Jump to Recipe:
I have been living in Scotland now for around 6 years and to be honest I have still not really gotten used to 2 things, the weather (its just so cold and miserable most of the time) and the food. It’s very much meat, potatoes and a side of vegetables. Being a vegetarian this does not really appeal to me, mince, haggis, scotch / macaroni / bean pies 🙁 as lovely as I’m sure they are they are definitely not for me.
My partner is always on at me to bake bannocks, tattie scones, tablet and a multitude of other Scottish fare. He has bought me several Scottish cookbooks over the years, which I have to admit, went to the back of the bookshelf and collected dust. So I decided it was time to take another look at them and try to find something that might appeal to me.
I found these oaty crumbles in a small little book called ‘Favourite Scottish Recipes – Traditional Caledonian Fare’ published by J. Salmon Ltd. It’s only a little book of 40 pages but it certainly has some interesting recipes in it, especially for the meat eater 🙂 but it also contains a few baking recipes. A lot of the sweeter recipes have rolled oats in them, which is no surprise really considering they are Scottish 🙂 but I like oats so that’s always a good starting point, picking a recipe where the main ingredient is appealing.
These are pretty simple to whip up and don’t take long either. All your usual suspects are there, flour, caster (superfine) sugar, butter and of course rolled oats. This recipe calls for golden syrup (as does a lot of oat based Scottish recipes!) fear not if you are from a country that doesn’t really have golden syrup, you can use light corn syrup instead. The golden syrup is really just a binder in this recipe. The recipe also calls for 2 tablespoons of fine oatmeal for sprinkling on top, I didn’t have any to hand and didn’t want to buy a bag just for two tablespoons so I just popped 2 tablespoons of the rolled oats in my coffee grinder and 5 seconds later hey presto! Homemade fine ground oatmeal 🙂
I have to admit I was really surprised these were light and crumbly and really moreish. These make a great snack for mid morning as they are not overly sweet, so you don’t need to feel to guilty about anything. They would also be really good in lunch boxes for kids as like I said there really isn’t too much sugar in these.
So if you have a spare hour and fancy a semi healthy treat give these a go I promise you wont regret it.
Recipe:
Ingredients
- 58 grams caster sugar ((1/4 cup))
- 114 grams unsalted butter ((1 stick))
- 1 generous tablespoon golden syrup - light corn syrup can be used
- 112 grams self rising flour ((1 cup))
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 112 grams rolled oats ((1 cup))
- 2 tablespoons fine oatmeal
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 180C / 350F / Gas mark 4 and grease or line a 7 inch cake tin and put aside.
- In a medium sized saucepan melt the sugar, butter and golden syrup (light corn syrup) over a medium heat once melted put aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl sift the flour and salt together. And add the oats.
- Pour the cool syrup mixture over the oats and mix well.
- Press the mixture into your prepared cake tin and press it down with your fingers. Sprinkle the top with the fine oatmeal, or ground oats like I used.
- Pop into your oven for 20 to 25 minutes until a light golden colour.
- Mark into slices while still hot in the tin and allow it to fully cool in the tin.
- Once cool snap it into its triangle slices and keep in an airtight tin for up to 5 days.
- These make a wonderful afternoon pick-me-up 🙂
Something else to read:
Powered by YARPP.
Well done Emma!
These are W O N D E R F U L ! ! !
Not overly sweet, a real comfort food.
I’ve been trying to track down a flapjack recipe for years now and they’re all sooooo sweet (and never stick together), but this recipe works like a dream (maybe it’s the flour?)
I’ve just made your fruity version (with sultanas). Sadly I didn’t like these as much (too sweet).
On the plus side, my husband is a very happy chap as I won’t be eating any!
Thank you so much for discovering and sharing the perfect oat cake.
Hi Debbie, I am so pleased you liked them, the fruity flapjacks are a lot sweeter then these and are not for everyone though it sounds like your husband is enjoying them, so all is not lost 😀
These look great. Seem very straightforward to make will have to give them a try, plus hardly any salt!
Hi Hannah thanks for stopping by. I’m glad you like the recipe and I’m sure you will enjoy them 🙂
These look really tasty and a good first step into Scottish recipes! I like oats too, so I might have to give these a go! 🙂
http://lauralovescakes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/if-regular-sized-cupcake-doesnt-quite.html
Hi Laura, thanks for stopping by. It was a small step into Scottish baking and I shall definitely be taking a few more. These were really tasty and so simple to make, I hope you give them a go 🙂
Hi from your newest fan! This looks great, like a slice version of Anzac bickies. So glad I discovered your blog!
Hi there thank you for your kind words 🙂 I’ve just googled Anzac biscuits, and you’re right, very similar, they sound lovely I like coconut so I may have to give them a go sometime.
This looks like a great snack, especially with a cold glass of milk!
Hi Lisa, these would go perfectly with a cold glass of milk! They are really good for a snack as they don’t contain too much sugar 🙂
I agree, it’s tough when you have different food preferences than your partner but glad you were able to find something that appealed to you:)
These crumbles look fantastic Emma! Love oatmeal treats and these sound perfect for my lil toddler since they’re not too sweet and I won’t feel too guilty if I have more than one:)
Hi Kelly, I’m sure your little one will love these, they are not too sweet and they are pretty soft, there isn’t too much sugar so there isn’t much to feel guilty about 🙂 we all love a treat without the guilt!
Check out this link everyone there is a really good top 10, I came in 7th 🙂 the rest of the top 10 is really worth checking out. Thanks Kate for the mention in your list.