Blueberry Coconut Baked Scottish Oats

If you are following Haitian news, you may have seen that the country is currently in political crisis; with violent and unpredictable protests shutting down normal life and movement. For our family, this has meant that we are in day eight of sheltering-in-place at our home in Port-au-Prince with our two little kids. We are safe, grateful, and praying for a peaceful resolution soon. As we pass the time and try to keep everyone’s moods up, and without access to stores or markets, we are digging deep into creative kid-friendly back-of-the-pantry cooking. Thanks to a recent family visitor’s gifts of dried blueberries and various breakfast grains, we were in luck. This morning’s raging success…Blueberry Coconut Baked Scottish Oats! This easy and adaptable dish is hearty, moist, delicious, nutty, and not too sweet. The Scottish oats and coconut give it a more chewy, dense, and moist texture. The kids were in heaven. And as parents…we earned 45 minutes of sweet, sweet peace and quiet together as they contentedly marched around our courtyard singing and stuffing their faces. So even if you don’t find yourself stuck at home for an 8th day of protests, consider this pantry-inspired take on classic baked oatmeal.

Yield: 13 x 9 pan, serves 8-12

• 3 cups Scottish oats

• 1 cup grated coconut (if using unsweetened, increase brown sugar by 1/4 cup)

• 1 cup dried blueberries (or substitute any other dried fruit)

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 1/2 cups milk (can substitute coconut milk)

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 cup melted butter

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all the dry in ingredients: oats, coconut, blueberries, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In a separate, medium bowl vigorously whisk together all the wet ingredients: milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla.

4. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir briefly to fully combine. It will be quite wet.

5. Pour the batter into a greased 13 x 9 pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until it is set and the top is starting to turn golden brown

Notes:

• Scottish oats are stone ground whole oats, and will need to absorb far more liquid than classic rolled oats. If you want to substitute rolled oats, reduce the milk to 1 cup.