Apple & Pear Crisp

Cooking spray

4 c. peeled and sliced apples (Granny Smith and McIntosh)

2 semi-firm pears, cored and cut into eight pieces

1 c. sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. kosher salt

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 c. regular uncooked oats

2 T. all-purpose flour

1 c. sliced almonds, toasted

1/4 c. packed light brown sugar

1/4 t. ground ginger

1/2 c. melted butter

Lightly grease a 6-qt. slow cooker with cooking spray. Place fruit in the bottom. Toss with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and lemon juice to combine.

Stir together oats, flour, almonds, brown sugar, ginger, and melted butter. Spoon over apple mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH 3-4 hours.

Serves 6.

 Adapted from a Southern Living magazine recipe.

Baked Oatmeal Cups

1-1/2 c. rolled oats
2 T. plus 1 t. oat flour
1 T. ground chia seeds
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. baking soda
Dash of sea salt
1/2 c. mashed banana
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 t. molasses
1-1/2 T. chocolate chips
1 T. pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8 muffin cups with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, oat flour, ground chia seeds, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate small bowl, stir together banana, maple syrup, and molasses. Add banana mixture to flour mixture; stir to combine. Stir in chocolate chips and pepitas. Spoon about 1/3 c. batter into each lined muffin cup. Use a spatula to lightly pack the batter.

Bake 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool 5 minutes. Remove cups from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 cups.

Adapted from Forks Over Knives, Summer 2019, p. 39.  

Breakfast Apple Crisp

Filling:
4 red apples, cored and diced
1 t. cornstarch
1 t. cinnamon
3 T. sugar

Topping:
1 c. quick oats
1 t. cinnamon
3 T. maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9" glass pie plate with cooking spray.

Place the apples in a large bowl. Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, and sugar. Stir to evenly coat all the apples. Transfer apple mixture to the prepared pie plate.

In a separate bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Spread mixture evenly over the apples. Bake for 1 hour.

Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled. 

Makes 4-6 servings.

Adapted from The Vegan Starter Kit, p. 113.

Bircher Muesli

2 c. rolled oats
2 apples, grated
2 c. plain nondairy yogurt
3 T. raisins
1 t. ground cinnamon
Optional: Maple syrup, chia seeds, vanilla, fresh fruit, etc.

Combine the oats, apples, yogurt, raisins, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, divide into 4 bowls and serve with a drizzle of maple syrup or other optional toppings, if desired. 

Makes 4 servings.

Adapted from The Vegan Starter Kit, p. 109.

Maple-Roasted Granola

4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 c. unsalted raw cashews
1 c. sliced raw almonds
1/2 c. pine nuts
1 c. raw hulled pumpkin seeds
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1 c. dried cranberries
1 c. chopped dried papaya

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts, and pumpkin seeds. In a separate small bowl, mix together oil, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Add to the oat mixture and stir well to coat.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, stirring 3 times, until golden.

Cool completely, then mix in the cranberries and papaya. Store in an airtight container.

This will keep for 1 month and is good as a cereal, topping, or snack. Use any kinds of nuts, seeds, and fruit you like.

Makes about 9 cups.

 Adapted from Sweet Paul Eat & Make, p. 37.

Jumbo Apple-Oatmeal Cookies

3 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 t. maple extract
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. cored, peeled, and diced McIntosh apple
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 t. maple extract
1 T. water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine oats with flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, egg whites, maple extract and vanilla extract until smooth. Stir in oat mixture and apple.

Drop 1/4 c. scoops of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Flatten to 3" disks. Bake 15-18 minutes, until set. Cool 3 minutes on sheets. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

Combine confectioners' sugar, maple extract, and water, and stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

Makes 12 cookies.

Adapted from Family Circle magazine, Sept. 2016, p. 77.

Oatmeal Muffins

1-1/4 c. rolled oats
1-1/4 c. buttermilk or plain low-fat yogurt
1 c. unbleached flour
1-1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. raisins
1 large egg
1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
5 T. unsalted butter, melted

Topping:
1 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 T. firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 c. rolled oats
1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, beat together the oats and buttermilk or yogurt, and let sit 15 minutes. Meanwhile, butter the insides and top of a regular-size (1/3-c.) muffin pan.

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and raisins.

Beat the egg, brown sugar, and melted butter into the oat mixture. Stir in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan.

Combine the ingredients for the topping and sprinkle some on top of each muffin. Bake 17 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let sit 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm, not hot.

Makes 12 muffins.

Adapted from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, p. 65.

Applesauce Oatmeal Bread

1-1/2 c. rolled oats
1-1/4 c. unbleached flour
1 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
2/3 t. salt
2/3 c. raisins
2 large eggs
1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5" loaf pan.

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and raisins.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in the brown sugar, oil, and applesauce. Pour this into the oat mixture and stir until just evenly moistened. Scrape into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out dry. Let sit 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack, at least 2 hours.

Makes 1 loaf.

Adapted from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, p. 56. 

Oatmeal Raisin Bread

1-1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. unbleached flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. salt
1 c. raisins
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. honey
1-1/4 c. buttermilk or plain low-fat yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5" loaf pan.

Grind the oats in a blender or food processor until almost powdery. Pour into a large bowl and thoroughly mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the raisins.

Combine the oil and honey in a small saucepan and heat until just blended. Stir in the buttermilk or yogurt and the beaten eggs, then pour into the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Do not overmix. Scrape into the prepared pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (If the bread begins to brown before its done, cover with a sheet of foil and cook until done.) Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely (1-1/2 hours or more) before slicing.  

Makes 1 loaf.

Adapted from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, p. 51. 

Herb Oat Bread

1-1/4 c. rolled oats
1 c. unbleached flour
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried dill
1/8 t. crumbled dried rosemary
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. honey
1-1/4 c. plain low-far yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5" loaf pan.

Place the oats in a blender or food processor and grind until almost powdery. Pour into a large bowl and mix in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and herbs.

In a small saucepan, combine the oil and the honey and heat just until blended. Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt and the beaten eggs.

Pour into the flour mixture and stir just until evenly moistened. Do not overbeat. Scrape into the prepared pan.

Bake 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (If the top of the bread begins to darken before it finishes cooking, lay a sheet of foil over the top of the pan and bake until done.) Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes before removing loaf from pan. Cool completely before slicing.

Can also be baking in mini-loaf pans as a gift.

Variation: For Sage Onion bread, substitute 1/4 t. powdered sage and 1/4 c. fresh minced onion for the basil, dill, and rosemary.

Makes 1 loaf.

Adapted from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, p. 48.