Irish Oat Cookies in a Jar

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A delicious, crunchy, traditional and utterly moreish cookie/biscuit, loaded with oats. These cookies are very easy to make and need only a few basic ingredients. The ingredients, except the butter, can be easily layered in a glass jar and as such, they make a wonderful gift, either for Christmas or, indeed, at any time of the year.

All the lucky recipient needs to do is add some butter, mix together, divide into cookies and bake. Homemade fresh cookies in minutes with minimal fuss – no shopping, weighing or measuring just 10 minutes in the kitchen, 20 minutes in the oven and all done. Sounds like the perfect Christmas gift to me!

These cookies have a lot of health benefits

Whilst they are definitely sweet, these biscuits have less sugar than a lot of cookies and the oats have many health benefits. Oats have more protein and fat than most other grains, a large range of vitamins and minerals, as well as being rich in fibre and carbohydrates. They are loaded with antioxidants and are an excellent source of slow release energy. For all these reasons, oats make a wonderful breakfast either served as porridge/oatmeal, in granola or muesli or other dishes.

How can I make these oatcakes vegan?

Simply replace the butter with a vegan butter replacement, and your oatcakes will be vegan. Please note I have only tried this using Flora Plant Butter – see photograph below.

Eat them at any time of the day!

These Oat Cookies can be eaten at any time of the day. Reminiscent of Hobnobs, they are a fabulous treat with a cup of tea or coffee and, with all the health benefits, you can enjoy them guilt free! I can guarantee, that they are delicious for a quick breakfast or when you need a pick me up or energy boost.

How to create this Irish Oat Cookies in a Jar

Collect all your ingredients together:

• 75g caster sugar
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 75g plain/all-purpose flour
• 125g jumbo oats

Per portion, you will also need:

• 1 x 500ml glass jar and lid
• cling film
• kitchen scales
• measuring spoons
• jug (optional)

How to prepare the gift:

1. Layer the sugar on the base of the jar.
2. Add the baking powder and salt.
3. Next add a layer of flour.
4. Finally add the oats. The ingredients should come to the very top of the jar.
5. Press down with a spoon to make sure the ingredients are compact.
6. Cover the top with cling film.
7. Close the jar and trim the excess cling film.
8. Your gift is ready – all you need to do now is add some ribbon and instructions.

NB I weigh the ingredients into a jug and then pour them into the glass jar.

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Or double up the ingredients!

1. If you prefer, you can layer a larger 1 litre jar with double the ingredients. This is ideal for a family as the mix will make 20 – 30 oatcakes.
2. If you are preparing them this way, don’t forget to inform the recipient that they need to use 250g butter/vegan butter replacement, rather than 125g.

Double the ingredients:

• 150g caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 150g plain/all-purpose flour
• 250g jumbo oats

Instructions to accompany the jar:

The instructions shown below are also in the Recipe at the end of the page. The recipe at the end of the page can be printed off and included with the gift.

What you will need to make these delicious Oatcakes –

• 125g unsalted butter or vegan butter alternative for the 500ml size jar or 250g unsalted butter or vegan butter alternative for the 1 litre size jar
• the contents of the cookie jar
• baking trays, lightly greased with butter
• instructions

How to make these delicious cookies –

1. Your butter needs to be at room temperature. If it is fridge cold, slice thinly into a mixing bowl and set on one side until soft enough to whisk – around 10 – 30 minutes depending on the temperature of the room.
2. You can also use a Vegan butter alternative. I use Flora Plant Butter.
3. Beat the butter with a whisk until light and fluffy.
4. Add the contents of the jar and stir to mix thoroughly.
5. Use an ice cream scoop to divide into cookies (10 – 15 cookies for the smaller size jar or 20 – 30 cookies for the larger size jar), depending on the size of the scoop. Press the mixture firmly into the scoop with your fingers to ensure the dough is compact and sticks together. Scoop out directly onto baking trays.
6. Bake in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and flatten gently with a palette knife.
8. Put back in the oven and continue to cook for a further 10 – 15 minutes until very lightly browned and slightly risen and spread out.
9. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

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Or you can make a cookie log and slice –

1. Tip the cookie dough onto clingfilm, press the mixture together really well with your hands and form into a cylinder, 5cm/2in diameter.
2. Wrap tightly in the cling film. Once wrapped, roll the sausage shape with your hands to help create an even shape with smooth sides. Refrigerate for a minimum of 10 minutes or up to 48 hours.
3. When you are ready to bake the cookies, use a sharp knife to slice round cookies. You should get around 15 slices. I make little marks on the side of the dough before `I slice it to make sure they are all the same size. The dough may crumble a little when you cut them, simply push back together with your hands.
4. Lay, spread out on greased baking trays, and bake in the centre of the oven for 18 – 20 minutes, until very lightly golden.

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What is the best way to store these cookies?

These cookies should be stored covered at room temperature. They keep well for up to 5 days.

Can I freeze these cookies?

Yes you can! You can freeze them either before you cook them or afterwards.

Freeze before cooking –

• Scoop the cookie mixture into balls, cover with cling film and then freeze.
• They can be cooked from frozen; you will need to add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time.

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Freeze after cooking –

Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Ideally freeze as soon as possible after baking but make sure they are properly cool before bagging/covering and freezing.

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.