SC Oat Biscuits
This one is close to my heart and inspired by my grand-aunt’s tins of homemade treats.
It’s hard to go wrong with these cookies - you will nearly always have the ingredients in your cupboard and they take so little time to prepare and bake, you will never regret it. They also last nicely in an airtight container.
I had a grand-aunt who lived in Dublin and, whenever she came to visit the ‘home house’ in Union Hall, she arrived with biscuit tins in hand - often those classic navy Danish shortbread ones. Inside she would have neatly stacked oatmeal cookies and caramel shortbreads (I don’t think we called them millionaire shortbreads at the time).
We loved them. Somehow, hers always tasted better than anything you made yourself. The biscuits were perfect and the caramel was always oozing out from under the chocolate.
In 2011, when she was 90, I asked her for her recipes. I’ve played around with them a bit - swapping margarine for butter, golden syrup for honey or agave. I can never decide whether to add bicarb or not - she didn’t in her original - I think the bicarb can help them spread a little but sometimes you can taste it. Her recipe also includes the juice of half an orange, which I haven’t used in a while... but now that I think of it, I really should try it again.
I have successfully made these gluten free, swapped the butter for coconut oil, used less sugar etc. The original recipe does make good old fashioned cookies though - try it!
Ingredients:
125g oats (gluten-free if needed)
125g plain white flour (or gluten-free flour or cassava flour)
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (optional, for lighter texture)
125g caster sugar (I reduce to 75g and add an extra tablespoon of syrup)
125g butter
2 tbsp golden syrup (or honey, maple syrup, or agave)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C conventional) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Add the oats and sugar, and stir to combine.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter with your chosen syrup over a low heat.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Scoop teaspoons of the mixture and bring together in your hands into a ball - flattening them slightly.
Bake for 10–12 minutes until lightly golden - it’s always hard to know when to take them out but best to err on the side of lightly golden rather than dark.
Cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Store in an air tight container.