Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal

Original Recipe HERE

 

We had this as dinner because it was super easy to throw all the ingredients in the stand mixer's bowl, dump the batter in the dish, and toss it in the oven and forget about it until the timer went off.  Notice the verbs used; it was That Kind of Night.  Thank goodness for recipes like this that everyone liked, so at least we ended the day on a positive note.

 

The original recipe called for half a cup of oil, which seemed nasty to me.  Normally I'd substitute apple sauce for the oil, but there already was some.  So I broke out my first ever jar of coconut oil and gave it a whirl.  I was in a rush, so I didn't take the time to fully liquify it, double-boiler style.  I kind of softened it up via the microwave, and as soon as I added it to the cold batter, it solidified again.  So halfway through the baking, I stirred the batter as best I could in the hopes that would distribute it.  Next time I'll have a better technique, but I'll definitely use it again because it gave a slight hint of coconut that added to the final product rather than detracted.

 

The level of sweetness was good, though the amount of brown sugar made me pause a little just because I was serving this as dinner.  Substituting half with honey, or maybe even molasses, could work.  I made bacon and served the oatmeal as-is, but next time I'll made it a more complete meal with yogurt or something.  Or not.  Yeah, probably not.

 

Ingredients

2 eggs

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted

1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

2-1/4 cups milk [I used skim]

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt [I forgot this]

1/2 cup wheat flour

4 cups quick cooking oats

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9×13" baking dish.

(2) In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, applesauce, butter, oil,  pumpkin, milk, syrup and brown sugar until smooth.

(3) Add spice, baking powder, salt, flour and oats. Beat on low until incorporated.

(4) Pour batter into dish.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through in the center of the dish.

(5) Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with milk, yogurt, Greek yogurt, or as is.

 

Kid Participation:

* Dump ingredients into mixing bowl

* Run mixer