Baked Oatmeal with Dates and Brown Sugar (Jaggery or Panela)

I love the combination of dates, brown sugar, spices and walnuts. This baked oatmeal may not be for everyone as the background tartness from the Tamarind may not appeal to every taste. It is very moist. While not very sweet, the buried “islets” of caramelized brown sugar in the mixture is a nice reward when eating. It goes well with yogurt and fruit for a satisfying breakfast. 

Ingredients:

1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats, uncooked

1 cup Scottish oatmeal

1/2 cup flax meal

¼ cup dry, shredded coconut

1/2 cup brown sugar (or equivalent in Panela or Jaggery pieces)

2 tablespoons Tamarind concentrate

1 cup dried Medjool dates, chopped

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 ½  teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons allspice

1 ½  teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large eggs

1 medium Granny Smith or other slightly tart apple, peeled and coarsely shredded

2 cups milk

1 1/3 cups half and half

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1.      In a large bowl, combine the oats, spices, oatmeal, chopped nuts, flax meal, coconut, baking powder, and salt. 

2.      Mix the tamarind concentrate, chopped dates, walnuts, and vanilla, with the milk and half and half. Slowly bring to below boiling, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning. The milk will thicken since the tamarind concentrate is acid, and does cause it to curdle slightly. Remove from heat, add the shredded apple to this,  and allow to cool to lukewarm temperature.  

3.      Heavily grease a 8x8x2 inch baking tin or Pyrex dish (If I’m using Pyrex, I put about 1-2 tablespoons of butter in the dish, microwave to melt, then swirl around to coat the bottom and sides just like you would do when making a bread pudding).  

4.      Whisk the eggs, and add the lukewarm milk mixture to this.

5.      Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix well. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Make small holes in the mixture and bury the pieces of Panela or Jaggery at regular intervals. If you use brown sugar, put about 1 teaspoon in the holes and then cover it up with the mixture. If you want to make it sweeter, increase the sugar to 3/4 cup, and place the "holes" a shorter distance from one another. Use a wooden spoon to distribute the solids evenly. Refrigerate for a few hours (6 hours at least) or overnight for the dry ingredients to absorb the wet mixture. 

6.      Bake in a water bath for 1 hour to 1 hour and twenty minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until the center is set, firm to the touch, has a golden color, and a cake tester inserted comes out relatively clean (I use a food thermometer to make sure that the center temperature is 164 degrees Fahrenheit or just above). For a nice “crust”, broil for a couple of minutes, watching carefully that it does not burn). Serve warm, or let it cool before freezing. Wrap for freezing as indicated in the previous recipe, using plastic wrap and foil. To freeze, wrap each square in plastic wrap, then wrap in aluminum foil, sealing well, then put all in a plastic freezer bag. Alternatively, foil alone may be used. To defrost, do so by putting it in the fridge overnight, then warming up in the microwave AFTER removing the foil and plastic wrap. I eat a square with freshly cut fruits, and a tablespoon or two of plain Greek yogurt.

Slightly Decadent Chocolate All Bran Muffins

If you want to have All Bran muffins in a way you have never before had them, then these are for you. The muffins are moist, with a soft, gooey chocolate center with a bonus walnut half. You can make these even more decadent  by using both dark and white chocolate for the center. That will definitely give you your chocolate high for the day. You can also kid yourself into believing that they are healthy for you since they have All Bran and dark chocolate! They are very good with morning coffee....you do get your cereal in.....and also a sweet, gooey reward at the center! Other ideas for the filling include, chocolate, blueberries and walnuts, 1 teaspoon of "Dulce de Leche", Raspberries and white chocolate, candied orange peel and dark chocolate, 1/2 teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter and half of a Medjool date!

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Brown sugar or Panela Redonda

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 cup Kellogg's® All-Bran® Original cereal

1/2 cup Scottish oatmeal

¼ cup dried, shredded,unsweetened coconut

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 cup Greek style yogurt, plain

¼ cup oil

1 teaspoon orange extract

12 dark chocolate chunks (I used Ghiradelli Semi sweet dark chocolate bar with 60% Cacao. Cut each square into 4 pieces)

To make this even more decadent, buy a bar of the White chocolate as well and prepare it the same way.

24 chocolate chips (approximately)

12 walnut halves (If you don't like walnuts or are allergic to them, use 2 whole Raspberries in each "sandwich" instead!)
1/2 a Granny Smith apple, peeled and shredded. This is optional but it does make the muffins quite moist.

Directions

1.In large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, oatmeal, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In saucepan combine half and half, molasses, orange extract, and the brown sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a simmer but do not boil. Allow to cool to lukewarm then this to the all-bran cereal, and dried coconut. Let stand about 2 minutes.

3. Have ready in a small bowl, the walnut halves, chocolate chips and cut up chocolate squares.

4. Lightly whisk the egg, oil and yogurt till thick and creamy. Add this and the lukewarm half and half mixture to the dry ingredients, and quickly mix. Be careful not to over mix the batter, stirring until just combined. Portion out mixture into 12 muffin cups (I use Reynolds foil Jumbo sized cups). Place in the center of each muffin, one walnut half, and one chocolate chunk (or two if you are using the white chocolate square as well, sandwiching the walnut half between the two pieces of chocolate).

.

Quickly cover this with batter so that is fully covered, and the muffin liner is about 2/3 full. Dot the top with the chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester at the edge of the muffin (not the center) comes out clean (you may see melted chocolate on the tester but there shouldn’t be any uncooked batter clinging to it). Cool on rack.