Individual Baked Oatmeal Cups

I like breakfast.  On the weekends, I have to talk Dave into letting me make a big breakfast of waffles or pancakes with eggs or sausage and fruit.  And while I love it during the week too, I want something quick and easy because I would much rather sleep than get up any earlier than I have to just to feed my hungry belly.  I usually have a banana before I leave the house and take something to eat when I get to work, like cereal and yogurt.  When I'm on top of things, I'll make extras of a weekend breakfast and throw the leftover waffles or pancakes in the freezer to put in my work bag before I leave.  I've even made extra mini frittatas, put them in the freezer, individually portioned, to pop in the microwave when I get to the office.  So these tasty, individual baked oatmeal cups called my name as another weekday morning breakfast.  Wholesome, tasty and healthy, these individual baked oatmeal cups are perfectly sweet, nutty and hearty, and totally customizable to your favorite oatmeal flavors.  Topping them with blueberries, dried cranberries or chocolate chips was just the beginning (because that's what I had closest in reach), but I can see other fruits or nuts getting their opportunity to be part of this perfect breakfast too.  Freezable and easily portable, these are definitely in my breakfast rotation.

My friend Mere (you remember Mere, she gave us these lovely gems), pinned these a few weeks ago and when I saw them I said, "yes, please!"  Brenda from Sugar-Free Mom created these from a large baked oatmeal casserole and provided a lot of good tips. I liked that even though this is a healthy, diabetic and gluten free (if using gluten free oats) friendly recipe, the ingredient list is accessible.  I'm not sure exactly what I did differently, but I ended up getting 24 individual cups, rather than Brenda's 18 (not that I'm complaining!), so I suppose you could fill the cups a bit more (although I think my end product is about the same size as Brenda's).  I did take Brenda's suggestion of using honey since I don't stock stevia in my pantry, but I only used 1/3 cup rather than 1/2 cup (that just seemed like a lot of honey to me).  Use whatever type of toppings you like--the cool thing is you can do a little of this and a little of that to satisfy picky palettes (or expand your own).  I used between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon of toppings, but you can adjust as you like, or leave some plain. 



Individual Baked Oatmeal Cups

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 banana, mashed
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cup milk
optional toppings of your choice: raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, blueberries, dried cranberries, etc.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, applesauce, banana, honey and vanilla  until combined.

Add oats, flaxmeal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and mix to combine.

Pour milk over mixture and whisk until incorporated.  Note: This is a runny batter--I like my oatmeal thick and chunky, so to me this is thin; others may think it's just fine.

Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners and spray liners generously with cooking spray.  Distribute oatmeal mixture evenly into muffin cups, about 1/4 cup each.

So, clearly this picture is from before I realized how many servings I would get.

Sprinkle desired toppings over the muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool in pan on wire rack for a few minutes before transferring to cool completely on wire rack.  Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container or zip-top bag and freeze.  To reheat, microwave on high for 45-60 seconds.

Makes 24 individual cups.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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