Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

Not a real big fan of pumpkin, but this was tasty!

My husband and I dont like a lot of sugar in the things we eat, so I thought this would be a good recipe to try. It was very good. However, instead of using maple syrup to cover it to add some sweetness, I had some fresh apple cider on hand and so made a sauce from that (about a cup of cider, 1T cornstarch, 1/2 tsp+ of pumpkin pie spice). The syrup was a good pairing with the oatmeal. I was thinking, too, that I adding a diced sweet apple to the oatmeal mix would work, too. And/Or maybe substitute applesauce or apple butter for some of the milk liquid in the oatmeal mix. These would give the oatmeal some additional added sweetness and possibly moisture. If moisture then maybe a bit more oatmeal, too? I think this is a good start recipe to experiment with. Overall, though, it is great on its own and very healthy to boot. I highly recommend it.

I really liked this recipe. It is not very sweet so serving with syrup is essential. Next time, I may finish with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar blend on the top, along with the pecans, before baking. Addition of a bit more sugar to the batter could make this a coffee cake.

I didn't have a 11x17 pan so used an 8x8 and it fit. It was moist and had an ok texture, kind of like a bread, but was a little on the bland side flavor-wise. If I were to make again, I’d probably add more spices (maybe 2x). I personally do not mind things being low on sweetness, and it does suggest serving w/maple syrup, just know it’s rather plain for sweetness too. For my kids, I did make sure to serve w/the syrup and a bit of butter on top.