Page 12 - The Flickering Cauldron Magazine - May 2022

You will find in cook books, or online, many different ways to make them and to be quite honest the traditional way with fire, is probably not feasible these days, so we will share with you the recipe to make them using the modern day oven.
Back in the day, they used to use animal fat as part of the ingredients, so if you can get your hands on some bacon fat, it would make them extra tasty.
Here is how you make them
Ingredients
1 cup Oats
(Don’t use instant... yuk!)
2 tablespoons fat
Bacon grease, beef dripping, lard would be best But butter is fine if not
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
2/3’s of a cup of hot water
Instructions
Mix together your oats, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
Now add in your fat/butter and hot water and mix it together with your hands or a wooden spoon into a soft paste consistency.
Sprinkle over a little flour onto your board or side, then add your mixture.
Time to roll out your mixture, you can decide what thickness you may like, but we find them best around 1/2 inch thick.
Once rolled now cut through two horizontally, then vertically however many lines you want (will be dependent on the size you want them).
Alternatively you can get a pint glass and cut out your cookies with the lip, once you are done re-roll what’s
left to make a square single.
(Waste not want not).
Whatever choice you have made to cut them, once cut, pop them on a tray lined with greaseproof paper ready for cooking.
You can do it in the oven or on the griddle.
Griddle
Grease your frying pan with your fat, then over a medium heat, pop in your oatcakes, allowing at least 10-15 mins each side till they are nice golden brown. For ease it is better if you have two lifters when turning them over.
Oven
Preheat oven to 175 Centigrade/350 Fahrenheit.
Pop in your tray with your oatcakes on in the middle of the oven.
Leave them cooking for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Check them after about 10 minutes, to make sure they have not cooked quicker than expected.
When cooked, take them out and place your oatcakes on a cooling tray, eat them as and when.
12 | The Flickering Cauldron® Magazine - The Power of Beltane