SUGAR COOKIE OATMEAL

As the winter months approach and temperatures drop, that morning alarm clock may get harder to listen to. If you find your bed sheets looking more attractive than normal, consider this: Wouldn’t it be great to wake up to a bowl of cookie dough?
For a healthier alternative to chowing down on a roll of Nestle’s, here’s a recipe for oatmeal that (almost) gets the job done. While the version I made was dairy free/vegan, feel free to experiment with substitutions.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of old fashioned oats
1 cup of almond milk (I used Almond Breeze Vanilla Unsweetened)
1 tbsp of Canola oil (any mild tasting oil will work)
1 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp white sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1/4th tsp table salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
Extra sweeter to taste (this is a personal preference—my massive sweet tooth requires an extra 5 packets of Stevia)

1. Place oats in a blender and grind until they appear “flour-like”
2. Once oats are blended, place into a saucepan on low heat, and lightly toast for 5-7 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Combine milk, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well.
4. Place sugar and oil in the now-empty saucepan. Stir until thoroughly mixed for 1-2 minutes on medium-low heat.
5. Pour contents of bowl into the saucepan, and make sure to stir until everything is dissolved.
6. Pour blended oats into the saucepan and increase heat to medium.
7. Stir entire mixture as the oats begin to thicken. After a few minutes, the oats at the bottom may begin to stick to the pan—don’t leave them there! Keep stirring and folding as the oatmeal becomes more cookie-dough like in consistency.
8. Remove from pan once texture is gluey. For extra dough-ness, leave in the fridge overnight and top with chocolate chips once removed.

-Priya Ramchandra