The Starbucks Oatcake. Only found in Hawaii. And not even all of Hawaii. Only on the island of Oahu. Kinda neato, eh? I was introduced to these mysteriously ugly brown rounds by my friend Noelle. She would bring them into our high school newspaper office every so often and munch on them for breakfast/lunch/snack, or whatevers. I was intrigued. It took quite a while to eat, those heavy monsters. And they weren't very attractive at all.
Then one day, out of sheer curiosity more than anything...I bought one. $2.25. Weightwise, I felt as if I were carrying 3 or 4 of their scones. I pulled it out and inspected it. Ugly. Moldy appearance. Hard. I couldn't wait to dig in :)
And you know what? These things are awesome! Close your eyes and eat. Eat bit pulled off (I wouldn't suggest biting a piece off with your mouth) is a bit chewy with the faintest taste of honey. Lots of nutty oats and the occasional bit of blueberry, but more often, dried cranberries. Blended with ground walnuts, it's not too sweet yet satisfies my dessert and lunch craving. And at 500 calories a piece, you bet it's a lunch! So add this on you list of excuses to come visit our little island: I need to go to Starbucks. And please don't turn your nose up high. I like Starbucks. Besides, the oatcakes aren't shipped over from some random place but are baked by our very own local Honolulu Baking Co. And make sure to visit early as they sell out fast - islanders are addicted to these Hawaiian Hockeypucks. Here's comment posted by "MR" on the Starbucks Gossip post on the general crappiness of Starbucks pastries,
"The only Starbucks that has good pastries are the ones in Hawaii. Why? They use local vendors. That's what all of them should do! They have a killer oatcake!"
Indeed. Why in fact, it's caused quite a bit of experimenting on the part of Hawaii's newspapers and local homecooks more than once. But after reading the recipe, I think I'll stick with purchasing them!