Blueberry-Coconut Baked Steel Cut Oats

Sense of Home Kitchen

I love reading Melissa Clark's (yes, the same author from the wonderful cookbook In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite) articles over at The New York Times: Dining & Wine page.  She always seems to have a fresh and yet practical view of food.  Back in 2008 she wrote this piece on cupcakes disguised as muffins in which she quotes a pastry chef as saying "muffins are just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast".  Perhaps a bit less sweet and a few nuts and dried fruit thrown in for good measure, but I think this is basically true, and these baked oats, although you control the amount of sugar, are not far from being cake either.  With the amount of cream in this bowl of deliciousness designed to break our nightly fast, you couldn't exactly call this health food, but, oh my, is this good.

My husband and I both agreed this recipe was a keeper.  The two forms of blueberries, dried and fresh (or frozen) are important to the texture of the finished product.  The fresh or frozen berries break down and infuse the oats with color and flavor, while the dried blueberries maintain their shape and chewy nature.  Steel cut oats take longer to cook or soak to soften, but the beauty of that is the flavors blend while the dish bakes and rests and yet the oats retain their texture.

Be sure to choose a baking dish large enough, I guessed at the size of my deep dish baker and was a little short on space, remember, you will need room to grow when the baking powder does it's thing.  Thank goodness for the over-sized lip around the edge and the baking sheet I quickly slid under or we would have had an oven mess.

Blueberry-Coconut Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal
~Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from Family Fresh Cooking~

This recipe is to be made the night before, which makes it a good dish for a weekend family breakfast or the perfect addition to a brunch buffet table along with this egg dish.  The baked oatmeal needs time in the refrigerator to absorb the liquid and firm up enough to serve like cake, which works out rather nicely since it tastes like dessert.

8 to 10 servings

1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups milk
2 cups water
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw first)
1/4 cup unsweetened dried blueberries
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Optional Toppings
Sweetener of choice; such as, honey, brown sugar, stevia, or agave
fresh or thawed blueberries
chopped nuts
milk

Preheat oven to 350° F. and grease a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl combine oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.  Add milk, water, and cream mixing thoroughly. Stir in blueberries, dried blueberries and coconut.  Place in preheated oven and bake for one hour (oats will be soft and appear done).  Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature.  Cover and place in refrigerator overnight to thicken.

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and reheat in a 300° oven until just heated through (watching close so that it does not burn, adding milk if it becomes too dry) or heat individual portions in a microwave oven.

Serve with sweeteners, blueberries, nuts, and milk on the side and let everyone choose their own preferred level and brand of sweetness for the start to their morning.  I think it is good even without any sweetener added, just the fresh or thawed berries.


Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Breakfast and Brunch