Baked " Cranberry Nut Bread" Oatmeal

swissms's Note:

For years I never ate oatmeal due to the "mushy" texture. After seeing a baked oatmeal prepared on FoodNetwork, it inspired me to come up with a few baked oatmeal recipes inspired by some popular baked goods. This oatmeal has a much more firm texture. Check out my recipes for Baked "Apple Oatmeal Raisin Cookie" Oatmeal and Baked "Banana Bread" Oatmeal.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 cup quick oats or 1 1⁄8; cups old fashioned oats
• 1⁄3; cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 dash salt
• 1⁄3; cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ½-1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest (optional)
• 1 egg
• 2 -4 tablespoons sugar (to create brulee topping) (optional) or 2 -4 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
• ¼-½ cup toasted pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add dried cranberries and chopped pecans.
3. In small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, vanilla and orange zest. Add the milk mixture to the oat mixture and stir until combined.
4. Pour into 4-6 small souffle or brulee dishes or one larger baking dish (such as an 8x8-inch dish). (You may want to lightly spray baking dish with cooking spray.).
5. Bake 20-30 minutes (small baking dishes) or 30-40 minutes (large baking dish), or until slightly firm to touch. (Baking time will vary depending on the diameter of your baking dishes.).
6. Sprinkle with sugar (optional: use torch to create a brulee topping). Garnish with toasted pecans.

Reviews

[Sydney Mike]

Well, although used all the ingredients you listed, I did change several of them, increasing them, actually! I used a full cup of dried cranberries, half a cup of pecans & a very generous teaspoon of the orange zest!, & we loved it all! A wonderful flavor combo for oatmeal! Thanks for this great keeper! [Tagged & made in Please Review My Recipe]

[Karen67]

I really love oatmeal and think this turned out quite tasty. I'm only giving it 3 stars because I had to make some changes after trying the Banana Bread version of this recipe and finding it just too dry. After looking up another Baked Oatmeal recipe that I really like, I made the following changes: 1 cup quick oats, 3/4 cup milk (made from powdered milk since I was out of fresh) and baking time reduced to 35 minutes for a large dish. I also subbed walnuts for pecans and left out the optional ingredients. The shorter cooking time made a big difference. It wasn't mushy (due to reduced liquid) but wasn't dry either. I love having the nuts included in the oatmeal and will throw them in whenever I make baked oatmeal in the future.

[loof]

Delicious!! Loved the brown sugar with the cranberries. I didn't have any orange zest so I just added 1/4 tsp of orange juice and that gave it just a hint of orange flavor - perfect. As with your other 2 baked oatmeals I've tried, I halved the recipe and cooked it in 2 ramekins - ate one warm the day I made it, ate the other cold the next day. Wonderful both ways - thanks for sharing your recipe!