oats

Not-Too-Sweet Granola

Leah Short — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 14:22:03 +0000

My reign of stinginess is over. I got this recipe for granola from my boss and it has ruled my breakfast for months. I teased about it back in April on instagram…twice. Shame on me for just now sharing it. It’s the first time I’ve ever made my own granola and what a hit! I’ve actually never even purchased granola, as it never appealed to me, but my boss was eating it in a meeting one morning with blueberries and Greek yogurt and I was all about it!

I’ve tweaked her recipe a bit to my liking and you can play around with the ingredients as well. In the Fall it would be great with pumpkin pie spice. Not a fan of cashews? Swap in walnuts or add more pecans. It’s really easy to change it up to your liking or what’s in your pantry.

I also halved the original recipe. A half recipe lasts me almost two weeks, but if you’re making this for more people, it’s easily doubled. What’s great about this recipe is that it’s real ingredients and not very sweet. Hence me renaming it Not-Too-Sweet Granola. It’s tasty on its own, but it’s the bee’s knees with yogurt and fruit.

The yogurt adds creaminess and tang, while the fruit adds natural sweetness. Sweet, tangy, crunchy, creamy…it hits on all the feels and that’s just what you need to start any morning right!

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Leah Short — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 14:50:29 +0000

I almost feel like I’m giving away a family secret sharing these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. For as long as I can remember, my mom’s been baking these and they are pretty much the best oatmeal cookie out there. The recipe isn’t a secret as back in the day it was printed on the Quaker Oats can of oats. The difference is the recipe has changed over the years and just isn’t the same as the original. Lucky for you, I’m sharing the original. You can sub raisins for the chocolate chips, add nuts, or leave out the extras altogether. Nothing beats this chewy oatmeal cookie recipe.

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Glazed Hermit Cookies

Leah Short — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 14:54:43 +0000

When I’m selecting cookies for Cookie Baking Day, I always try to include some non-chocolate varieties. I’m a chocoholic, so I’d have no problem having chocolate in every single cookie, but I know most people aren’t as crazy for chocolate as I am. I actually know three people who tell me they don’t like it. I can’t even relate to that. I’m pretty sure my body would shut down without its daily dose of chocolate. However, I’m thankful for my anti-chocolate friends or else I’d never discover amazing desserts like these Glazed Hermit Cookies! They’re made with apple cider, oats, currants, walnuts, molasses, and spices, and topped with a citrusy sweet glaze. Flavors that mean warmth and coziness in one cookie. All cookie lovers will enjoy them!

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Oatella Cookies and the Big 5

Leah Short — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 15:24:51 +0000

How excited are you about a recipe that uses an ENTIRE JAR of Nutella! Got your attention, right?! These Oatella Cookies are a beautiful marriage between oatmeal cookies and Nutella. They are so much more than oatmeal meets chocolate-hazelnut goodness though. They may not look too enticing, but they hit you in all the senses in one bite. You’ve got oatmeal, Nutella, then a hint of cinnamon, and a salty aftertaste. The cookies spread when baking, so you get a nice crispy outside and a thin, chewy center. I love everything about these cookies and am so happy they turned out fabulously because today I’m celebrating FIVE YEARS of blogging! Happy 5th blogiversary to So, How’s It Taste!

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Plum Oat Drop Biscuits

Leah Short — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 15:58:18 +0000

Do you ever have those ingredients in your pantry that are leftover from a previous recipe and you have no idea what you’ll do with the rest of them? Enter prunes, er dried plums. Dried plums sound so much more appetizing, right? They really get a bad rep, but they’re quite delicious and sweet and good for you! When I was planning my meals for the week, I came across Plum Oat Drop Biscuits. Well, what’dya know!

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Every Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Leah Short — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 14:26:04 +0000

Four years y’all! As in four years ago today I started So, How’s It Taste. I never imagined back then I’d keep this thing up that long…and still have fun doing it. I mean four years is a long time. Think back to what all you’ve done since August of 2009. I still crack up when I see those first few posts. I may not be anywhere near what I consider good at food photography but I’d like to think I’ve improved over the years. I also crack up that I have a post on yogurt and you can see where I didn’t blog for a few months, being a little unsure if I wanted to keep it up or not. I’m sure glad I did. I love sharing the places I’ve eaten and the recipes I’ve made. Like these Every Chip Oatmeal Cookies! I thought about baking a cake or pie, but I’ve been in such a cookie mood lately. These are perfect because I have a tough time choosing between cookie flavors, so now you don’t have to!

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Unbaked Fudge Cookies

Leah Short — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:20:31 +0000

I’m sure you’ll recognize these Unbaked Fudge Cookies. Everyone’s got their own version it seems and I’ve even seen them in grocery store bakeries. They’re a classic. What I like best about the cookies is not that they taste like they could be make from crack, but the memories. As a kid, I remember very impatiently waiting on them. They seemed to take forever to be ready. It was a real treat when my mom announced she was making some. It’s funny how you remember things as a kid, but then as a adult it’s completely different. These cookies really take no time to make. It’s the waiting on them to harden that seems to last an eternity. But read on and I’ll tell you how over the years we’ve solved that problem.

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Granola Cookie Wedges

Leah Short — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:37:54 +0000

Don’t you love when flipping through recipes, you stop on one and happen to have all the ingredients already? I feel like I’ve won the lottery when that happens. I try to keep a well-stocked pantry, especially for baking, so it’s happening more and more these days. (If only the lottery win was happening, too!) I’ll settle for a batch of these Granola Cookie Wedges though!

So, how’s it taste?

ZOMG, heaven! You’d never believe these came out of Cooking Light magazine. At first, I flipped right on by them because they looked crispy in the picture and I’m not a crisp-cookie kind of person. I was itching to bake something last weekend, but didn’t want anything too involved. I also wanted something I could work into my calorie counting, so I gave these a second look. I’m glad I did!

They’re chewy and just the right amount of something sweet. Really just your basic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but I like that they’re in wedges and they were much easier to make since you use a pie plate. Mix the ingredients in a bowl, dump into a pie plate, spread out, bake, and you’ve got cookies in no time. The recipe only makes eight, which is perfect so I won’t be tempted like when there’s two dozen cookies in the house.

I like the crunch of the pecans with the sweet bites of chocolate chips. I think some cinnamon would work in this recipe, too. I could also see changing up the combinations and doing a white chip/cranberry or butterscotch/walnut. This recipe is a keeper.

Granola Cookie Wedges

Cooking Light, April 2013
makes 8 servings
per serving: 168 calories, 8.6g fat, 2.5g protein, 20.9g carbs, 1.3g fiber

Ingredients:

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg white
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine first 7 ingredients (through egg white) in a large bowl; stir until well combined. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour, oats, nuts, and chocolate chips to sugar mixture; stir until just combined.

3. Scrape the dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate coated with cooking spray, and spread to edges using a spatula. Bake for 13 minutes or until set. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Cut into 8 wedges.

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No Bake Oatmeal Bites

Leah Short — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:35:48 +0000

Ok, let’s all admit we pin things to Pinterest and may never actually get around to making them. I have recipes I pinned forever ago and they’ve just never made it to reality. Not these No Bake Oatmeal Bites. I had the ingredients on hand (which is rare) and made them hours after pinning them. They have all the ingredients I love in a snack: peanut butter, coconut, chocolate chips, but with a (sort of) healthy twist.

So, how’s it taste?

Oh. My. Gosh. Stop reading this and make these. Crazy, crazy good. Remember those unbaked fudge cookies that everyone eats? They’re similar to that, but way better. I liked the different textures of the ingredients, especially the crunchy chia seeds. I put (sort of) healthy above because they really aren’t to me. I know they’re full of the good for you fats and such, but they are pretty high in calorie count per bite…and they’re so insanely good that I had no problem devouring several at a time. So, healthy kind of went out the window with these for me. I also renamed them from energy bites. They didn’t give me a boost of energy, but probably because I sat on my couch eating them like bon bons. Since they are more like dessert to me, I thought a rename was fitting.

You can really play around with the ingredients and make it your own. I used crunchy peanut butter, but you could use smooth or another type of butter. This recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven and there’s a few flavor variations that sound just as scrumptious that I’m dying to try. I’m already brainstorming about a white chocolate chip-cranberry or butterscotch-walnut version! These are great for grab and go, but you’ve been warned of their highly addictive power!

No Bake Oatmeal Bites

by Gimme Some Oven
makes about 15-20 bites, depending on size

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup coconut flakes (toasted if you prefer)
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined.

2. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour, so mixture is easier to work with.

3. Roll into balls in whatever size you prefer. I found it's easier to knead a scoop for a bit and then roll into a ball. If you find the mixture becomes difficult to roll into a ball and won't stick together, rinse your hands with water and try again.

4. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. You can store them in the refrigerator or at room temperature. I found I enjoyed them both cold and at room temperature.

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Blueberry & Raspberry Baked Oatmeal

Leah Short — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:00:57 +0000

Hi! Welcome to So, How’s It Taste! You may have found this post through Pinterest, so thanks for stopping by! If you’re interested in more breakfast dishes, please check out my Breakfast category or if you love blueberries as much as I do, check out my Blueberry Pecan Crisp or my Two-Berry Crisp with Pecan Streusel Topping. Hope to see you back soon!

I am not a fan of instant oatmeal. Those nasty little packets of instant grossness with bits of dried fruit…I’d rather eat wallpaper paste. Loved the stuff as a kid, but I’d have to force it down now. Unless oatmeal is in a cookie, I won’t eat it. That is until I saw Baked Oatmeal with Fruit. It looks like dessert! Almost like a crisp oozing with blueberries. No way was this oatmeal. No way was this good for you. Wrong! Happily I have changed my tune about oatmeal and it’s once again on my breakfast menu.

So, how’s it taste?

A million times better than instant. I couldn’t believe I was eating oatmeal after all these years. I couldn’t make up my mind which fruit to try first, so I split the recipe in half and did one with blueberries and one with raspberries. I can’t say which was my favorite because I enjoyed them both so much. This kind of oatmeal is more my style because of the texture. It’s not slop, but big chunks of yummy, healthy things. The old-fashioned oats are heartier than instant and they soak up all the milk, syrup (I used sugar free to cut some calories – Smuckers brand is awesome), and vanilla. Bursts of blueberries or raspberries add a bit of tartness to counteract the sweet, although the dish isn’t that sweet at all. It gets its sweetness from the teeny bit of syrup and those beautiful bananas underneath. Don’t be afraid of the cooked bananas. They don’t turn to mush, and for the most part keep their shape. Let’s not forget the nuts. I used walnuts for these, but pecans would work wonderfully, too. There’s so much going on and that’s a great start to any day.

What I like about this recipe is you can make this Sunday night and have breakfast all through the week. Just reheat each serving in the microwave in the morning. You can feel good about it, too. The ingredients are healthy, it’s a warm, comforting meal, and a serving is about 200 calories give or take a few depending on what fruit you use. It’s like a little morning treat and who doesn’t want to start their day with a treat?!

Yield: 6 servings

Blueberry & Raspberry Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used sugar free)
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
1 cup blueberries or raspberries, fresh or frozen, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the oats, half of the walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.

3. Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half of the berries. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats.

4. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

nutritional value will vary depending on the fruit and ingredients you use

adapted by The Curvy Carrot
from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson
via Annie's Eats

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