Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Bars

My one-year-old’s favorite food in the world is mushy bananas and oatmeal. Want to know what my two least favorite foods in the world are? Bananas and oatmeal (not necessarily in that order). I find both unbelievably unappealing.

But despite my distaste for oatmeal in its liquid, mock-breakfast cereal form, I’ll be the first to admit that oats and sugar have a way of working wonders in the oven. Case in point: these easy oatmeal raisin bars. They’re thicker and chewier than your average oatmeal raisin cookie, which, in my mind, makes them oh so much better. And they take less than 15 minutes to prepare—which is about the time it takes me to wipe the usual post-breakfast oatmeal-banana remnants off the floor, highchair, and baby’s face/hands/clothes/body on a regular daily basis.

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Bars
Recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
1 and ½ sticks of unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup AP flour
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1 cup raisins

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter an 8×8 baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter the paper as well.
3. Whisk together the butter, white and brown sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon until smooth.
4. Add flour, oats, and raisins; fold in just until combined.
5. Spread your batter in the prepared pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
6. Let the bars cool completely before cutting. You can use the parchment paper to lift them out of the pan easily.

Jan 28

Oatmeal Muffins With Dried Fruits and Pecans

I’m a big fan of muffins. I mean, all you really have to do is call a cupcake a muffin, and you can totally get away with eating it for breakfast.

But while I have to admit that some muffin recipes pack a bit too much early-morning sugar even for a sweet tooth like me, these muffins are, objectively speaking, perfectly breakfast-appropriate. They’re not super sweet, but the combination of dried fruits brings a lot of flavor to the table.

You can definitely feel free to substitute the dried fruits I used for others you might prefer. And if you’re not a fan of pecans, you can get away with using walnuts instead—though I think the pecans work wonderfully.

Oatmeal Muffins with Dried Fruits and Pecans
Adapted From Simply Recipes

Ingredients:
1 cup of traditional rolled oats
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped prunes
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup buttermilk**
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
3. Stir in the pecans and dried fruit.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula or spoon, stir the mixture together gently until just combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let the muffins sit in the pan for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

**Don’t have buttermilk on hand? Just pour a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup, and then add enough milk to bring the mixture to the one-cup mark. Let it stand for about five minutes, and then you’re good to go.

Jan 27

Marshmallow Caramel Swirl Brownies

Sometimes I get into these “I’ve got to have a brownie” moods—which is funny, ‘cause I’m not always the biggest chocolate person (I know, blasphemy). In fact, most days I’d opt for a blondie before going for its cocoa-laden counterpart, but yesterday I was all about the dense, gooey chocolate brownie. I took a recipe I recently made, added a couple of tweaks, and about half an hour later found myself sitting on the couch with a warm, delicious concoction that took no more than 10 minutes to actually throw together.

Now I’ll admit that I enjoyed the downtime almost as much as the brownie. Almost.

Marshmallow Caramel Swirl Brownies

Ingredients:
1 stick melted butter
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup AP flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 cup caramel chips (these can be tricky to find, but butterscotch chips work just as well)
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup marshmallow fluff, divided

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8×8 pan.
2. Combine the melted butter and cocoa.
3. Add in your sugar and mix well.
4. Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
5. Stir in the flour, salt, vanilla, and instant coffee, then whisk to combine.
6. Stir in the caramel and chocolate chips.
7. Stir in ½ cup of the marshmallow fluff
8. Pour brownie mixture into the prepared pan.
9. Top mixture with remaining marshmallow fluff, using the edge of a greased spoon to swirl it around.
10. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean (I wanted these brownies a little on the gooey side).
11. Let brownies cool a bit more in pan before cutting. Or, if you simply can’t wait (and I wouldn’t judge you if that were the case), go ahead and dig right in. They’ll be a little tricky to cut, but in my humble opinion, they’re even more delicious when they’re warm and soft.