Blueberry, cherry, cranberry and pecan oaties

 

Fruity oat biscuits and just in time for the first hint of summer!  Somehow using blueberries, cherries and cranberries rather than the more usual dried fruit fare makes these tasty, fresh and new – a refreshing change for your palette.

These are classic fruity oat biscuits but with an almost hidden secret: pecans.  In all honesty, I’m not sure you’d know the biscuits contained pecans (I chopped mine quite small) but you’d know there was something extra as there is a rich roundness to the flavour that is an unusual, but most welcome, addition to an oat biscuit.

The texture is like a crisp flapjack.  I must warn you that the dough is sticky in its raw state.  Don’t fret when you’re shaping the dough into a fat sausage for chilling – it really firms up in the fridge and is easy to work with.  A good sharp long bladed knife makes the cutting easier – I experimented with a serrated knife and it rather butchered the dough!

A very popular bake this one – the CCB (Caked Crusader’s Brother) commented that they had everything he loved about a biscuit.  When asked what this was, his first (and only) response was that they were, “big”.

Save yourself time and double the quantities for a 24 biscuit batch; they keep well for days and are very pleasing to have in the biscuit tin for emergencies.....such as needing a biscuit urgently.

Ingredients

175g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
85g porridge oats
175g golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
140g unsalted butter – straight from the fridge
90g dried fruit – I used blueberries, cherries and cranberries but raisins or sultanas would also work
50g pecans – chopped
1 egg

Method

Place the flour, baking powder, porridge oats, golden caster sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix together.

Add the butter and rub the mixture through your fingertips until the butter is completely incorporated.

Stir in the dried fruit, nuts and the egg.  At this point the mixture will be wet and clumpy but not quite coming together.

Use your hand to bring the dough together then tip out onto a large sheet of clingfilm.

Roll the dough into a fat sausage and flatten the ends.  You’re aiming for a diameter of about 6cm.

Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for about an hour or until the dough has firmed up.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Remove the biscuit log from the fridge and unwrap the clingfilm.

Cut the log into 12 fat discs and place on the baking sheets.  Don’t worry if the biscuit log crumbles a bit while you cut it – it will squidge back together.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden.  Mine took a bit longer – approx 20 minutes.

Leave, on the tray, to cool and firm up.

Store in an airtight container.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.