Here is my second recipe for Cape Breton oatcakes. It is from a children’s book called ABC’s of Cape Breton by Nicole Shaw and Lindsay Shaw Poirier. I love buying kid’s books as souvenirs and this is a very cute one. It has a lot of things that are very special to us about Cape Breton like “J is for Joe’s Scarecrows.” When my daughter was little we couldn’t drive past Joe’s Scarecrows without stopping and we drove past them at least twice a day during vacation.
If I use my son’s rate of intake as a measure of success then these would be rated only slightly less than my other recipe for oatcakes. He didn’t finish his breakfast of an oatcake this morning so I think his interest is waning. These are different than the other ones that I made but more similar to the ones we buy in Cape Breton. I prefer the light and fluffy version from last week but this recipe made so many that it will be some time before I get a chance to perfect the recipe by combining the best features from both recipes to create Recipe #3. The nice thing about these oatcakes is that they were much easier to roll out. The texture is a little more dense so they are great for dipping into tea.
Old Fashioned Cape Breton Oatcakes (adapted from ABC’s of Cape Breton)
- 3 cups Old Fashioned Fine Oatmeal (or Regular Oatmeal blended in a food processor)
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 tsp salt (I would cut back on the salt next time)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 1/3 cup water
If you are using regular oatmeal run it through your food processor to reduce the oats to less than half their original size. About 4 cups of regular oatmeal yields 3 cups of fine oatmeal. Make some more fine oatmeal and set aside for rolling out the dough. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Blend butter and shortening with a pastry blender.
Add water; work with hands to form a ball. Roll out in fine oatmeal (rather than flour) until 1/4 inch thick.
Cut into 3 inch squares (or really any shape) and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. (Watch these carefully if your oven runs hot like mine you might only need to bake for 10-15 minutes at 350.) Makes 6-7 dozen oatcakes.
I have a bunch stored away in the freezer and I’ll let you know how they do in my next installment on oatcakes. I promise I have made some different recipes lately. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about some brownies I tried out over the weekend.
How fun! And, they look so delicious too!
I found you through Tastespotting and was immediately drawn to the “Cape Breton” mention! I can vouch that these are authentic CB oatcakes as the recipe is almost identical to my mother’s. I grew up in Cape Breton, although I was near Sydney and not Cheticamp!
You’ve brought back a food memory for me. My Canadian neighbor used to make these and they’re a favorite of my husbands. I had forgotten all about them, but now I’ve got the recipe again.
I never knew such a cookbook existed, that is so neat and love the recipe. Wholesomeness of oatmeal in cookie makes it also healthier.
Yay! Congrats to me seeing this post through tastespotting! This is one of many more to come, I’m sure
I hope that you are having fun in SF.
Hi,
This looks delicious! I have a coworker whose husband is from Cape Breton, and they go a few times a year. When they come back, they always bring these delicious oat cakes!! One question: can you use butter instead of shortening? Would that mess up the flavor/texture?
Thanks for posting!
Ellie
Both times I made them I used some butter and some shortening. I’m not a fan of shortening so my next recipe will eliminate the shortening and just use butter. All the recipes I’ve seen only use shortening. I thought that the texture was the same.
Ahhh… oatcakes… These look wonderful. I want to make them soon! Great post and pics!
These look like the ultimate comfort cookie. I will follow your refinements with interest, but I’m definitely trying these–great picture!
these look nice. i had some good oat cakes in canada.
What a great recipe and a very nice blog.