butterscotch Oat Bars (from Jay's Baking Me Crazy)

155g plain flour
180g oats
½ tsp salt
115g butter
130g butterscotch chips
200g brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla

For the glaze
50g brown sugar
2 tbsp water
90g butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 23cm x 23cm pan with baking parchment.

Put the butterscotch chips in a large bowl. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until nutty brown in color, about 10 mins, stirring regularly with a whisk to prevent burning.

Pour the butter over butterscotch chips and stir until chips are completely melted and smooth.

Stir in sugar and mix until dissolved. Add the vanilla and the egg and mix well. Stir in the flour, oats and salt.

Press into the greased and lined pan and bake for 18-20 mins.

When you take the bars out of the oven, make the glaze. Mix the water and brown sugar in a microwaveable bowl and microwave for 30-60 secs or until it starts to just boil.

Remove from the microwave and add the butterscotch chips, stir until completely smooth. Pour over the warm bars. Leave to cool fully, at least 2 hours, before cutting into squares.

Beetroot and Farro Burger

Delicious pink burgers, full of beetroot and wholegrain.

Beetroot and Farro Burgers (from What's Cooking Good Looking)
(Makes 4-5 burgers)

65g farro
2 beetroot, roughly chopped
2 carrots roughly chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
salt and pepper
35g oats
45g sunflower seeds
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp oil

Cook the farro according to packet instructions and drain well.

Add the cooked farro, beetroot, carrots, spring onions, garlic, salt and pepper to a food processor. Pulse several times until everything is pureed. Add the oats, and pulse until combined. Add the sunflower seeds. Pulse a few more times. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and add in the eggs, stirring until combined.

Put the mixture in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Once the mixture has been chilled, remove and divide the mixture into 4-5 burgers. Place onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins.

Banana and Date Smoothie

I haven't made a smoothie for a while but I had all the ingredients for this one and thought I'd give a go. It was tasty although the dates made it rather sweet. I used cow's milk but you could use any kind of milk you like.

Banana and Date Smoothie
(Serves 2)

8 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
500ml milk
2 bananas
50g rolled oats

Place the dates and milk into a blender or food processor. Puree until the dates are blitzed up. Add the bananas to the blender and puree until smooth.

Add the oats, wait for 2-3 mins for the oats to soak into the date milk mixture and puree. Pour the smoothie into glasses and serve.

Apple and Parsnip Crumble

This is a crumble with a difference, it's got a parsnip in it! This doesn't effect the flavour much but it does add a little something to the texture as it doesn't mush down as much as the apples, but it works really well and to me was a brilliant way to use up those post Christmas parsnips.

Parsnip and Apple Crumble
(Serves 4)

50g porridge oats
50g plain flour
25g sugar
40g butter, at room temperature
3 apples, peeled cored and cut into chunks
1 parsnip, grated
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180C.

In a large bowl mix together the oats, flour and sugar. Add the butter and using your fingertipss rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Put the apple and parsnip into an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the flour, sugar, cinnamon and ginger over the apples and parsnips and mix until coated. Sprinkle over the lemon juice.

Pour the crumble mixture over the filling and bake in the oven 40 mins or until the crumble is golden and the filling is bubbling.

Pear and Vanilla Smoothie

This is a delicious smoothie full of healthy goodness with the pear and the spinach. I was a bit worried about the spinach but you can't taste it as the sweetness of the pear comes through.

Pear and Vanilla Smoothie (adapted from Deliciously Ella)

(Serves 1)

1 pear

200ml milk

a big handful of spinach

a handful of oats

1 tbsp almond butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Slice the pear into pieces, taking out the core. Then place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve.

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

I have been revelling in the British strawberries that have just come into season, they are so juicy and sweet. Instead of just dipping them in a bag of sugar and eating them like I normally do, I also made a smoothie. This was yummy, lovely and thick because of the oats and fabulously fruity.

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie
(Serves 1)

25g porridge oats
110g vanilla yogurt
60ml milk
100g hulled and washed strawberries
1 tsp flax seeds

Place the porridge oats in a blender and process until they are finely ground – this step is essential so that your smoothie has a smooth texture. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and process again until smooth. This smoothie has a thick texture, so just adjust with more milk if you prefer more liquid. 

Fruit and Yoghurt Oaty Breakfast

I actually didn't like this all that much. I found the Greek yoghurt way too cloying especially mixed with oats and seeds and it was too cold straight out of the fridge. I think if I bothered to make it again I would use natural yoghurt rather than Greek. Also this is meant to serve 1 but it was way too much for one person so I split it into two.

Fruit and Yoghurt Oaty Breakfast (from Slender Kitchen)

(Serves 1-2)

175g fat free plain Greek yogurt

2 tbsp milk

68g rolled oats

1 tsp chia seeds

1 tsp flax seeds

150g strawberries

Mix together the yogurt, milk, oats, chia, and flaxseeds.

Using a jar or container, layer in half of the oat and yogurt mix. Then layer in half the fruit, repeat. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight

Raspberry Breakfast Power Smoothie

I really enjoyed this smoothie, I was worried about the oats but you can't taste their texture at all, they just make the smoothie lovely and thick. I have changed the amounts of things from the original recipe and I added a lot less oats and honey as I feel that the fruit is sweet enough without adding too much extra sweetener.

Raspberry Breakfast Power Smoothie (adapted from The Guardian)
(Serves 2)

50g oats
1 small banana
2 tsp honey
125ml Greek yoghurt
150ml milk

2 big handfuls frozen raspberries

Put everything into a blender and whizz until smooth. Serve.

Healthy Flapjack

I'm not sure about this flapjack, I found it a little dry. I substituted dates for prunes which didn't quite have the same binding effect! I'm not sure healthy flapjack is worth it!

Flapjacks (adapted from Good Food Magazine December 2012)
(Makes 12)

150g ready-to-eat stoned dates

100g low-fat spread

3 generous tbsp agave syrup

3 tbsp mixed seeds

100g raisins

150g porridge oats

Heat the oven to 190C. Line an 18cm square tin with baking parchment. Put the dates into a food processor and process until they are finely chopped and sticking together in clumps.

Put the low-fat spread, agave syrup and dates into a saucepan and heat gently. Stir until the low-fat spread has melted and the dates are blended in. Add all the remaining ingredients to the pan and stir until well mixed. Spoon the mixture into the tin and spread level.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins until golden brown. Leave in the tin until cold then cut into squares and serve.

Banana, Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, Ginger Cookies

I had a LOT of overly ripe bananas! So with more of the bananas I made cookies. The recipe was actually very useful as it used up lots of other little bits of ingredients. They were more cake like than cookie really but I did make them rather large! I still have more bananas so expect more banana related recipes! 

Banana, Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip and Ginger Cookies (from The Sweets Life)

113g unsalted butter
160g sugar
1 egg
2 ripe bananas, mashed
190g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
180g rolled oats
90g chocolate chips
60g crystallised ginger, finely chopped

Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper and set aside.

Cream the butter with the sugar and the egg, beating until smooth. Mix in the bananas.

Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, add the  cinnamon and oats, mixing with a metal spoon until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and crystallised ginger.
Chill the dough for 30 mins to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 mins until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.