Oatcakes

These aren't your typical oatcakes.

Why do I know this?

'Cause I like to look up random facts on wikipedia, so when someone asks me a question on some far fetched subject I will inevitably know the answer.

One day I will be a finalist on jeapordy. Just you wait..

So apparently the Scottish, English, and Canadians all have there own version of a propa' oatcake. 

Some oatcakes are more cracker like or chewy, whereas others are more resemblant of a pancake.

This one here is neither cracker like or chewy and sure as hell doesn't look or taste like a pancake.

Although they look like mini muffins, they are more like a dense biscuit or a cookie.. A cookie biscuit!

My friend/co-worker Renee featured these on her awesome blog, Nourish Your Roots via a recipe from Supernatural Everyday's mastermind Heidi Swanson from 101 Cookbooks.  Both of these ladies got it going on, so I figured if THEY liked them, I would as well.

Packed with oats, whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed, maple syrup, coconut oil and a little organic sugar, and some eggs these are perfect for a quick snack or breakfast on the go.. and because they are so dense, they keep you full for hours.

Oatcakes (makes 12)
Slightly adapted from Nourish Your Roots via Supernatural Everyday by Heidi Swanson
3 c. rolled oats
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 t. baking powder
2 t. sea salt
1/4 c. flax seed
2/3 c. coconut oil
3/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. cane sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
　
Preheat oven to 325 with a rack in the top third of oven. Grease a standard 12 c. muffin pan with coconut oil Combine oats, flour, baking powder, salt, and flax seeds in a large mixing bowl.
In a medium saucepan over low heat combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, and sugar and slowly melt together. stir just until the coconut oil melts and sugar has dissolved, but don't let mixture get too hot. You don't want to cook the eggs on contact in the next step.
Pour coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture. Stir a bit with a fork, add the eggs and stir again until everything comes together into a wet dough. Spoon dough into muffin cups, nearly filling them.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges of each oatcake are deeply golden. Remove pan from he oven and let cool for a couple of minutes. Then, run a knife around the edges of the cakes and tip them out onto a cooling rack. serve warm or at room temp.

Hearty Bran Muffins

I eat alot of fiber.

Fiber is good.

It's keeps your bowels strong, lowers cholesterol, can help you lose weight, and helps to control blood sugar levels so you don't get all cray-cray.

In the effort to cram even MORE fiber into my diet I decided to whip up these muffins from Heidi Swanson's latest book Supernatural Everyday .

I love the fact that most of her recipes rely on whole grain, fresh, seasonal ingredients.  Most bran muffins that I have come across on the internet and in other cookbooks contain bleached flour and tons of sugar with only a touch of bran to pass them off as "healthy".

Muffins have become my new go-to snack in the afternoon. I'm always looking for something healthy that will tide me over until dinner, and these bad boys fit the bill perfectly.

Local eggs, organic yogurt, maple syrup, whole wheat pastry flour, and oat bran.
Bam.
If you want let your inner hippy shine, you can also throw in some sprouted grain cereal.

Bran Muffins (makes 1 dozen)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. plain yogurt
1/2 c. barely melted, unsalted butter
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. oat bran
1 1/2 c. plain bran cereal (ezekial sprouted grain cereal)
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 c. organic sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle of oven.
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and maple syrup. Sprinkle the bran and cereal across the top, stir and allow the mixture to sit at room temp. for 5 minutes. In the meantime, in a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the top of the wet and stir until just combined. Immediately fill each muffin tin 3/4 full. Bake 18-22 minutes, until edges of muffins begin to brown and tops have set. Allow the muffins to cool for five minutes in the pan, then turn the muffins out on a wire rack to cool.