----- Original Message ----- From: "David Reed"Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 11:00 AM Subject: [NS-L] Oatmeal Cakes > My question is slightly off the topic of genealogy, but is family > related, I have a recipe called Oatmeal Cake, which my mother got from her > mother-in-law. Reading Katherine Barber's new book, "Only in Canada You > Say", she describes oatcake as a Nova Scotia term for a large dense > oatmeal > cookie. I can say that these cookies are different from the oatmeal > cookies > I can get in Toronto. > > My grandmother was born in Saint John, NB in 1878 and my > grandfather was born in Mill Village, Queens Co, NS in the same year. I've > always wondered if my grandmother learned the recipe from her > mother-in-law > (Helen Atkins, b. 1852 in Queens Co, NS) as well. > > The recipe is heavy on brown sugar, shortening and molasses, half > a cup of each to a cup of oatmeal and one and a half cups of flour. Big difference between Oatmeal Cake, Oatmeal Cookies and Oat Cakes. Oat Cakes are definately Scottish, right up there along side the haggis, but are nothing like the two preivious oat connoctions. >From the Scots cookbook I bought in 1967, whilst living in Rosyth Fifeshire Scotland; written and printed at Edinburgh in 1965. (word by word!) Also has authentic Scottish shortbread receipe, which is nothing like those found here in Canada. Sugar and butter are different for starters! [Hint: NO truly Scottish Shortbread has any icing sugar in the recipe either! Only 3 ingredients in true shortbread] Oat Cakes 2 large breakfastcupfuls fine oatmeal A pinch of bicarbonted of soda A pinch of salt 1 tablespoonful fresh lard or beef dripping 1 teacupful hot water Put meal in large bowl, adding soda and salt. Rub in the dripping or lard. Roll out on pastry board well dusted with oatmeal. Cut in rounds or squares and cook on a hot griddle. From ..."Traditional Recipes of Atlantic Canada ..." Nova Scotian section Oat Cakes .. makes 2 doz. 3 cups rolled oats, old fashioned (kind) 3 cups flour, all-purpose 1 cup sugar, white or brown ** 2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 ½ cups lard 2/3 cup cold water (approximately). Pre-heat oven to 350 F. degrees. In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Rub or cut in lard using hands or pastry blender. Slowly add enough water to moisten. Stir with knife. Shape into 2 balls. Chill 10 minutes. Pat each ball into a rectanble and roll out until ¼ inch thick, using oats on the board (instead of flour). Cut into 2 inch squares or circles. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Transfer to rack for cool. Spread with butter before serving. ** Sugar may be reduced to ½ cup if a less sweet cake is disired. As you can see there is even some difference between these two Oat Cake recipes. Sugar nor flour would ever be added to true Scottish Oat Cakes, nor would they be baked. They are considered a savoury rather than a sweet, although I know my cousins (in Scotland) sometimes put jam/jelly/marmalade on them. Toni ~ Ontario