If you’re bored with your breakfast, this is a great way to change up that plain old bowl of oatmeal. And it’s so easy. All you have to do is cook a batch of oatmeal, pour it into a baking dish to cool, cut it, sear it, and top it with fruit, nuts and syrup. It turns out kind of like an oatmeal cookie that looks a bit like french toast. Yum. This recipe uses steel-cut oatmeal, which takes longer to cook than instant oatmeal because steel-cut oats go through less processing. (Steel-cut is the whole grain groat cut into pieces.)
I cooked the oatmeal Sunday night, put the baking dish in the fridge, and every morning this week I’ve cut a few pieces and pan-seared them for breakfast. There are many different recipes available, although most of them call for pan-searing the oatmeal in butter. As an alternative, Pam cooking spray works really well. This particular recipe is on the Get Off Your Tush and Cook website. I added the apple cider syrup to the recipe, but it’s wonderful served with maple syrup as well.
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 cup non-diary milk (I used almond)
- ¼ cup loosely packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups steel-cut (Irish) oats
- Cooking spray for searing
- Boil 2 cups of apple cider for about 30 minutes until reduced to ¼ cup
- fresh fruit (banana, pear, apple, berries), dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, apricots), nuts (pecans, almonds, hazelnuts)…the possibilities are ENDLESS!
- Combine water, apple cider, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; stir in oats. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Spoon oatmeal into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until set.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the oatmeal into 8 equal rectangles; cut each rectangle in half diagonally to form 16 triangles.
- Spray cooking spray in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 8 oatmeal triangles; cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oatmeal triangles. Top with your favorite fruit, nuts, dried fruit, and a drizzle of syrup.
A sweet and satisfying sensation for several sleepyhead scholars on summer break!
I can’t wait to try your Apple Cider Syrup – I get weary of rationing the maple kind.
Kiss the cook!