Beyond Breakfast-Pleasant Porridge Pastries
So one of the things we’re supposed to do more of, according to the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to eat whole grains. I enjoy the trendy whole grains like quinoa and amaranth as much as the next foodie. Whole grains like these might be new and scary to you, but there is one whole grain you’ve probably been eating you whole life- oatmeal. Although you may have enjoyed them primarily as a hot bowl of breakfast mash, there are plenty of things you can do with rolled oats. Here’s a super simple recipe I found on the Instructables web site for oatcakes.
As instructed, I used my food processor to grind the rolled oats into a coarse meal.
This took just a few seconds. Food processors are great for things like this.
Here is where I had to deviate from the recipe’s methods. It is not perfectly apparent in the above picture, but my food processor is far too small to fit the recipe. So, I mixed the dry ingredients, cubed the butter and grabbed my pastry blender, just like grandma would have. If you don’t own one of these things it is a worthy investment. Simply use a cut-and-rock motion through the fat and flour and the little fins on the bottom work their magic.
This particular pastry blender did not belong to my Grandmother. It cost about four dollars at a kitchen store.
Here is the mixture, mid-blend. Note there are still some large butter chunks. Got to keep blending.
This is what it should look like. Took a little longer than using a food processor, but way less expensive than buying a larger food processor.
I didn’t think one half cup of milk would be enough, but it was. The dough was a bit crumbly but I was able to roll it thin. It made very good cut-outs.
Both the rolling pin and the cookie cutter belonged to my Grandmother.
They baked up beautifully.
I got more than the 4 cookie sheets full that the recipe predicted so either my cutter is smaller, my cookie sheets are smaller, or I rolled my dough thinner than the author. In any case the resulting oatcakes are delicious! The flavor of the oats really comes through. I agree with the instructable author, any topping would be delicious on these. I tried one with a dab of ranch dressing, and it was wonderful.
Don’t be scared of whole grains. They are delicious and easy to cook with. Give them a try! If you’re feeling nervous, start with something familiar but used in a new way. I promise it’s worth it.
