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.

So rest assured, healthy oatmeal lovers, this is a one-time occasion! No more candy in oatmeal. :)

P.S. Shout out to my roommate, Allison, for giving me the lovely Le Crouset cookware!

Candy Cane Cookie Dough Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 3 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 2 pitted dates (or 2 tsp liquid sweetener)
• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1/8 tsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• dash of cinnamon (optional)
• pinch of salt
• handful of chocolate chips
• crushed candy cane

Instructions

1. Chop the dates as finely as you can.
2. Pour milk (I used soy) in a sauce pan and set on medium or medium high heat. Add dates immediately (to give them a chance to soften and release their sweetness).
3. Bring liquid to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. (If you'd like to add flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
4. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add molasses, vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and optional cinnamon. (If you are using liquid sweetener instead of dates, add that now as well.) Stir.
5. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, dried fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds), do so now.
6. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, add chocolate chips and a third of your crushed candy cane and fold them carefully into the oatmeal. You don't want to overstir or the chocolate chips will melt and just make your oatmeal a chocolate oatmeal (which is good, but not what we're going for).
7. Transfer to a bowl. Top with more chocolate chips and the remaining candy cane. Don't forget a splash of more milk to finish off the presentation!

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!