Cocoa Baked Oatmeal in a Mug

A mug breakfast dessert, of sorts, for you this morning. Gluten-free, as always, and dairy-free. Forgive the phone photos.

I'm not feeling well this morning. Yesterday I started feeling the scratch in my throat and took every supplement, essential oil and natural remedy I had on hand (properly spaced apart, of course) to avert the illness I felt imminent. My husband came down with a mild cold last week and my youngest came down with a bad cold this week, so I'm hoping it's the first cold and not the latter that I'm fighting. Regardless, I don't feel great.

After I slept in for a while, I got up and everyone else had already eaten. So no big breakfast. They'd finished off a pan of oatmeal (certified gluten-free, of course - and FYI - not everyone who eat gluten-free can handle even GF oats so use caution and listen to your body if you're not used to eating them). I didn't feel like cooking or baking. I wanted something simple, single-serving and yummy. I really wanted baked oatmeal (goodness, speaking of photos! I shudder at my early ones!) or something of the sort but wasn't about to wait that long or give that much effort. Mug baked oatmeal?

You have seen a couple of mug cake recipes posted here, and I have even more I have yet to put up. Some of them include oatmeal in them, but I hadn't tried pure baked oatmeal in a mug-microwave combination yet. I did a quick search to see if anyone else had attempted it yet. Given the way I'm feeling, I didn't want to mess with too much experimenting.

I came across this instant fudge brownie baked oatmeal in a mug and at first decided to not use the cocoa, because I thought I wanted cinnamon. I changed my mind, though, and went all out. I modified the recipe to suit my needs and desires, as you can see below.

Was it good? It was exceptional. A word of warning, though - as you can see from the photos, it overflowed from my standard size mug. Because it was a different consistency than other mug cakes I've made, it actually dribbled down the sides of the mug rather than just puff up and then shrink back into it. The Nutella mug pictured next to it below with my coffee would have been a better size for this microwave-baked oatmeal.

In the state of mind and all going on in my life lately, I'm likely to be posting more phone photos for you just so I can get posts up. It's really a little ridiculous considering I use my good camera nearly every day and am editing photos nearly every day, to not be taking good photos of my food for you! To be honest, though, I've been going through a lot and my family has been fed grits and eggs, toast and eggs and pancakes for more meals in the last couple of months than I'd like to admit. Thankfully I have an awesome husband and children who must think I even make eggs and grits with a magic hand - or they are just being really super sweet, which is more likely the case.

Projected time start to finish: 6 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

1 large egg
1 Tablespoon coconut milk
4 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla
1/4 cup certified gluten-free rolled oats
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 small pinches kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
2 1/2 Tablespoons pure organic cane sugar

Grease inside of large microwaveable mug and add egg, coconut milk (or milk of your preference), applesauce and vanilla. Stir with fork until blended.

In a small bowl, combine oats, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and sugar. Mix into mug slowly until all is combined.

Microwave on high about 2 minutes and 15 seconds or until it's all "baked."

Enjoy!

Pomegranate Cranberry Nutella No-Bake Cookies

Today is World Nutella Day. I didn't know that when I made these a few days ago, but I found out a few hours after I'd finished. Naturally, I decided to save the post in honor of this fabulous day. Don't forget about my Bananatella Cream Bites when you're whipping up your gluten-free nutella recipes today!

I'd actually been making these as something for a Valentine's Day option, because what can be better than chocolate, nutella and sweet red pomegranate-infused cranberries melted together to celebrate with your honey?

I adapted this recipe from the "Chocolate Unbaked Oatmeal Cookies" from the Miss Rodeo America Cookbook printed in 1995 that my mother-in-law gave me a long time ago. (She was a Miss Rodeo America.)

Projected prep time: 15 minutes; Projected cook time: 5 minutes
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1/2 c. milk (plus more)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/3 c. certified gluten-free oats
1 c. pomegranate Craisins
1/2 c. nutella
4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Please note that not everyone with celiac can ingest gluten-free oats as I explain in this link.

Place your oats in a bowl and drizzle a little milk over them and let them sit for about 5 minutes. You don't want to get them wet, you just want them damp enough to soften them. Original no-bake cookies call for quick oatmeal, so that's why you're doing this.

Combine sugar, butter, salt and 1/2 c. milk into saucepan and heat over low-medium heat until sugar dissolved, then cook for about a minute longer, then add vanilla.

Add your oats, and heat for another minute or two.

Add cocoa and nutella ...

then the Craisins. Turn off heat.

Mix thoroughly, then let sit in pan for two or three minutes.

Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with wax paper.

After they have completely cooled, store them at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days. If you store them longer, put them in the refrigerator.

Enjoy, and Happy World Nutella Day!

Baked Oatmeal

I vividly remember the first time my mother made this recipe. A friend had given it to her (that's all I know about who to source this recipe to) and she made it one morning for breakfast. I was in love. Before this, I didn't care for oatmeal unless it was in cookie form. But this ... this was delicious. It has the perfect texture. Not mushy at all, and -- if you bake it right -- it has a thin custard-type layer on the bottom. I love custard. No fear, though. If you bake it too long, it will still be good. The custard layer will just be dry and the baked oatmeal itself will be more dry.

By the time I was a teenager, I made baked oatmeal several times a week. I love to make it now when it's cold outside. It's delicious by itself, but when I have time I like to make baked apples to serve over it, drizzling the juice on top. Some people also prefer to eat it with some milk poured over it. Not me.

These do have raisins in them

A word of caution for those with celiac: Even certified GF oats can cause a problem for some celiacs. If your doctor has given you the okay to try GF oats (you need to be GF at least a year before trying them) and you have problems after eating them, you may be one of those celiacs.

Now, here's the recipe:

Projected prep time: 5 min; Bake time: 30-35 min.
(Printable Recipe)
2 c. certified GF oats
2 large eggs
1 tsp. GF, aluminum-free baking powder (who wants to eat aluminum?? I use Watkins b/c I sell it, but Rumford is also aluminum-free)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt (you can bet unless I specify otherwise, it's sea salt or kosher salt)
1/2 c. packed brown sugar (I prefer C&H dark brown for this)
1/4 c. vegetable oil or melted butter
3/4 c. milk (for dairy-free use almond milk or rice milk -- almond milk is better)

Mix well and pour into 8-inch square baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees 30-35 minutes. If desired, top with baked apples (and the juice) or raisins. Sometimes I'll bake chopped apples into it, but I prefer to just top it with the apples. Enjoy!