Oatmeal

Summer has finally arrived, and with it comes more free time. Not tonnes, but enough for me to try cooking and baking some new recipes. Because that’s what every normal teenager does right? Right? Well, my main goal for this summer is to find a granola bar recipe that everyone in my family loves. Since I’ve conquered granola, it only seems fitting to expand to granola bars.

I got this recipe through my subscription to the blog/website Food52. This food community emails tasty recipes to get you through the 52 weeks in the year. This oatmeal recipe was sent out about 2 weeks ago, and it was created by Heidi Swanson, the author of the cookbook Super Natural Everyday. 

This recipe was all about expectations for me. I was expecting to get granola bars, so I was a little disappointed when after 35 minutes of baking, the mixture was nowhere near firm enough. After realizing my mistake though (and letting the oatmeal set for an additional half hour), I tasted it with an open mind. It was delicious-and the flavours combined really well. The crunch of the oats, the tangy blueberries and the cinnamon all created an explosive taste in my mouth. The bananas at the bottom also added a lovely bit of sweet to every bite. So even though I didn’t get my granola bars, this recipe is definitely a keeper.

Recipe Notes

• Let the oatmeal sit for at least half an hour once out of the oven. Straight out of the oven, and this oatmeal is more soupy than porridgy….sorry, I don’t know how else to describe that one.
• Any berries work, frozen or fresh! My family loves blueberries, so I just threw those on instead of a mix to ensure that everyone would like to try some.
• I used almonds instead of walnuts, and it worked out fine. I also added some more for some extra crunch.

Click here for the recipe on Food52, and click here to visit Food52’s homepage. 🙂

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2
• bananas, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2cup blueberries or a mix of berries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter the inside of a square 8-inch baking dish.
2. In a bowl, combine the oats, half of the walnuts, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, the milk, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.
4. Spread a single layer of bananas across the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle about two-thirds of the berries on top. Cover all that with the oat mixture and then drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and walnuts over the top.
5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the oats are set. Let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle with the remaining melted butter and serve.

Thanks for reading, see you next time!