Oh how I just love the Fall. The onset of cool mornings and evenings makes me energized, especially after the humidity of this past summer. Yes, I was that kid who was excited to go to school, armed with new pencils, ruled paper, 3-ring binders and of course, a pink eraser. Does anyone remember covering your textbooks with brown paper bags? I know I am really dating myself here but wasn’t that fun? It was like wrapping a present. I wonder if I could remember how…
While I don’t have “back to school” management as part of my job description anymore, the Fall somehow still feels busy as I’m sure it is for all of you! We need some quick and easy recipes right?
The recipe I am sharing with you today came from one of my favorites to follow, Pamela Salzman. I think she and I could be good friends in real life – or maybe she is just relatable to me. She leads a pretty aspirational life, clean eats, beautiful home, lovely husband and children but really it’s just her positive energy that I find attractive. I enjoy her recipes which are healthy, uncomplicated and always turn out well! When she reminded her followers about her recipe for baked oatmeal cups recently, she was really excited about it so guess what? I got excited too!
I am not a huge oatmeal eater, but these baked oatmeal cups sounded really interesting and possibly a hybrid between something really healthy and just a little indulgent. Rolled oats, chopped nuts, baking powder and salt are mixed with a combination of pure maple syrup, milk of choice (I used MALK unsweetened almond), 1 egg, a little coconut oil or butter, and vanilla extract. The mixture is ladled into 9 lined muffin tins and then topped with your choice of fruit, nuts or even mini chocolate chips. The cups are baked for about 25 minutes and are delicious slightly cooled, room temperature or my new favorite – right out of the fridge. They are dense, not airy like a muffin so they are fairly filling and good for a quick breakfast on the go, as a snack or even as an after dinner treat. They are sweet, but not overly so and the recipe uses an unprocessed sugar (maple syrup) so a little better than white or brown sugar. And they have a nice little crunch from the nuts and some texture from the fruit so what more can you ask for?!
I added blueberries to my whole batch because that’s what I had on hand…
I am definitely making a batch of these to take on our upcoming plane trip and may mix in a few chia or flax seeds to amp up the fiber. I think they’d be a great addition to your repertoire if you are once again back to busy school mornings, picking up hangry children from afternoon activities or just need a new, homemade option for your Fall hikes and bikes…
Bring on the sweater weather! I’m here for it!
Until next time…
One Year Ago: Corn, Tomatoes and Clams on Grilled Bread
Two Years Ago: Grilled Zucchini Caprese
Four Years Ago: Ina’s Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
Seven Years Ago: Serena, Joan and The Kitchen (an essay)
Eight Years Ago: Fried Zucchini Spaghetti
This recipe is from Pamela Salzman's website. While I enjoyed the cups shortly after they finished baking while still warm, I've become a huge fan of them cold as a snack! I hope you enjoy them. Thank you, Pamela!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant, not steel-cut)
- 1/4 cup walnuts, almonds or pecans, chopped plus extra for topping (optional)
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups milk of choice (cow, almond, oat)
- 1 large egg (see notes)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter or unrefined coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- toppings: fresh blueberries, sliced fresh strawberries, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with rack in the middle. Line a standard muffin pan with 9 liners.
- Combine baking powder, salt, oats and nuts in a large bowl.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together maple syrup, milk, egg, butter or coconut oil and vanilla.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir to combine.
- Ladle the oat mixture into the prepared muffin tin, filling each about 3/4 full. The Kitchen Scout note - I found the easiest way to do this was with a large spoon (you could also use an ice cream scoop) and get the cups equally filled with the oat mixture. There will be some leftover wet ingredients at the bottom of your bowl that you can then evenly distribute among the cups.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cups with topping of choice.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes (I cooked mine for 25) or until set and wet ingredients are fully absorbed.
- These were delicious warm, room temperature and even cold. Store in the refrigerator and reheat if desired in a 350 degree oven.
- Enjoy!
Tips from The Kitchen Scout
In Pamela's recipe she suggests you can swap out 1/2 cup mashed banana or 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce for the egg if you prefer.
