Scottish Oat Biscuits

"This recipe appeared on the Quaker Oats box in 1908 and again from 1909 to 1913. It's hearty and grainy, delicious topped with cheese, cinnamon-sugar butter, or served with soup. Original directions didn't specify an oven temperature, so I selected 450."
 
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Ready In:
17mins
Ingredients:
7
Serves:
15
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ingredients

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directions

  • Combine the oats, flour, baking soda and salt and mix well.
  • Add the butter and mix well (a food processor is ideal, but a pastry blender will work).
  • Add enough buttermilk to make a stiff dough-- it may take up to 1 1/3 cups-- and mix until moistened.
  • Roll the dough 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick and cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter, then place on a greased baking sheet.
  • Bake at 450 (the directions just say"hot oven") until firm (or until hard and crisp, per the original directions), about 8 to 12 minutes.

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Reviews

  1. Love these biscuits, however, I did modify recipe somewhat. First off, I made an oat flour with the oats in my food processor. Then I added 1 cup of self rising flour. One tablespoon of butter was just not enough to get the texture I wanted, so I added 4 tablespoons of butter. I used 6 ounce container of plain yogurt and 1 1/3 cups of milk. I also added four - 5 slices of sharp cheddar cheese. Next time I will try buttermilk, Blended it all until I got a dough - then rolled it out and cut it with 2" cutter. Baked at 450 - which I found cooked the outside, but not the inside - so I dropped the heat to 350 and cooked about 5 minutes more. The inside was cooked after that. What I learned:<br/><br/>1) Use buttermilk next time to give it that 'bite';<br/>2) Probably won't make the oats into a flour - although the texture was just like a biscuit;<br/>3) Instead of flour I will probably use a cup of Bisquick. <br/><br/>I guarantee that one of these biscuits will fill you up and you will want another one. <br/><br/>Stay tuned for more ....
     
  2. I'm so sorry; something must have gone wrong with these for me. I made them to accompany Recipe #287854, and even though I turned the heat down to 400 and only baked them for 10 minutes they came out crunchy and dry. I also felt the batter needed a little something, perhaps salt. Given that this has been such a popular recipe I am not giving a star rating; I will plan to try again sometime and see if this was just a fluke...
     
  3. I love the flavor of these dense little biscuits! I find it fascinating that the recipe is from the easrly 1900's. It's typical of old world breads...full bodied and full of whole grain flavor!!! Love it! (I used whole wheat flour)
     
  4. Thank you for sharing Fluffernutter. We had these tasty, crispy, little biscuits for breakfast with scrambled eggs and slices of Balderson cheese...yummy....very filling.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Love these biscuits, however, I did modify recipe somewhat. First off, I made an oat flour with the oats in my food processor. Then I added 1 cup of self rising flour. One tablespoon of butter was just not enough to get the texture I wanted, so I added 4 tablespoons of butter. I used 6 ounce container of plain yogurt and 1 1/3 cups of milk. I also added four - 5 slices of sharp cheddar cheese. Next time I will try buttermilk, Blended it all until I got a dough - then rolled it out and cut it with 2" cutter. Baked at 450 - which I found cooked the outside, but not the inside - so I dropped the heat to 350 and cooked about 5 minutes more. The inside was cooked after that. What I learned:<br/><br/>1) Use buttermilk next time to give it that 'bite';<br/>2) Probably won't make the oats into a flour - although the texture was just like a biscuit;<br/>3) Instead of flour I will probably use a cup of Bisquick. <br/><br/>I guarantee that one of these biscuits will fill you up and you will want another one. <br/><br/>Stay tuned for more ....
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Food writer, recipe editor, gear tester, restaurant reviewer in the US. Author, "Southern Cooking for Company" (HarperCollins 2015); :The All-New Square-Foot Gardening Cookbook"; "Seductive Tables for Two," and many other books, usually for other people, companies and groups. You probably have one of my books on your shelf. I love to talk about food.
 
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