You Oat-ta Know
...about my new breakfast obsession: baked oatmeal.
It's basically a giant oatmeal cookie but with far less sugar and lots more flavor. Also, no creaming together butter and sugar.
I have toyed with lots of ways to eat oatmeal, from adding pureed pumpkin and butternut squash to adorable overnight oats in Mason jars. But baked oatmeal might be my favorite of all of these things so far.
Crunchy on the outside, dense on the inside and easily customizable, baked oatmeal is perfect for harried mornings where you have to eat during your commute -- or even when you finally sit down at your desk. Baked oatmeal isn't messy. It isn't crumbly. It isn't sticky. You can wrap it in a napkin or stick it in a Tupperware and it is ready to go.
On top of that, because it's oatmeal, you can do almost anything to it. You can make it savory with parmesan cheese and sage or go decadent and add chocolate chips and cocoa powder. I opted for a cherry-almond combo because that was my favorite scent of Johnson and Johnson's no-tear shampoo when I was a little kid. Well, that's not really the whole reason but it did sort of guide my recipe process.
I can't wait to make this again with different ingredients. I think next up will be mixed berry and walnut, or maybe a seasonal flavor with lots of warm spices and pecans. Any way you want to do it is fine by me.
FYI, this recipe is not vegan. While you can certainly substitute the dairy items for nutmilk and non-dairy yogurt, I really don't know how the recipe will react to an egg substitute. So bear that in mind.
Also, sorry about the recent string of music puns in my blog post titles. They're just too good and I can't help myself.
Ingredients:
1 c. apple, peeled and grated
1/2 c. vanilla yogurt
1 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. dried cherries
1/2 c. slivered almonds
2 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/3 c. agave
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch pie plate.
2. In a large bowl, combine the apple, cherries, baking powder, sea salt, oats, almonds and spices. Mix well to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients. Whisk well to combine and then add to the oat mixture. Integrate the wet and dry ingredients fully, then spoon into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Serve warm (I employed our toaster oven and it worked very well).
