Baked Oatmeal with Fruit and Nuts

Adapted from a recipe in Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen by Heidi Swanson

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces, chopped
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk (I used coconut milk)
• 1 large egg
• 1 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ripe banana, sliced
• 1 peach or nectarine, sliced
• 1 cup blueberries

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the walnuts, the sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.
4. Arrange the banana and nectarine slices in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries over the top. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Drizzle the milk mixture over the oats, making sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries, remaining walnuts, and slivered almonds across the top.
5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. 
6. Serve warm, drizzled with maple syrup or dusted with powdered sugar. 

Serves 4-6

Puffed Apple Pancake

Ingredients:

• 2 medium or 3 small tart apples, sliced thinly
• 1 T butter
• 1 cup milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1 1/2 T brown sugar
• 2/3 cup flour
• powdered sugar

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F
2. Rub the sides of a 10-inch baking pan or castiron skillet with butter, and put 1 T of butter in the bottom of the pan
3. Put the pan in the oven until the butter melts, then add the apples with a sprinkle of cinnamon and mix with the butter
4. Bake the apples for 10 minutes, until soft
5. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining ingredients (except the flour and powdered sugar) in a bowl until blended
6. Whisk in the flour, then pour the batter over the apples and bake an additional 18-20 minutes, until the pancake is puffy and golden
7. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the pancake with powdered sugar, and serve

Serves 2

The New York Times' Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

They really are that good!

Note: I used 1 bag (8 oz) of Dagoba Organic and Fair Trade Chocodrops, 73% Cacao Content and 8 oz of Trader Joe's Pound Plus Bittersweet Chocolate bar, coarsely chopped. The Chocodrops are larger than normal chocolate chips and have a deep, rich chocolate flavor. I bought mine at Whole Foods but they are also available on Amazon.