Categories
Recipes

oatcakes, or a meal in a muffin

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It might look like a muffin, but this oatcake isn’t messing around with a delicate crumb, bright lemon zest or jammy berries. It is a breakfast that packs a punch, and by a punch I mean each one of these suckers has enough oats and nuts to leave you full for hours, even after a 2.5 mile walk to work or 2 hour surf sesh. While not the most nuanced of pastries, these oakcakes are great for what they’re designed to be—fuel.

Oakcakes, adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday
3 cups rolled oats, avoid instant oats if you can
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat your oven to 325° F. Butter a muffin tin, or line it with adorable paper cups purchased in Japantown.

Combine the oats, flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts in a large mixing bowl.

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In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat the coconut oil, butter, maple syrup and sugar until they melt and combine. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture and stir to combine. Add the eggs and stir again until everything comes together. The dough  will be more the texture of granola than batter.

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Spoon the dough into the muffin tins, spreading it amongst the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 25 – 35 minutes, until the edges of the oakcakes are golden.

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Enjoy for breakfast or as a mid-day power snack. I’d recommend having some tea or coffee alongside these guys.

-Emily

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Categories
Recipes

granola-coated nuts

I made these nuts as a topping for ice cream, but they would be pretty good topping just about anything. Crunchy, toasty and slightly sweet with just a hint of salt—they incapsulate all of the best parts of granola. Go get yourself some nuts and whip these up. You won’t regret it.

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One year ago: To Cook a Crab
Two years ago: Sage Grilled Cheese

Granola-Coated Walnuts and Pecans, from Smitten Kitchen
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup pepitas, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a few pinches of kosher or sea salt
1 egg white
2 teaspoons water
4 cups walnuts and/or pecans (I did a combo)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with tinfoil.

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In a food processor, process oats, coconut, pepitas, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt until well chopped. Don’t overprocess though; it shouldn’t be powdery.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg white and water together. Toss the nuts in the egg white mixture. Pour the granola mixture into the bowl of nuts. Use your hands to gently stir to coat all of the nuts.

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Pour onto the baking sheets and spread into a single layer. No need to separate the nuts apart – you can do that after baking. Pour any granola mixture that didn’t adhere to the nuts over the top of them.  Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, tossing once while cooking, until the nuts are nice and toasty. Let cool and then break larger chunks apart.

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Top your ice cream with them, or your yogurt, or your oatmeal or just eat them plain—these are pretty much irresistible, hence the double batch.

-Emily