Recipe first, blather second. (I don't know how to do those fancy schmancy recipe layouts so bear with me.)
Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal Cups
2 tablespoons melted butter (I used salted butter)
1 egg
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup of packed brown sugar (plus a little more, I made mine a heaping 1/3)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 muffin pan
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin pan and set aside (or use a silicon muffin pan).
- Mix together all ingredients – except oats – until well combined.
- Add oats to wet mixture. Then spoon into muffin pans, keeping an even amount of liquid to oats in each cup.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until set.
- Let cool completely if you want portable oatmeal cups, or eat warm.
- Store leftovers in the fridge.
- Makes 11-12 muffin cups
First of all, this is NOT turning into a cooking blog because come on. If you've read me at all you know me and cooking have a tumultuous relationship. Second! I can't stand when I go to look for a recipe and there is a long post before the recipe talking about memories with their grandmother, and the wonderful smell in the kitchen, and blah blah blah, cooking with my family, blah blah. I just want the fricking recipe! So I put all of my long, unimportant-to-your-life drivel at the end of the recipe. Because I'm real, people. I know your pain.
OK. So a local coffee shop has these oatmeal cup things that aren't oatcakes and aren't oatmeal muffins and aren't oatmeal breakfast bars, and they basically taste like flavored oatmeal-to-go. Like little condensed oatmeal blocks you can hold in your hand. Obviously, I'm obsessed. And I can't find a recipe. *sad face*
But baked oatmeal is the closest so far! The recipe above is my own take, cobbled together from a bunch of different sources. You could basically flavor these oatmeal cups anyway you want by substituting the orange juice with milk or another liquid. I'm still working on a denser texture, so I may update this recipe, but these are really good for a basic grab-and-go oatmeal breakfast. I have them in a bag in the fridge and I microwave them 20-30 seconds before eating. They are also super tasty fresh out of the oven, but put them in a bowl because they won't hold their shape until cooled completely.
To serve family style instead of cups, just throw the ingredients in a baking dish and cook 30 minutes or until set.
I actually love this idea as a make ahead and serve to guests sort of thing, too. I haven't tried freezing them yet, but I suspect they'll be fine. Since I'm not big on cooking, when I actually get around to cooking, I like being able to make enough that I can just grab the finished product later. It's called "conservation of laziness resources". š
– wg
P.S. Must love oatmeal.
Where the glossy photo selling your brilliance?! ..although my kids are still convinced that any type of hot cereal is good for one bite only. The oldest is trying to insist that she’ll only eat freshly made food, but that “conservation of laziness resources” also works for the utter lack of time to make every meal. Let’s hear it for leftovers that I don’t need to share. Ha!