Layers of peanut butter and chocolate baked oatmeal sprinkled with peanut butter cups and chocolate chips.
Bertie struts down the street, happily munching on a chocolate bar as he walks.
‘Mmm… chocolate!’ he exclaims.
Meanwhile, Amy saunters up the street. She’s trying, but failing, to avoid bumping into people as she eats peanut butter straight from the jar.
‘Ooh, peanut butter!’ Amy chirps.
Suddenly, an old lady shoves her walking stick in front of Bertie’s legs, causing him to trip and fall right into Amy. The pair tumble to the ground, and then check to see if their precious snacks survived the ordeal.
‘You got chocolate in my peanut butter!’ shrieks Amy.
‘You got peanut butter in my chocolate!’ yells Bertie, barely able to contain his horror.
Bertie cautiously takes a bite of his peanut butter covered chocolate, and then looks up at Amy, eyes bulging. Amy carefully removes the chunk of chocolate lodged in her peanut butter jar and samples the unexpected creation.
‘Delicious!’ they chime.
Before either of them can take another bite, the old lady comes up behind them, grabs their snacks and scuttles away gleefully.
‘Two great tastes that taste great together!’ she sings.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist sharing my version of an 80s-style Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercial.
Anyway, as you would’ve noticed by now, this breakfast is all about one of the world’s most magical combinations: peanut butter and chocolate. We’re talking about layers of chocolate and peanut butter baked oatmeal studded with miniature peanut butter cups. If you’ve never tried a warm peanut butter cup, then you’re missing out. They become deliciously gooey and somehow even better.
Needless to say, this breakfast – or dessert-for-breakfast – has definitely become one of my favorites.
Other than the obvious motive (that I wanted to eat peanut butter cups for breakfast), I had another reason for making this baked oatmeal. I’ve been following the US presidential primaries through breakfast foods, and today there are primaries in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island. So I thought I’d make something relating to one of those states, and settled on Pennsylvania.
The Keystone State is known for a ton of different foods including pretzels, banana splits, Philadelphia cheesesteaks, and the various cuisines of the Pennsylvania Dutch. It’s also home to many food companies such as Utz, Heinz and – of course – The Hershey Company.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups also originated in Pennsylvania even though they weren’t made by Hershey’s until 1963, thirty-five years after the peanut butter treat was invented. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were, oddly enough, created by one Harry Burnett Reese. His company, H.B. Reese’s Candy Company, merged with Hershey’s in the 60s.
By the way, Hershey’s headquarters is actually located in a place called Hershey, Pennsylvania. Otherwise known as Chocolatetown, USA. (No, I did not make that up).
The number of peanut butter cups you add to this baked oatmeal is entirely up to you. I used five miniature peanut butter cups, but feel free to use less or more (preferably more). Also, I’m sure it would be fine if you used full-size cups, big cups, or even the adorably tiny Reese’s minis.
Reheating this baked oatmeal is quite simple. Since I’m too impatient to wait for the oatmeal to reheat in the oven, I like to put my slice in a bowl, pour over some almond milk, and then microwave it until warm (about 1 – 2 minutes).
I have to say, it was very comforting to wake up knowing there was some leftover Peanut Butter Cup Swirl Baked Oatmeal waiting for me in the fridge.
Just in case you were wondering: no, this is not a sponsored post – I just love peanut butter cups to a ridiculous degree.
Also, I have no shame about adding candy to my breakfast. If it’s wrong to eat a slice of muffin-like chocolate baked oatmeal swirled with a denser, more cookie-esque peanut butter baked oatmeal sprinkled with miniature peanut butter cups and chocolate chips, then believe me, I have no interest in being right.
- Chocolate Batter
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup (60g) Greek-style yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons (10g) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (100g) rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (80mL) milk
Peanut Butter Batter- 1 egg
- ¼ cup (70g) peanut butter
- ¼ cup (60g) Greek-style yogurt
- 2 tablespoons (25g) brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons (30mL) maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (100g) rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (80mL) milk
Toppings- Chocolate chips
- Miniature peanut butter cups
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9-inch (23cm) pie dish.
- For the chocolate batter: In a medium-sized (or large) bowl, whisk the egg with a fork. Add the yogurt, maple syrup, cocoa powder and vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth.
- Mix in the rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the milk, and mix until well combined.
- For the peanut butter batter: In a medium-sized (or large) bowl, whisk the egg with a fork. Add the peanut butter, yogurt, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth.
- Mix in the rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the milk, and mix until well combined.
- Place alternate spoonfuls of the chocolate and peanut butter batters into the prepared pie dish. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the batters.
- Sprinkle over some chocolate chips, and gently press some (unwrapped) miniature peanut butter cups into the top of the oatmeal batters.
- Bake for 25 – 28 minutes, or until the oatmeal is golden brown and reasonably firm when touched.
- Let the oatmeal cool in the dish for 5 minutes before cutting into slices, if possible. Serve by itself, or with steamed milk (or even ice cream).
When done, the oatmeal should ‘spring back’ when touched – if your finger leaves an indent, it’s not done yet.
Batter consistency
The chocolate batter will be wetter than the peanut butter batter.
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