oatmeal | Just About Baked

Oatmeal Scotchies

Butterscotch is like hair dye. I don’t think about it that often, but when I do, I’m so glad it’s there.

My dark hair has been graying for a few years now, and my approach to that is to dye my hair increasingly fun shades of whatever. Right now it’s kind of cherry cola red, but I really wanted to go blue for winter. Kenny vetoed that choice, but the game isn’t over yet. There’s always next winter!

But now it’s summer, and for some reason, I always think of butterscotch when things heat up. One of the best combos ever is butterscotch and oatmeal. These oatmeal scotchies are the perfect lazy day snack!

Oatmeal Fudge Crumb Bars

I’m back! Back from sunny Florida, refreshed and ready to work again.

Well, sort of. I mean, I’m not ready. But this is the closest I’ll be. We can’t spend life on a beach. Or maybe we can’t. I keep wondering if I could change my life and live on a beach. I mean, they need teachers everywhere, don’t they?

While I’m contemplating a change in location, I might as well bake. In fact, it’s one of the things that keeps my life grounded. Whether I stay in colder climes or not, I will always love crumb more than anything. These bars are all about the oatmeal crumb, which sandwiches a layer of fudge. The whole thing gets topped off with M & Ms. Did I say these were happy? Or was that just too obvious?

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bread

February 25, 2016
Mir
Bread Basket, Dessert for Breakfast, Healthier Indulgences, Let Them Eat Cake
24 Comments

If you like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, this bread is for you. Or loaf cake. Whatever you wanna call it is fine by me!

Lately, I’ve been all about the recipes you throw into a bowl and mix together. No mixer, no butter to cream. Not only is that absence of butter healthier, but the actual baking process is just a teeny bit simpler. So why not?

This particular bread is filling and hearty, but full of chocolate chips just to brighten your Friday morning breakfast. Anyone wanna argue with that? I didn’t think so.

Monster Cookies (Gluten-Free!)

Holiday cookie baking has begun! Start your engines, ladies and gents. It’s going to be a great season!

With everybody baking out the wazoo this time of year, it can be hard for our gluten-free eating friends to join in the fun. Honestly, so many of the gluten-free cookie options out there are both overpriced and dry as sawdust. It’s something about the flour replacement that doesn’t quite ring true.

But worry not! These cookies have passed the ultimate test, i.e., Kenny ate them. And liked them. If you don’t know how special that is, keep reading. But I’ll tell you one thing for sure: these cookies are packed with oats, peanut butter, and chocolate for the perfect snack time pick-me-up.

Oatmeal Raisinette Cookies

The other day, my school was on lockdown.

Yep, that scary thing that happens when a dangerous criminal is on the loose and everyone locks doors, closes blinds, covers door windows with a black sheet of construction paper, and waits in the dark for the all-clear signal.

Oatmeal Raspberry Brownies

February 20, 2015
Mir
Bars n' Brownies
19 Comments

I can’t remember the last time I had a plain brownie. You know, I might have to go back to basics and make the perfect, thick, fudgy brownie.

But later. Because now, I’m doing yet another tricked-out version.

See, while the basics are fun, tricking anything out is exciting. Like my bathtub. A few years back, I decided that the only room left in the house where I could potentially get any privacy was the bathroom. It has a lock and all. Very fancy.

Salted Oatmeal Caramel Bars

Years ago, when I was still single in the city (and pretending I could be as cool as Carrie Bradshaw), I used to go to a place called Teaism. It sold lots and lots of tea, but also really good food. One day I walked in and noticed a salted oatmeal cookie. I remember thinking, “That’s gross.”

Oh, I was so young and stupid. The salted caramel trend was still a few years away from starting and I never stopped to consider that salted baked goods were the best thing to happen to the dessert industry since peanut butter and chocolate. But like I said, I was not that clever. I was in my twenties and had perfect skin. But I was dumb.

Anyway, eventually I climbed onboard the salty dessert bandwagon. And here I stay, until long after it will be considered trendy. I’ll be one of those annoying grandmothers who still bakes salted caramel stuff while her grandchildren roll their eyes and say, “But Grandma, it’s all about sardines dipped in ganache right now.”

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies (With Oat Flour!)

Last year was kind of tough. My husband, who is without any doubt the best human being on the planet (not that I’m biased or anything), had a lot of complications from his Crohn’s Disease. For those of you who don’t know what that is, Crohn’s typically inflames and attacks the intestines and colon over most of a person’s lifetime, and it takes some pretty strong medication and ongoing treatment to keep it under control.

Sometimes the medicine needs some help, though, and that’s where gluten comes into the story.

After a few hospital visits, we decided to try dramatically lowering my husband’s gluten intake, to reduce his dairy consumption, and to have him avoid white flours and refined sugars even when he did “cheat.” After all, it couldn’t hurt, and it might help.

Six months later? Wow. He does cheat sometimes, but he’s so much better. And I’ve gotten better at baking him recipes that convince him not to miss the wheat.