Frosted Brownie Baked Oatmeal

You know what's fun? Eating dessert for breakfast.

I mean, I could never literally eat dessert for breakfast--at least not what most people consider dessert. Thanks to my IBS, I have the world's most sensitive stomach. Living in New York City, I enjoy a variety of vegan desserts frequently (shout-out to Wild Ginger and the PERFECTION that is their Peanut Butter Bomb Cake), but it never takes long for the pain to settle in! Thus, when I order desserts while eating out, it's often a conscious choice with a careful consideration of the consequences.

How's that for alliteration?

On the other hand, my oatmeal doesn't treat me that way. It tastes decadent and satisfies my chocolate cravings, but it spares me the tummy trouble afterwards.

There are two ways to make this oatmeal: the avocado way, or the banana way. The banana way will definitely have a banana taste, so if that bothers you, you should try the avocado way. The avocado version requires more added sweetener, but it's definitely richer and tastes more like an actual brownie.

The recipe makes TWO servings. This is for two reasons: 1) it will use one full avocado, and 2) most processors or blenders cannot efficiently mix a single serving of frosting, so making a double batch alleviates that issue.

Frosted Brownie Baked Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 min

6065176

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the Oatmeal

• 1/2 a ripe avocado (or one banana)
• 2/3 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 2 heaping tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)

For the Frosting

• 1/2 a ripe avocado (or 1/4 an avocado and 1/2 a banana)
• 3 tbsp milk of choice
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (see notes below for variations)
• 1 tsp maple syrup (can add more to suit your tastes)
• 1 heaping tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a single-serving ramekin with non-stick spray.
2. Mix together avocado, milk, vanilla extract, maple syrup, cocoa powder, and salt by either pureeing in a mini food processor or mashing thoroughly with a fork (lengthy process, but gets the job done).
3. Stir in baking powder and oats. Once combined, feel free to add in anything you please: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, etc.
4. Transfer to the ramekin and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until it no longer looks "wet" on top.
5. While the oatmeal is baking prepare the frosting: dump all ingredients in a small food processor or blend with an immersion blender (that is what I did). Taste and adjust sweetener as you see necessary.
6. After the oatmeal is out of the oven and has cooled, top with frosting (if you put the frosting on too early, it will melt...and not in a good way). You can either spread it on, or you can "pipe" it like traditional frosting. If you don't have a piping bag, put it in a Ziplock bag and cut off one corner on the bottom--pipe away! :)

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Notes on variation:
You can sub other extracts, like peppermint, almond, coconut, or cherry, for the vanilla extract. Using alternative extracts could mask the banana taste (if that's what you're after).
You can sub your favorite nut butter for the frosting.

**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!