Apricot Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

I like baked oatmeal for breakfast. It's a change from just having oatmeal in a bowl very morning. This combination uses a variety of dried fruit for sweetness, as well as fresh blueberries. I also use a Colombian Brown Sugar, of which I am especially fond. It has a caramel flavor and adds depth to whatever I make, more than ordinary brown sugar can do. It's called Panela Redonda.

It's a little more difficult to work with but the resulting flavor, especially when caramelized in the oven, is just amazing.

Ingredients:

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

1 cup Scottish oatmeal

1/2 cup flax meal

¼ cup dry, shredded coconut

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup dried cranberries

½ cup dried apricots, chopped

1/3 cup sliced almonds

2 teaspoons ground coriander

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 orange extract

½ cup fresh blueberries

¼ cup Panela Redonda, broken into pieces

Directions

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

2.      Mix the sugar, honey, coriander, dried fruit, and orange extract, with the milk and half and half. Slowly bring to below boiling, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm temperature.  Add in the shredded apple.

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. Use a wooden spoon to distribute the solids evenly. Once the mixture has thickened, arrange the fresh blueberries and Panela pieces on top. This way, the berries and Panela will stay on the top of the mixture). Refrigerate for a few hours (6 hours at least) or overnight for the dry ingredients to absorb the wet mixture. 

6.      Prior to baking, add a few more pieces of the Panela.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and fifteen minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, in a water bath, 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).  OPTIONAL: For a nice, caramelized crust topping, place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, watching very carefully that it does not burn (the sugar may darken but it adds flavor).

Pumpkin Zucchini Breakfast Muffins

These muffins are not too sweet but also quite filling for breakfast. They are really quite easy to make since they do not require any prolonged preparation or mixing. It's a good way to use up any small pieces of pumpkin or zucchini that you may have in your fridge.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¾ cup half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup Colombian Panela Redonda (or any dark brown sugar)

2 Tablespoon molasses

2 large eggs

¾ cup grated pumpkin

½ cup shredded zucchini

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¾ cup pumpkin seeds

¾ cup dried cranberries

½ cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, shredded coconut, spices, baking powder, baking soda, ½ cup of the pumpkin seeds, and salt.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the half and half, vanilla, sugar and molasses until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Add the grated pumpkin, shredded zucchini, and 1/2 cup of the dried cranberries into the half and half mixture. Cool to lukewarm.
5. Whisk the oil and eggs together. Add the cooled half and half mixture to this, then add the wet to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups, filling them about 2/3 full (I use Jumbo foil lined muffin cups). Sprinkle the remaining pumpkin seeds and cranberries evenly over the tops of the muffins, carefully pressing them into the batter with your fingers or the back of a spoon.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer the muffins, in the tin, to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the muffins from the tin and let cool completely on the rack. Once cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or wrap carefully and freeze.