Cranberry Baked Oatmeal atop plain Yogurt with drizzled Honey and Lemon zest.

Two winter storms have come and gone, leaving only the wind.  Despite every last button fastened, the January cold finds us while the wind brushes the ice off the tall banks of accumulated snow.  On almost any late morning in winter, we might see the same sky: translucent and dimly lit, dirty and grey.

I spoon another copious bite of baked Oatmeal from my bowl: familiar food in new form.    Have you ever eaten something both because you like the way it tastes, but crave it because of its texture?   Baked oatmeal feels dry, yet chewy, and when you put your spoon through the center, the hearty oats break apart through the mantle of almonds and goo as you mine for pieces of fruit and nuts in between the rolled oats.  I come up with a red cranberry, sour like a cherry, bitingly tart unlike other berries. It’s a c-r-a-n-berry, a berry that only makes you salivate if it’s paired with a little sweetness.  Bake them with oatmeal in a small size muffin pan and they’re like small cakes, easy to re-heat , a warm comforting morning meal.

Baked Oatmeal with Cranberries and Almonds

• 1 cup organic thick cut rolled oats
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar in the raw
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 sea or kosher salt

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Combine all wet ingredients together and whisk.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet.  Prepare a six muffin pan with oil (I used an olive oil spray), then fill each individual muffin well with the prepared oat mixture until it’s almost, but not quite, overflowing.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until golden brown, approximately 40 mins.  If your goal is to have perfectly formed cake mounds, allow the oatmeal to rest in the muffin tins for about an  hour before serving.  This is step is not necessary if you use eggs, add 2 eggs if using.  I’ve made this recipe with and without eggs.  I decided to leave them out of the recipe since  I didn’t feel that it was necessary for a good result.  Serve plain, or with your favorite yogurt.

Fage with Honey and Lemon Zest

Flavoring plain yogurt with fresh fruit juice, such as a lemon with zest, in combination with honey or maple syrup is surprising in it’s simplicity and delicious.  

Plain Yogurt with Drizzled Honey and Lemon Zest

• 1/2 cup Face or your favorite organic yogurt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Mix the yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a breakfast bowl.  Top the yogurt with the Baked Oatmeal. Drizzle the dish with honey, molasses or maple syrup.

Finished!