Oat

Known as biscuits in the United Kingdom, these rich treats get their chewy-crunchy texture from Scottish pinhead (steel-cut) oats. For a more tender cookie, use old-fashioned oats.

Cranachan is Scotland's traditional harvest-time pudding, a blend of Crowdie (an artisanal cottage cheese), cream, toasted oats, berries, whisky, and honey. Here, it's updated with crème fraîche (instead of the Crowdie), toasted hazelnuts, and grated chocolate, and served parfait-style in individual goblets. To allow the flavors to meld, assemble the parfaits ahead of time and chill them overnight before serving.

"Never have I tried a homemade bread as light and delicious as the honey-oat loaf at The Green Mountain Inn in Stowe, Vermont," writes Rebecca Rothaug of Westbury, New York. "With your help, I would like to share this bread with my family and friends." Serve slices of this tender, slightly sweet bread with plenty of butter and honey.

Hearty breakfast fare from Rick & Ann's in Berkeley, California.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Here's a real treat for the lunch box. Adding dried cherries and chocolate chips turns classic oatmeal cookies into something new.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

Our food editors especially liked the unusually soft and light texture of this oatmeal bread.

Chill this overnight to develop the blueberry flavor and give the filling time to set.

These large, hearty cookies are a fairly recent addition to the American repertoire, appearing sometime in the latter half of the twentieth century. Most ranger cookies contain rolled oats and coconut, and some also include pecans and crushed corn flakes. Despite the name, the cookies don't seem to be connected with the Texas Rangers or Texas, or with any particular part of the country, for that matter. These cookies have a rich, satisfying taste and toothsomeness that gives them great staying power and appeal. They are particularly good with a glass of milk.