Oatcakes from Super Natural Everyday

Want a nice and healthy portable snack? Or just an excuse to bake something really tasty that's not too sweet? Then I highly recommend you give these oatcakes a try. They're from one of my favorite cookbooks, Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, also the writer of one of my favorite blogs, 101 Cookbooks. While these oatcakes look like muffins, they are much more dense, with a crunchy exterior and hearty interior. The maple in them gives them a fantastic complex sweetness and I love that they're made with entirely whole grains. As Heidi says, they can stand up to an entire day tucked inside a purse without falling apart. Nice!

These are great right out of the oven, but also lovely eaten by themselves when you're on the go. They were also awesome lightly heated and slathered with some strawberry jam or a bit of butter. Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about them.

Oatcakes (from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson)

3 cups rolled oats (not instant oats)
2 cups whole spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
1/4 cup flax seeds
3/4 cup walnuts
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/3 cup unsalted butter (preferably organic pasture butter)
3/4 cup pure maple syrup (I'm a huge fan of the rich maple flavor of a local organic Grade B syrup)
1/2 cup natural cane sugar (I omitted the sugar and used all maple syrup, because I love maple syrup)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (preferably local free range organic eggs)

1.  Preheat oven to 325 with a rack in the top third in the oven (that's what Heidi said to do). Butter a standard 12 cup muffin pan (I used coconut oil).

2. Combine oats, flour baking powder, salt, flax seeds, and walnuts in a large mixing bowl.

3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the coconut oil, butter, maple syrup, and sugar and slowly melt together. Stir just until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Do not let mixture get too hot.

4. Pour coconut oil mixture over oat mixture. Stir a bit with a fork, add the eggs, and stir again until everything comes together into a wet dough. Spoon the dough into the muffin cups, nearly filling them.

5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until the edges of each oatcake are deeply golden. Remove pan from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then, run a knife around the edges of the cakes and tip them out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 oatcakes

For more fabulous food and photos from Nourish The Roots, 

be sure to follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest