Sweet Oatcakes

Sweet oatcakes, just like the baked apples, were discovered in The Outcast of Redwall when Sunflash was teaching the hares of Salamandastron how to cook. They are made with milk, honey, dried fruit, and nuts and can be cut into squares for easy snacking. For mine, I used dried blueberries and chopped walnuts -- a combination I find particularly wonderful, especially with the addition of some cinnamon. Feel free to use your own favorites, though. I bet dried cherries and chopped almonds would also be fabulous.

Sweet Oatcakes

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Cool time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Yield: 8-16 bars, depending on how big you want them

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or other nut)
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries (or other fruit)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Mix together the oats, nuts, fruit, and cinnamon.
   
3. Mix together the water, oil, and baking powder (this is making a binding similar to an egg), then add the milk, vanilla, and honey.
   
4. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients. At this point, you will think that I have missed an instruction or ingredient because you will have a bowl of wet oats sitting in a puddle of milk. Don't despair and don't add anything. This is how it's supposed to be, I promise. It'll all work out. 
   
5. Pour the mixture into a greased 7x11 inch pan and use a spoon or your fingers to spread the oats into an even layer. The milk should spread itself out on the bottom.
   
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan on a rack before cutting.