10 Oatmeal Recipes that are Basically Desserts in Disguise

Running this blog for about two and a half years, I've noticed a trend.

You people love chocolate.

My chocolate recipes consistently receive more traffic than my non-chocolate ones. The nut butter ones perform well, too, but nothing compares to those chocolate ones.

It's not like I'm surprised by this: eating dessert for breakfast is da bomb! (People are still using that phrase, right?)

To celebrate, here are ten recipes that are basically just desserts in disguise.

P.S. I will not be posting any new recipes this week as I will be taking a "mental health week." I will see you again next Saturday! In the mean time, don't forget to check out your local farmers' market and upload your oatmeal creations with the hashtag #FarmFreshOatmeal! Shout out to @lenoresmiles and @healthymonkey_ for already uploading theirs!

10 Dessert "Oatmeal" Recipes ;)

Brownie Batter Oatmeal

This recipe is surprisingly healthy. It's sweetened by bananas and nothing
else (unless you add chocolate chips). Surprisingly, it tastes like decadent
brownie batter!

White Chocolate Macadamia Baked Oatmeal

McDonald's was the first fast food restaurant I "quit." I haven't been to one since the summer of 2010. The other similar chains followed shortly after: BK, Taco Bell, Wendy's, KFC, etc. One that stuck around for a while was Subway. In fact, I still have Subway a couple times a year in times of desperation.

Subway and I have an interesting history. I loathed it for my entire childhood. It smells so dreadful! Whenever my family would choose to go there for dinner, I would rant and grumble for days. I would order Cheetos and ice cream and refuse to order a sandwich. I eventually overcame that fussiness and started ordering the sandwiches, first having simple turkey and cheese sandwiches, and eventually experimenting with the veggies. Now, of course, my sandwiches are ALL veggies. I am always amused by the worker's faces when I ask for a sandwich with neither meat NOR cheese. "NO cheese? JUST veggies?" Yes. That's what I said.

Anyway, when I think of Subway, I also think of their cookies. I can't remember when I first tried it, but I always loved their white chocolate macadamia cookies. That combination is a killer.

I didn't think there was any way a baked oatmeal recipe could rival that cookie, but IT DID. It tasted EXACTLY like it. I'm continuously amazed at how easily I can recreate cookie recipes using baked oatmeal.

Peanut Butter Blossom Baked Oatmeal

Once upon a time, I liked cookies. Doesn't every child? I loved my mother's chocolate chip cookies (why was the rest of the world incapable of making decent chocolate chip cookies??), the white chocolate chip macadamia cookies from Subway, big puffy snickerdoodles, fork-pressed peanut butter cookies, frosted sugar cookies, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the incredible peanut butter blossom.

Now, I must rant that I've never understood why people are so incessant about this being a "holiday cookie." What the heck does a peanut butter cookie with a chocolate Kiss have to do with the holidays? Nothing.

Gingerbread Steel-Cut Oatmeal

I've made Gingerbread Oatmeal before. You might remember it. It was one of my trials. One of my struggles. One of my white flags.

I gave up and just borrowed a recipe from Vegan Yack Attack.

This recipe is mine. Well, I can't take all the credit, of course. VYA's recipe did influence me a lot. However, I made sure to include some bananas in my version because I'm stubborn like that. I'm grateful I did because this was one spicy [insert colorful language here]. The banana helped mellow out all those cloves.

Cookie Dough Muesli

Yes, there are recipes for instant and edible cookie dough all over the internet. You could certainly make any of them and be perfectly happy.

So why did I make my own version? Well, I didn't make cookie dough, exactly. I made a muesli form of cookie dough. What up?

Like I've explained before, muesli is a Swiss breakfast consisting of uncooked oats, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. It's typically eaten with yogurt, milk, and/or fresh fruit (kind of like granola).

This recipe actually started a year ago when I made CCK's flourless chocolate chip cookies. I really liked the result, but I realized that I liked the dough even more, and I frequently made it for dessert or a snack. As the months passed, my recipe simplified and progressed until I realized it was kind of like a muesli. Not exactly, but kind of. So that's what I'm going to call it. :)

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie Baked Oatmeal

Okay, let me be upfront: Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies do not rank high on my cookie list. I'd much rather have a Snickerdoodle. Or a Peanut Butter. Or a Chocolate Chip. But not an Oatmeal-Raisin.

But I still felt like it was wrong to have an oatmeal blog without an Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie recipe, so here it is. Humble, but with the earthy comfort of cinnamon.

Top 5 Recipes for Chocolate Lovers!

 Every single day - and I'm not exaggerating - I stare longingly at the jar of chocolate chips in my cupboard as I'm making my oatmeal. Most mornings, I talk myself out of it. "Save them for a weekend treat," I tell myself. "Control yourself!"

Chocolate makes everything better. I've loved almost every single porridge I've ever made with chocolate. I typically use one of two methods: mixing it cocoa powder, or topping with chocolate chips. The first option is slightly healthier and makes it feel like you're eating brownie batter, but eating chocolate chips automatically makes me feel nostalgic for childhood treats (like chocolate chip cookies!).

No matter what kind of chocolate you're using, here are my top five favorite oatmeal recipes when I'm craving the cocoa!

Candy Cane Cookie Dough Oatmeal

There will be two reactions to this post. Half the people will rejoice the festive nature or "special treat" aspect of it. The other half will be appalled that I just put candy on top of my breakfast. To both of these camps, I say: happy holidays?

I couldn't resist doing something with candy canes, despite the fact that I would consider myself in the second aforementioned camp. I would never crumble up a Snickers bar over my oatmeal, after all. However, once this idea came into my head, I just couldn't ignore it. It had to be done.

Cookie Dough Overnight Oatmeal

Edit: I have new pictures!! I remade this recipe this weekend, and I snapped some better shots for the blog. Enjoy!

Another lazy blog week. And I promised myself I'd be better in December! The sad thing is, I actually had recipes I could have posted. In my defense, they were terrible pictures that I wasn't desperate enough to publish. Seriously. You try taking good photographs at 5:30 am.

This is one of those refrigerator recipes that will actually be perfectly satisfying cold. I rarely eat my oatmeal cold, but this one is an exception. (To be honest, though, I still heated this one up a little bit!)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Baked Oatmeal

What are your thoughts on sugar?

 Personally, I go out of my way to avoid sugar, especially when it's unnecessary or in large amounts (or both). I find that sugar not only rips my stomach apart, but makes my teeth feel gross and my tastebuds overwhelmed. I've learned to appreciate subtle sweetness (like the caramelization of roasted broccoli, for example) far more than the teeth-rotting sweetness of Mountain Dew (yuck).

Peanut Butter Cookie Baked Oatmeal

I am a terrible conversationalist. When I have stories to tell, I find myself lost in conversation with someone, but when it comes to small talk, there's no hope for me. In these types of situations, if no one says anything for a couple of minutes, I clear my throat and say:

"What are your three favorite types of cookies? Go!"

Initially, people give me an odd look. Or they ask why. Or they say, "I don't know." Eventually, however, they get sucked in to the infinite awesomeness of my go-to game. Within twenty minutes, I have them listing their favorite color combinations, U.S. cities to visit, car models, NFL teams, and ethnic cuisines.

This game has gotten fairly easy for me. After playing it once a month or so, my "think time" has shrunk significantly. I can name my favorite pies, colors, and desserts without much thought.

My favorite types of cookies? Snickerdoodle, peanut butter, and chocolate chip. :)