Butterscotch oatmeal squares.

[vaneramos]

When we arrived to stay at my parents' house last month, I found a tin on top of the fridge containing five oatmeal squares. Have you ever found a food that takes you back years and years before you even taste it?

Mom used to keep a cookie jar full of these wholesome snacks for me to snitch after school. She never seems to make them for special occasions though, so I probably hadn't tasted one in 20 years. I had forgotten all about them. Greedily, I gave other treats to the girls and saved these for myself. Every bite made me feel like a kid again.

Mom was happy to give me the recipe though. I didn't realize they were supposed to be butterscotch. I suppose that's why I like that flavour so much—growing up with these squares.

I made a batch on Monday. So now I have enough to share. Here's what I had for dessert that evening: a ripe peach, a square, a little Madeira, and some Kefalograveira, a hard Greek cheese I found at Guelph Farmers Market. The flavours blended very nicely.





When Sylvie came over for dinner on Monday, I had to be careful about her diet. Fortunately these squares are wheat-free.

They're also easy to make. Mom has a knack for good food with a minimum of hassle.

~~~~~~~~~~

2 cups oatmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix oats, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add sugar and mix. Add vanilla and melted butter. Mix well. Spread thinly in two 8" pans or 1 large pan. Bake at 300° for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut in squares. Allow to cool before removing from pan. Makes 18 to 24.

~~~~~~~~~~

I tried going to bed before 2:30 a couple times this week, but found myself still restless and wide awake. So this morning I set my alarm for 9:20, and managed to get up 80 minutes earlier than usual. Hopefully I'll get tired sooner in the evening. If I keep moving the alarm up, maybe I'll be rising at 7:30 by next week.

I'm leaving for an appointment in Toronto this afternoon. Tomorrow night I'll be back with Danny for the weekend.

Comments

[dakoopst.livejournal.com]

I'll have to try this recipe at home....sounds wonderful...

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Hope you enjoy them. Let me know. :-)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Oh good. Think of me. :-)

[stealthpup.livejournal.com]

I've not written down new recpies in a while, but I'm going to have to try this one. Simplicity Is Good these days. :-)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Yes, simplicity is important. I need to find the balance between no motivation and expecting too much of myself.

[ubermunkey.livejournal.com]

damn looks and sounds very good.

you know I have missed your postings, the pics, the musings, the Van.

be well and have a great weekend.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

And I have missed you. Your steady friendship has become an important one to me.

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Hi, Van - I just tried these. I'm not sure whether I got them wrong, or if this is how they're supposed to be. Kind of like ... oatmeal brittle cross with granola bars? I'm wondering what the baking powder is supposed to do, since there's very little moisture in rolled oats. Or was I supposed to use cooked oatmeal? They're tasty. How thick are they supposed to be? Maybe I shouldn't have used a cookie sheet. (I figured the square footage was very close to "somewhat larger than two 8" pans.)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

It sounds like they turned out too dry and hard? That happens when I leave them in the oven too long. They bake very quickly. Try taking them out as soon as the whole pan starts to bubble, probably less than 20 minutes depending on your oven. They should be chewy. A little longer and the edges will start to brown. You don't want the whole pan to brown, or the brown sugar will caramelize and be hard instead of chewy.

Don't skimp on the butter or they will be too dry. Sometimes I am a little generous with the brown sugar if I want them to be extra chewy.

They should be the size and thickness of cookies, so don't spread the batter out too much. The baking powder doesn't really expand them, just makes them bubble a little when they're hot. I usually bake a batch in a rectangular cake pan rather than a large cookie sheet.

This works best with uncooked 1-minute oats. These are not available gluten-free, so I have to use something like Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats. These are a little harder, but they still turn out okay.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions or if you decide to try them again and how they turn out.