I'm in the process of redesigning my blog to have the "look & feel" that reflects my vision and invites others in. Stay tuned and do share your ideas too!
In the meantime, here's what I've been cooking and thinking about on this warm Sunday afternoon...
Short & Sweet Oat Cakes
Have you noticed how people light up and sort of soften when they talk about their favourite food memories? I feel the same way, and today was thinking about my Aunt Clara and Uncle George while making these Short & Sweet Oat Cakes. Aunt Clara tells me they were Uncle George's favourite.Aunt Clara's kitchen is one of the warmest, soul-loving places on the face of the earth. Gathering around her table has always been love to me, shared through stories, advice, poems, prayers and food to fuel her loved ones.
She always served tea with dessert after her hearty lunches, often an assortment of sweets presented on one of her prized Petit Point china plates. On a recent visit to Montreal, she treated us once again to tea and sweets, and told stories about the past, including how she loved visiting Uncle George's mother - many years ago - who would serve these oat cakes. She said the smell of butter, brown sugar and oats when she walked through the door was unlike anything else, and it always made her hungry and happy to be there (I shall have to remember that when my son brings his girlfriend home).
A few days after our visit, the recipe arrived tucked inside a letter from Aunt Clara, printed in her impeccable penmanship. I have a number of her handwritten recipes, and I love them. I love looking at her writing as I measure and stir, imagining her sitting down at that kitchen table I love so much to share her secrets with me. I love the little scratches she made with her pen when she wrote "tsp" but really meant to write "tbsp". I love her tips and tricks, written in parentheses, passing along lessons from generations before me.
I love to imagine Aunt Clara baking these oat cakes for Uncle George, and him enjoying one with a cup of strong tea. He was full of beans (or malarkey, as Mom always said). He loved to hide, then jump out and scare the living daylights out of us. He loved to make crazy faces and talk in funny voices, just to make us laugh. It made him happy to see us laugh. He ate neapolitan ice cream. He drove his car like a mad man. He cursed with a French accent. He had 17 locks on every door. He gave huge hugs for a small man, and you knew he loved you.
He's gone now and Aunt Clara is on her own. She misses him and we talk about him when I call. When I called her last Sunday, she asked me to hold on a sec so she could take her cookies out of the oven. She was making Uncle George's favourite oat cakes.
Short & Sweet Oat Cakes
2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter + 2 tbsp Crisco
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and Crisco with brown sugar till smooth. Add almond extract. Add flour, oats and salt, mixing well until a dough forms.
Sprinkle flour on a board and shape the dough into a rectangle, about 1/2" thick, and cut into fingers 1/2" x 2 1/2". Prick with fork.
Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cook 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
These cookies will store well in a container, and can be frozen for up to 1 month in a freezer bag.
