Rolled oats are an essential panty item, even if you are not a breakfast porridge fan (too gloopy for me), when oats are combined with a few other vital ingredients e.g. coconut, brown sugar and butter, the results can be wonderful.
Like almost everything the standard bag of oats now involves shopping choices from the standard rolled oats to steel cut, wholegrain and Scotch to name but a few.
For muesli making I look for whole grain oats due to the interesting texture, these or traditional rolled oats are great for baking. Scotch oats are less textured and good for smooth porridge. Most oats can also be eaten raw in smoothies or the super delicious Bircher Muesli. Steel Cut Oats are the exception to this as these unrefined wholegrain oats are much kinder on the body when cooked first.
More of a chew than a crunch, Takaka Wholemeal Cafe Ginger Crunch is one of the best there is, I like to make both the base and the icing good and thick and if you find yourself in Takaka then the cafe is a popular choice.
Anzac biscuits are one of the most popular oat based biscuits around, Some like them crisp but these Chocolate Dipped Apricot and Sunflower Biscuits are a fantastic variation.
Blueberry and Lemon Oaty Slice can feel almost healthy whereas this Oaty Chocolate Caramel Slice has delicious decadence written all over it.
Regardless of the fruit you choose to use this Crumble topping is so good. It has enough butter to hold everything together so it is not at all crumbly but instead a delicious oaty baked layer on top of the pudding.
Digestive Biscuits are so good with a slice of butter or maybe some blue cheese and chutney.
A few years ago a story circulated about a biscuit recipe and a certain USA department store. The story doesn’t seem to have substance but the recipe for these Oaty Chocolate Chip Cookies is certainly good.
