ROSEMARY OATCAKES

We are quite obsessed with rosemary around here, and oatcakes are our latest rosemary obsession! If you haven’t had oatcakes before, they are a Scottish flatbread, basically a cross between a cookie (biscuit) and a cracker. Oatcakes are slightly sweet, with a delicious toasty oat flavor that is almost graham cracker-like. Traditionally they have wheat flour in them, but these are completely gluten-free and vegan.

My brother Jon and I discovered the deliciousness of oatcakes during a trip with our mom to London many years ago. We couldn’t get enough of them, and enjoyed them with cheese as well as hot tea.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when Jon asked if I had tried a gluten-free version yet. He thought we should serve them alongside a cheeseboard filled with delicious cashew cheeses and fresh and dried fruit. I immediately got to work tweaking an old recipe of mine (with wheat flour of course), and came up with this delectable variation. It has all of the goodness of traditional oatcakes, with the bright yet subtle flavor of fresh rosemary. I used my gluten-free flour blend recipe in this, but I think others would work well, as long as it has a little bit of xanthan gum in it. I also used sunflower oil, but I think olive oil would be a delicious and buttery addition. If you don’t want too strong of an olive oil flavor, you could even mix half olive oil and half sunflower, safflower or canola oil.

I’d love to hear if you make these!

xo Julie

gluten-free rosemary oatcakes

These biscuits are absolutely delicious! They are a cross between a cracker and a cookie. Lightly sweet, crisp and buttery. Perfect served with cashew cheese or hot tea!

2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1 cup GF all-purpose flour blend (or your favorite blend with xanthan gum)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine pink Himalayan salt
1/2 cup oil (sunflower, safflower, canola, or olive)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy or almond milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor with metal S blade, add oats, GF flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse until mixed and oats are cut into smaller bits. Add oil and milk, and pulse again until dough comes together. Don’t over-blend, as you want to still be able to see bits of the oats. Add the rosemary and pulse briefly until just incorporated. If the dough is too dry to scoop, stir in 1 addition tablespoon of milk.

Using a cookie scoop, place balls of the dough onto prepared baking sheets. You should have 26 small balls. Using the heel of your hand, press down tops lightly to flatten just a bit. Don’t press them too flat.

Bake in preheated oven for about 13 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets.