Caramel Apple Baked Oatmeal

Ok, so this is more of a dessert than a breakfast, but some people just have to have their morning fix 🙂 I don’t condone being sugar’d up at breakfast, but some breakfast foods have more sugar than candy bars, so if you’re going to do it, you should do it smartly (i.e. more flavor, less sugar). And, because I tend to have oatmeal in the evening, this is a good alternative to dessert too. It’s like a cake, but without milk and eggs and the majority of the things that make cake so sinful.

For my Caramel Apple Baked Oatmeal, I used goat milk caramel (Cajeta!) from Fat Toad Farm, that was sent to me as a lovely gift (I’m so lucky!). I loved this company because they are family run and use pasture-raised goats. You can find their Cajeta in Williams-Sonoma, or on their website. I also was super eager to try this treat because of my recent ventures into the making of Dulce de Leche, another South American caramel-esque treat (but it’s not caramel!). Fat Toad Farm’s Cajeta is creamy and so tasty but not overly sweet, so it makes a perfect compliment to fruit or your dessert, when you need that little hint of something different.

~Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a baking ramekin with non-stick spray.
~Spread 1 tsp. of the caramel sauce in the bottom of the ramekin. Thinly slice the apple quarter, and layer around the bottom of the ramekin (mine made two layers in the bottom), on top of the caramel. Then, drizzle or spread the remaining 1 tsp. of caramel sauce on top of the apple layer.
~In a separate, microwavable bowl, combine oats, water, cinnamon and Splenda, and microwave for 1 and 1/2 min, par-cooking the oats. Take them out of the microwave and pour into the ramekin on top of the apples and caramel. Put in the oven for 25 min (you may want to put a small sheet pan on the rack under the ramekin, because mine dripped over a little). Remove from the oven and let cool.
You can either dig in right now, hot from the oven, or place in the fridge overnight and save it for an easily ready morning breakfast! It would be yummy hot or cold!