Baked Oatmeal Cups

As made by Laurie.  Recipe from thekitchn.com without modification.

I very much enjoyed the batch Laurie made, but I debated for a while whether to post information about these oatmeal cups.

They look a lot like muffins.  That's the problem, because they don't taste like muffins. If you are anticipating a muffin that will rival a blueberry or lemon poppy-seed muffin, or some other sweet or cake-like muffin, this recipe will not do it for you. (Unlike a muffin, you will see that there is no flour in this recipe.)

On the other hand, if you are interested in an easy or on-the-go breakfast alternative to a bowl of hot oatmeal, then this recipe might be for you. And I can tell you that two of these "cups" with a yogurt and a couple of servings of fruit can make a rather nice lunch.

The recipe makes a dozen.  They freeze well, too.  Just take them out of the freezer the night before you plan to eat them.  Once thawed, I found that 15-30 seconds in a microwave (yours may be different) brings out the flavor of the ingredients without getting the cups overheated or gooey.  Interesting to me is that if I eat them cold, the cinnamon flavor is too strong; yet the microwave brings out the other flavors, providing a nice balance.

Laurie omitted chocolate chips and raisins from the ingredients below, but I'm thinking raisins or, better yet, craisins would be a nice addition.

Baked Oatmeal Cups

What is needed:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup nut butter or 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey or 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, or chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit 

What to do:

The recipe instructions are at thekitchn.com here