Whisking on Pens & Needles

With the recent plunge in temperature, I find myself really craving warm breakfasts, especially something hearty like steel cut oatmeal. After hunting around for the perfect steel cut oatmeal recipe, I’ve come up with the one below.  There are a number of modifications one can make:

• If you like a sweeter version, you could use 4 cups of cider instead of 2 cups cider & 2 cups water
• The oats can be sweetened to taste with a variety of sweeteners (I prefer maple syrup or brown sugar, but you could use jam or a sugar substitute)
• Pears could be swapped for the apples
• A mix of spices (nutmeg, allspice, etc.) could be used in combination or in place of the cinnamon
• The dried fruit & nuts can be swapped out for your favorites.
• The recipe can also be made vegan by replacing the butter in the topping with a dairy free substitute or omitting the topping altogether.

One of my favorite things about this oatmeal is that you can make it on the weekend & it keeps in the refrigerator for the entire week!  To reheat it, I place a square of it in a small bowl, cover the bowl with saran wrap & microwave for 3 minutes.  Quick & delicious!

Apple Cider Steel Cut Oatmeal
2 cups apple cider
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup steel cut oatmeal
1 large apple, chopped
1/2 cup chopped whole almonds, toasted
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1-2 Tablespoon cinnamon (to taste)
maple syrup &/or brown sugar to taste

Strueselly Topping
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 Tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup chopped whole almonds (raw)

• Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Bring the cider, water & salt to a boil in a large pot.
• While mix is coming up to a boil, dice apples & chop almonds.
• When mix comes to a boil, add oats & stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, then lower the heat & simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While mix is simmering, make topping by mixing all topping ingredients by hand until crumbly.
• After 20 minutes, turn off heat on oats (they should still be runny) & stir in the toasted almonds, apples, dried fruit, spices & sweetener (brown sugar or maple syrup).
• Put oatmeal in a greased baking dish (or if you made the oats in an ovenproof pot, like a le crueset, you can leave them in the pot), and place topping evenly over the top.
• Bake oatmeal for 20-25 minutes until top is golden brown.