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If you love Walker’s Highland Oatcakes, you will love my homemade Scottish Oatcakes even more! Similar to thick crackers, these crisp oat rounds are perfect with sweet and savory toppings, including soft cheeses, jams, and lemon curd. A cup of tea is the ideal accompaniment.
It has been a relaxed, blissful weekend down here in Texas. After spending last weekend on the road, it felt especially satisfying to just “be” this weekend: sleeping in (that’s about 6:15, when little dude pops out of his bed and into ours), an extra pot of coffee, a sunny soccer game, and constructing a mud castle (made possible by the torrential Saturday night thunder storm) in the back yard.
The coffee wore off by mid-afternoon today, but my little guy was still going strong. To keep up my strength, I made a pot of tea and a batch of oat cakes.
If you are familiar with Walker’s Highland Oatcakes, than these are virtually identical, which thrills me–as I know it will my sister, mother, and father–because we all four love our afternoon tea accompanied by a plate of jam-slathered oatcakes. Walker’s oatcakes are hard to find in stores–so cravings must be coordinated with mail-order shipments.
What are Oatcakes?
Oatcakes are not sweet cakes, nor cookies. They are closer in texture to crisp crackers, though thicker, and substantial for holding a variety of toppings. Oatcakes have a toasty, oat taste that pairs perfectly with soft cheeses (such as my Cashew Boursin or Cashew Cream Cheese), or sweet spreads, such as jam, marmalade, or lemon curd.
Two topped “cakes,’ especially in the company of two cups of tea, is just what every weary and/or famished soul needs to power through the afternoon. Sold? I hope so.
Recipe Benefits
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Gluten-free
- Only 4 ingredients (plus water & optional salt)
- Frugal
- High in fiber
- Portable (for anytime snacking)
- Quick and easy to make and bake
Ingredients for the Oatcake Recipe
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post. Toggle between US Customary (volume) and Metric (weights) for preferred measurement option.
- Rolled oats: Use any variety of rolled oats (known as porridge oats or fine oatmeal in other countries), such as old-fashioned oats or quick cooking oats. Choose certified gluten-free oats, as needed. I have an option for using oat flour in the recipe notes.
- Baking soda: A reminder, too, that baking soda and baking powder are not the same.
- Maple syrup: Used to very lightly sweeten the oatcakes. I have options, in the recipe notes, for other options
- Plant butter / Vegan butter: Be sure to choose the solid stick variety of plant butter, not the spreadable tub-style variety (the latter has a higher proportion of water). See the recipe notes for alternatives, including dairy butter (if you do not follow a vegan diet).
You will also need a small amount of hot water, to mix the dough. I use filtered tap water. I like to add salt to the oat cakes, to enhance the flavor. It is optional, or adjustable, according to your tastes and needs.
Step by Step Instructions
Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.
Step One: Preheat Oven & Prepare Baking Sheet Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
Step Two: Grind Oats In a food processor, process the oats until coarsely ground. Transfer HALF of the ground oats to a large mixing bowl. Continue grinding the remaining oats until they are very finely ground. Transfer to the bowl with the other oats.
Step Three: Combine the Dry Ingredients Stir the baking soda and salt into the bowl with the oats.
Step Four: Add the Wet Ingredients Add the melted butter, hot water and maple syrup to the dry ingredients. Stir until well blended into a cohesive dough (add a few more drops hot water if dough seems too dry).
Step Five: Roll the Dough Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll out into approximately 1/4 inch-(4 to 5 mm) thickness.
Step Six: Cut the Dough into Circles Using a 2.5 inch (6.35 cm) round cookie cutter, cut dough into circles. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with dough scraps.
Step Seven: Bake the Oatcakes Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 28 minutes until golden and set at edges. Let cool on sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer to the rack.
Step Eight: Cool the Oatcakes Let the oatcakes cool completely on the cooling rack.
Storage
Store the cooled oatcakes in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 1 week, the refrigerator for 2 weeks, or the freezer for up to six months.
Substitutions
- What can I use in place of vegan butter? If you are not following a plant-based diet, you can substitute regular dairy butter, melted, for the plant butter to make traditional Scottish oatcakes. You can also use an equal amount of melted coconut oil, or vegetable shortening, for alternative plant based options.
- Can I use oat flour instead of grinding rolled oats? Yes! If you prefer, use prepared oat flour instead of going rolled oats. The texture of the oatcakes will not have their characteristic nubby texture from more coarsely ground oats, but will still be delicious. Use an equal weight of oat flour (250 grams; just over 2 cups of oat flour).
- What can I use in place of the maple syrup? An equal amount of honey (if you do not follow a strict vegan diet), agave nectar or brown rice syrup. An equal amount of coconut sugar or brown sugar can also be used (add up to a tablespoon more hot water, as needed).
- Can I use steel cut oats in place of the rolled oats? I do not recommend using steel cut oats (also known as Scottish oats, Irish oats or pinhead oats), unless you have a high speed blender for grinding. If using any of these varieties of oats, use an equal weight (250 grams). which is about 1.75 cups.
Related Recipes
Scottish Oatcakes (V, GF, & Traditional Option)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups rolled oats (any variety), (certified gluten-free, as needed)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup plant butter/ vegan butter (not a spread), melted (see notes for options )
- 1/4 cup hot water , ( I use filtered tap water)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, (see notes for options)
- oat flour for rolling, (grind more oats)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a food processor, process the oats until coarsely ground. Transfer HALF of the ground oats to a large mixing bowl. Continue grinding the remaining oats until they are very finely ground. Transfer to the bowl with the other oats.
- Stir the baking soda and salt into the bowl with the oats.
- Add the melted butter, hot water and maple syrup to the oat mixture. Stir until well blended into a cohesive dough (add a few more drops hot water if dough seems too dry).
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll out into approximately 1/4 inch-(4 to 5 mm) thickness.
- Using a 2.5 inch (6.35 cm) round cookie cutter, cut dough into circles. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with dough scraps.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 28 minutes until golden and set at edges. Let cool on sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer to the rack.
- Let cool completely.
I recently tried ‘Walkers Highland Oatcakes’. It made me wonder if that was what a cardboard coaster would taste like before it was finally compressed. I also wondered if they were carelessly manufactured for the Xmas market (when people will grab any red coloured packet of biscuits regardless of country of origin). Also, they were much too brittle to handle buttering. Not trying to be rude…..these thoughts occurred to me immediately on tasting.
Then I found your oatcakes recipe. Delicious! Buttery! Unlike coasters! Thank you!
😂😂😂 Thanks for the hilarity, Geoff! It sounds like you may have gotten a stale package. But yes, homemade oatcakes (like mine, see her) are so much tastier (IMHO) than packaged varieties that were made long ago and fr away.
Thank you so much for this recipe. We’ve been craving oatcakes for ages, and I pm so pleased I found your recipe. Came out great.
After searching all over town for Nairn’s Oatcakes, finding them really expensive and sometimes stale, I found this awesome recipe, and make it often.
I have to be gluten free and I also really miss McVitties Digestives. Do you know them? Crunchy, grainy and subtly sweet, I get a brilliant substitute by making your oatcake recipe, using 2T coarse turbinado sugar instead of maple syrup, and sprinkling a tiny bit more sugar on top, after I’ve rolled them.
They are awesome as a dessert with cheese and fruit, and mak a spectacular base for s’mores!
That is such wonderful news, Maureen! Yes, I definitely know (and love) Mcvitties Digestive biscuits (the only place I can find them is at Cost Plus World Market in another city–expensive!) . I am so happy these are filling in as a substitute. I am going to make a batch with your changes, thank you!
I tried these today.. love them.. easy to bake and so delicious!! Thank you 🙂
Outstanding Ravneet!!! Thank YOU for taking the time to post 🙂
Can I substitute steel cut oats for the rolled oats in this recipe?
Hi Joann,
If you have a high speed blender, you can make it work, but you will need the powerful blender to grind the steel cut oats (I have added a note about this). Cheers.
I’m totally addicted to these. Being Scottish I can testify you’ll not get a better Gluten-free Vegan recipe for Scottish Oatcakes which are also similar to Walkers Highland Oatcakes. I doubled the salt measure, this suited my palate. We Scots have a love affair with salt, we even put it in our porridge, sweet porridge is for wimps 😉
I used parchment paper under and over the dough while rolling it out and didn’t need to use extra flour. I am very
much enjoying this recipe, thanks for posting.
Great recipe…thanks.
Thanks, Matt!
This is a great recipe. I have always found oatcakes difficult to get to stick together but not this one. I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Steelcut oats and used coconut oil for butter and maple syrup for sweetener. I ground about a cup and a half of oats for dusting flour and half of the recipe flour and pulsed the rest of oats in a nutribullet for three short bursts. Really easy, really tasty!
Yay, a fellow oat cakes aficionado! 🙂 Glad tese worked out, Patricia!
Thank you for this yummy recipe! I needed the GF option, but used organic butter (I ca eat dairy). These are greatly appreciated by this gal.
They came out delicious and remind me so much of the ones I eat when I’m in Scotland – I was missing them dearly and went searching for a recipe and I’m grateful I found yours.
I am so happy that you found it, too, Patti! Nothing beats a good oatcake, right? 🙂
to echo everyone else THANK YOU for posting this recipe…my only question, how long will they keep for?
Hi Gabrielle,
Wonderful, so glad you like the oat cakes, they are sill a favorite of mine, too. They should keep in an airtight tin for up to two weeks (tins will keep them crisper than, say, a Tupperware container) or freeze for up to 6 months.
Thanks so much for such a great recipe. I just made a batch and oh, my goodness, the delicious and very missed oatcakes of my time in Scotland – there it was. I may or may not have eaten six.
We are sympatico, Heather! These are still a favorite recipe for me, too–so glad they are bringing back great memories of time in Scotland (sigh… :))
As written, it states to use 1/4 butter…I used 1/4 CUP unsalted butter and they turned out very nice. Thought I would let you know in case someone else wonders the same.
Aack, yes, 1/4 cup–thanks for catching that, Jerilyn, I will go and correct the error right now. Much appreciated! 🙂
I make my own griddle oatcakes/scone at least once a week (Scottish circle of cast iron with a handle). We don’t put sweet things on them, we eat them for nreakfast or to serve with cheese. In Scotland we make scones for jam!
These are indeed like the Walker’s oatcakes, which I also enjoy, but have never tried making. They are delicious, more crisp than griddle oat scones.
I’ve searched for Walker’s Oat cakes for years since tasting them in the 80s.
THANK YOU for this delightful recipes. They taste just like I remember.
Taditional Oatcakes are very hard to find in Germany. So i tried your oatcake receipt, today. and they taste fantastic, problably i will give them a trie without honey, too. Thank you very much and best regards!
Great, Gavin! I know, they are ridiculously expensive at import stores.
My Father went to England fro Charles and Diana’s wedding, and brought me back a couple of tins of Walker’s Irish Oakcakes. I had never tasted anything so wonderful in the world. While many would wonder why I would eat “sawdust,” to me they were perfect, and I would eat them only on very special occasions. I could find them in the States for a short while, and then like all really good things they were suddenly gone. Thank-you so much for bringing them back into my life! I can’t wait to make them, made a cup of tea, and watch Midsomer Murders. Anglophile in Ann Arbor
we are sympatico, Cynthia, right down to the Midsomer Murders 🙂
Do I really need to add the maple? I’m not that fond of sweets and would just as soon leave it out, unless doing so ruins the texture or recipe outcome generally. I’m so glad I searched for this. Walker ‘ s brand is priced in Tucson like it’s made out of gold! I’d rather try to make my own, thank you. I eagerly await a reply.
HI Mary,
Yes, you can probably leave it out so long as you replace it with 1-2 more tablespoons hot water to make up for the liquid.
Just found this today and have been having a wicked craving for Walkers, which are very difficult to find in central Kentucky. Made these up in no time. Delectable with homemade strawberry jam from this summer’s crop! Thank you for posting this recipe!
you are so welcome, Jennifer!
do you need to add any liquid ?
Hi Sonia,
There are three liquid items in the recipe: the melted plant butter, maple syrup, and hot water 🙂
Forgive me, dear brother! I was not sure if you like oat cakes or not (I know you love tea and sweet biscuits, but I did not want to wrongly assume…) Love you! Camilla
Hey! What about me? I never need an excuse for tea and biscuits. These look great, Camilla! I’ll definitely have to try them.
Dear Dreaming,
Thanks for commenting! I hope you give them a try 🙂
These are delicious! I am not a big fan of breakfast, but like to eat something. These will be good for both breakfast and afternoon tea! Thanks for sharing!
These sound great. Thank you!