Recipe: Baked Oatmeal Cups

I've made two batches of these incredibly yummy Baked Oatmeal Cups for my co-workers this week. My picky 14 year-old liked them, too!  So I had to take a minute to share this easy recipe with you.

Baked Oatmeal Cup with Cranberries

Baked Oatmeal Cups
Makes 16

2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1-1/2 cups milk (I used 1%)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 T ground cinnamon
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
Toppings of your choice - fruit (fresh or dried), chocolate chips, nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line muffin tins with liners (don't skip this step!)
3.  Combine the eggs, oil and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved
4. Add the applesauce, milk, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.  Stir till combined.
5. Stir in the oats and baking powder.
6. Fill each muffin tin with 1/4 cup of oat mixture.
7. Top with your favorite toppings.  Lightly press the topping into the mixture with a spoon.  (I used dried cranberries, chocolate chips, fresh banana and left some plain.)
8. Bake for 30 minutes.
9. Serve warm or store in an air tight container.  These can also be frozen to grab on busy mornings!

Besides this great recipe, I have to share why I made them.  My AWESOME team at Community LIFE (an adult day health center in Pittsburgh, PA serving low-income frail elderly who are medically eligible to be in a nursing home, but desire to live in the community - www.commlife.org) recently received the Inaugural Quality Leaders' Award for Excellence in Quality Improvement for our UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) Prevention Project.  Part of our Project includes serving cranberry juice to our Participants every morning, so when I brought in some breakfast treats to celebrate I wanted them to have cranberries.  I enjoy cooking for my Team and especially like to share healthy dishes for them to try.

Community LIFE's Loving Hearts Team with our
Award and Cranberry Juice!

These are easy to bake, easy to grab for a breakfast on the go and easy to share with others!  ENJOY!

Recipe adapted from www.thewholesomedish.com's To Go Baked Oatmeal