Oatmeal is a stick-to-your-ribs comfort food on cold winter mornings. But it's not just for breakfast, as we found out when we asked readers to submit their favorite oat recipes.
Oats are great in treats such as cookies, bread and crisps. And they're also useful in meatloaf and other savory dishes.
In recent years, oats have ridden a roller coaster of popularity. Studies in the 1980s linked oat bran (the hard outer layer of the oat kernel) to lower cholesterol and a reduced risk of heart disease. This sparked an oat-bran fad, with Americans chomping down enough oats to choke a horse. The market was flooded with oat-bran cookies, chips and other products.
The fad died down in the early 1990s when subsequent studies suggested that oat bran's cholesterol-lowering effect was more modest than earlier believed. Then in 1997, oats were back in the spotlight when the Food and Drug Administration approved the first heart-health claim for oatmeal and products made from whole oats. The labels state that soluble fiber from whole oats, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.
More recent studies have added evidence to the health claim, according to an article in the January/February edition of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. The article was written by Mark Andon, who works for the Quaker-Tropicana-Gatorade Research and Development Department in Barrington, Ill., and James Anderson of the University of Kentucky's College of Medicine. Some of the data they highlighted suggests:
• As part of a low-calorie diet, oats may lower cholesterol more than a low-calorie diet alone.
• Oats have anti-inflammatory properties.
• Oats offer the same beneficial effects as do other whole grains in relation to blood pressure, diabetes and body weight.
Oats contain both insoluble and soluble fiber. Scientists believe that the soluble fiber (beta glucan) found in oats is responsible for oats' cholesterol-lowering effect (when eaten as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, of course). And by lowering cholesterol, you reduce the risk of heart disease. The insoluble fiber in oats aids digestion and promotes regularity.
Aside from health factors, oats are used in a lot of recipes because they add a chewy or crisp texture, and a rich, almost nutty flavor.
Homer Cook of Layton, as well as his extended family, starts out every day with a bowl of his Supercharged Granola. "Besides being a health bonanza, it tastes wonderful, staves off hunger for hours, keeps you regular and can be very economical depending on the amount of 'enhanced' ingredients added," he wrote. "It is also great just for a dry snack, or sprinkled on ice cream or other desserts."
His recipe calls for a rolled six-grain mix that he buys in 50-pound bags from Honeyville Grain, but he adds that it can be made with oats as the only grain.
Meg Wongsuwan of West Jordan likes making No-Bake Cookies, also known as "Chocolate Mess," with kids. She has them count out the 90 seconds that the mixture should boil. "They love watching the 'chocolate mess' in front of their eyes," she said.
Gordon Christensen sent in his recipe for Kent & Gordon's Root Beer Cookies. "My son and I came up with this recipe a few years ago," he wrote. "Everyone seems to like them."
Gwendolyn H. Lee of North Ogden sent in two recipes from the "favorite men" in her life, her husband, Don H. Lee and her father, Ray C Holt, who passed away more than 25 years ago.
"We use almost exclusively organic Ingredients in our baking, so we can feel good about what we make," she wrote. "And speaking of oatmeal in a bowl, if you add some chopped dates and a little brown sugar to the oatmeal while it is cooking, it makes a great hot cereal!"
KNOW YOUR OATS:
Steel-cut oats (also known as Irish oats, Scotch oats, pinhead oats, coarse-cut oats or porridge oats) are whole-grain groats that have been chopped into pieces. They're chewier than rolled oats and can take 20-30 minutes or more to cook.
Rolled oats (also known as oatmeal, old-fashioned oats, flaked oats) are whole oats that have been steamed, rolled and flaked so that they cook quickly. They take about 5-10 minutes to cook.
Quick oats are thin and less chewy than old-fashioned oats. They cook in about 3-5 minutes. "Instant oats" are thin, precooked oats that only need to be mixed with hot liquid. These convenient options are not as chewy or flavorful as slower-cooking oats.
Oat bran is the outer layer of the oat kernel that is high in soluble fiber. It can be used in baked goods and breakfast cereal.
Source: Cook's Thesaurus (at foodsubs.com), Quaker Oats and "Betty Crocker Whole Grains" (Wiley, $19.95)
RECIPES
HOMEMADE GRANOLA BARS
4 cups oatmeal
Dash salt
1/2 cup chopped or sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup cup golden raisins
1/2 cup flavored dried cranberries
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup golden flax seed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray jelly-roll size baking sheet with oil. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. In a small saucepan, stir together brown sugar, oil and honey. (Use the same cup for oil then honey; it slides out easily.) Stir until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Stir honey mixture into oatmeal mixture until thoroughly mixed. Pour into baking sheet. With clean, moistened hands, press mixture evenly in the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool. Using a spatula, gently lift and break apart into pieces and place in air-tight container.
Options: If you desire more of a thick, chewy bar-type consistency, spread mixture in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Using a pizza cutter, score into bars. Bake 10 minutes, then use pizza cutter to cut into bars. — Dawn Perkins, Orem
KENT & GORDON'S ROOT BEER COOKIES
3 cups rolled oats (Quaker preferred)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cubes margarine (1 cup)
1 tablespoon root beer extract
1/2 cup apple juice or water
Mix all ingredients well in a 3-quart mixing bowl. Drop by teaspoons onto greased 14-by-16-inch cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 10-14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool.
Root Beer Cookie Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
2 cubes margarine (1 cup)
1 tablespoon root beer extract
1/4 cup apple juice or water
Mix well. When cookies are cool, ice with frosting. — Gordon Christensen, Kaysville
COOK'S SUPERCHARGED 6-GRAIN GRANOLA
3 cups Honeyville Grain 6-Grain Mix (rolled wheat, oats, rye barley, millet, etc.)
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
Place grain mix and wheat germ in a large bowl. Stir oil into the mix, then add other ingredients and stir until well-mixed. Bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 265 degrees for 1 hour. Stir each 15 minutes. Adjust temperature or time, less for softer granola, more for more crunchy. Eat cold with milk, sprinkle on ice cream or use as a snack. Stores well.
Options: Enhance the basic mix with chopped nuts, sesame seeds, raisins, flax seed, blueberries, cinnamon, pine nuts, chopped dried fruit, shelled sunflower seeds, Craisins, etc. — Homer Cook, Layton
OATMEAL COOKIES
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 beaten egg
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup quick oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix shortening, sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet. Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies. — Joyce Jenkins, Layton
OATMEAL BREAD
2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages of yeast
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons shortening
6 cups sifted flour
Vegetable oil
Pour boiling water over rolled oats, stir well and allow to cool. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar to the warm water and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let sit 10 minutes or until bubbly. Add rolled-oats mixture and remaining ingredients. Mix well and shape into a ball. Brush top with vegetable oil and cover and allow to rise until double in bulk. Knead down and form loaves into two greased bread pans. Let rise until double in bulk. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until nicely browned.
Options: Add 3/4 cup raisins to dough to make Raisin Bread. Replace half of the flour with whole wheat flour. Replace the sugar with 1/4 cup honey. — Marion Bloomquist, Syracuse
PUMPKIN OATMEAL COOKIES
3 cups (29-ounce can) mashed cooked pumpkin
3 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup butter softened
3/4 cup canola oil
4 cups whole-wheat flour
4 cups rolled oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mix pumpkin, sugar, butter and oil well. Add dry ingredients and chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes 11 dozen 2-inch cookies. — Annelle Doxey, Salt Lake City
CHOCOLATE MESS (NO-BAKE COOKIES)
1/2 cup margarine or butter
2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 cups quick oats (or 2 cups oats and 1/2 cup coconut)
Mix margarine, sugar, cocoa powder and milk in a pan over medium-high heat (I like to use my electric skillet). When it reaches a rolling boil, time it for 90 seconds, stirring constantly. Take off the heat and mix in the peanut butter, then the oats (and/or coconut).
Spoon out drops onto waxed paper. Cool.
Options: At Easter, you can make these into chocolate "nests," using pastel M&M candies or Cadbury eggs in the center. — Meg Wongsuwan, West Jordan
SCRUMPTIOUS SWISS OATS 'N' FRUIT
3 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned)
2 1/2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds
6 cups any variety of fresh or dried fruit: sliced banana; sliced kiwi; grapes; strawberries, hulled and cut in half; blueberries; raspberries; bite-size chunks of cored apple; raisins; dried cranberries; dried cherries; dried chopped apricots
Stir together first four ingredients in a large bowl and allow to soak in refrigerator, covered, at least 4 hours or overnight.
In the morning, add fruit and nuts to oat mixture and gently mix together. Serves 8. — Jan Judd, Heber City
MY HUSBAND'S WONDERFUL RHUBARB CRISP
4 cups fresh rhubarb cut in 1/2-inch slices
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix rhubarb, sugar and tapioca. Spread in a buttered or nonstick 9-inch baking pan.
Pour melted butter over the combined flour, rolled oats and brown sugar; mix. Spoon mixture over the rhubarb.
Bake for 35 minutes or until sides are bubbling and topping is a light to medium brown. Makes about 12 servings. Serve with whipped topping or ice cream, if desired.
Options: Add sliced frozen strawberries or other berries with the rhubarb. — Gwendolyn H. Lee, North Ogden
MY DAD'S DELICIOUS CHEWY OATMEAL COOKIES
3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup white (cream-colored if using organic) sugar
3 whole eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
5 to 6 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening, butter and the sugars. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and milk until slightly fluffy.
Slowly beat in flour, soda, salt and spices. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts.
Drop onto oiled, greased or nonstick cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until cookies are as brown as you like them.
Makes about 6 dozen 3-inch cookies.
Options: Add 1 cup organic chocolate chips with the raisins and walnuts. — Gwendolyn H. Lee, North Ogden
ABC MEATBALL SOUP
1 pound ground turkey breast or lean ground beef
3/4 cup quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1/3 cup barbecue sauce or ketchup
1 49-ounce can reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
1/4 cup alphabet-shaped pasta
1 10-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
Heat broiler. Lightly spray rack of broiler pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, combine first three ingredients; mix lightly but thoroughly. Transfer to a sheet of foil. Pat mixture into 9-by-16-inch rectangle. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares; roll each square into a ball. Arrange meatballs on broiler pan.
Broil meatballs 6-8 inches from heat about 6 minutes or until cooked through, turning once.
While meatballs cook, bring chicken broth to a boil in 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pasta and frozen vegetables, return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 8 minutes or until vegetables and pasta are tender. Add meatball and cook 1 minute. Serve immediately. — Quaker Oats
TIC TAC TOE TREATS
1 18-ounce package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Assorted decorator icings
Small candies
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or lightly spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Break up sugar cookie dough in a large mixing bowl. Add oats and cinnamon. Knead dough with clean hands until well-mixed. Press dough into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle (about 1/4-inch thick) on a cookie sheet. Using a pizza cutter or thin-bladed knife, cut rectangle into 2-inch squares, but do not separate. Using the dull side of a table knife, gently make a tic-tac-toe grid on each cookie. Do not cut completely through cookies.
Bake 16-18 minutes or until edges are golden and middle is set but soft. Immediately re-cut 2-inch squares and transfer cookies to wire rack. If cookies begin to stick to cookie sheet, return sheet to oven for a minute or 2 to soften. Cool completely.
Decorate cookies as desired with icing and tiny candies, such as M&Ms, or use candy sprinkles.
Options: Peanut butter cookie dough may be used instead of sugar cookie dough. — Quaker Oats
E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com