Tag Archives: oatmeal

Nov 20

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Yes, I’m still doing the pumpkin thing. No, I haven’t gotten tired of it yet, as evidenced by these moist, cakey pumpkin oatmeal cookies. Feel free to get creative with the mix-ins, though I personally think white chocolate chips and dried cranberries were the perfect choice for this easy recipe.

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups oldfashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
  3. Add in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, mixing well to combine.
  4. Add the flour mixture; mix until well-incorporated.
  5. Fold in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
  6. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons onto your prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. When stored in an airtight container, these cookies should last a good 4-5 days (if you don’t polish them all off before then).
Sep 25

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bread

I’ll admit it: Sometimes I like eating sweets for breakfast. I think that’s called being human. At the same time, I don’t like my breakfast sweets to be too sweet (in other words, you usually won’t find me chowing down on a heavily iced chocolate fudge cupcake along with my morning coffee). So when I found myself craving a breakfast treat the other day, I decided to try a recipe that I’d recently seen on one of my favorite baking blogs.

Although you could serve this oatmeal chocolate chip bread after dinner or as an afternoon snack, to me, it’s just perfect for breakfast. The chocolate chips add just the right amount of sweetness, and the dense yet moist nature of the bread makes it perfect for dipping in coffee (confession: I’m a bit of a serial dunker). Best of all, it’s really a cinch to make, and if you have any left over, it’ll probably keep for the better part of a week as long as you keep it tightly wrapped.

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bread
Recipe from Bake or Break

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temp

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until-combined. Your batter may be a little lumpy, and that’s fine.
  4. Pour your batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  5. Let the bread cool in its pan for at least an hour before slicing and serving.
May 24

Chocolate Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars

Oops. I realized I made these awhile ago but never got around to posting the recipe. Luckily I remembered to take a picture, so better late than never I suppose.

Anyway, I’m a big fan of repurposing easy recipes, especially when they come out tasting delicious. So when I needed something to throw together for an impromptu neighborhood gathering, I decided to revisit the oatmeal raisin bars I made a little while back. This time, however, I decided to forego the raisins in favor of chocolate and cinnamon chips. The end result? Pure magic in every bite.

oatmealchoccin

Chocolate Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars
Recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for 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
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter an 8×8 square baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides, and butter the paper.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon until smooth. Add flour, oats, and chips; fold in just until combined.
4. Spread batter in prepared pan, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in pan.
5. Once cool, use the parchment paper to lift the bars onto a work surface for cutting.

 

May 23

Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

We’ve had a bit of a heat wave lately here in New Jersey. And for the record, I knew this was going to happen. See, most years we get at least a little taste of that wonderful season called “spring.” You know, when the sun comes out and the temps are warm enough for you to walk around outside in a t-shirt without being too hot or too cold. Well, this year we basically had cold, often-rainy weather up until a couple of days ago. Then it turned hot. Really hot. I’m talking 85-degree, smog in the air hot. It’s the type of weather where my naturally curly hair doesn’t stand a chance (not that I’m above pulling it back into a bun or slapping a baseball cap on top of my head, but there’s just something about massive, uncontrollable humidity-induced frizz that makes my self-esteem take a bit of a hit) and the simple act of walking down the street is enough to make you reach for a Gatorade.

In weather like this, all I ever really want to eat is yogurt, cereal, and ice cream. And the last thing I want to do is slave over a hot stove or even contemplate turning on my oven. But alas, my desire to put something in my stomach other than pure dairy got the better of me, and so I decided to bake up some quick oatmeal bars.

The good thing about this recipe is that it’s just about the easiest thing ever. You don’t need fancy equipment or a ton of ingredients, and your oven stays on for only a short amount of time. While some people might refer to these babies as oatmeal cookie bars, to me, they’re more like candy bars. The only downside to making them smack in the middle of a heat wave is that the tops have a tendency to melt if you’re cheap and stubborn like me and refuse to run your air conditioner (though I eventually caved). In fact, you’ll definitely want to store these in the fridge, no matter the season. But if you like chewy, chocolate peanut butter candy bars, you’ll definitely want to whip up a batch of these. Just be careful offering them up to neighbors, coworkers, and friends—you may be surprised at what little you have left for yourself.

oatmealcandybars

Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

For the base:
4 cups of quick-cooking oats
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup corn syrup

For the topping:
1 cup milk chocolate, chopped (it’s okay to use chocolate chips)
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

Method:

For the base:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside. Using a wooden spoon, combine the oats, brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup.
2. Press the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.
3. Allow the base to cool completely (at least 30 minutes) before adding the topping.

For the topping:
1. Combine the chocolate and peanut butter in a small bowl and melt in the microwave at 50% power for 30-second increments, stirring in between each. Once the mixture is smooth, immediately stir in the peanuts and then use an offset spatula to spread the topping over the base.
2. Place the bars in the fridge to set, at least one hour.
Keep these bars stored in the fridge, not at room temp. They happen to taste really good cold, but if you’d prefer them a little warmer and chewier, just take them out about 15-30 minutes before you want to eat them. I don’t recommend microwaving them to warm them up, as the topping has a tendency to melt quickly.

 

 

Jan 30

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.

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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.

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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.