In Pursuit of Steel Cut Oats Breakfast Recipe

A few weeks ago (five, to be exact) I posted a picture of my first attempt at Shannon Ables's recipe for "Buttery Steel Cut Oats."  Since then  I have fallen in love with the recipe and have made it nearly every morning.  We've always been a big oatmeal family, but these buttery steel cut oats definitely top the charts.

Y'all, I seriously had doubts that steel-cut oats could taste so good, but decided to give them a whirl after hearing @thesimplyluxuriouslife share her recipe. I toasted my slivered almonds right before adding them. This stuff was amazing! I literally devoured the entire bowl. #heathyfoodwin #tsll

A photo posted by Ashley Craig-Diaz (@inpursuitofthefinerthings) on Apr 19, 2016 at 9:32am PDT

I received several requests for the recipe and rather than just directing  you to Ms. Able's website, decided to share the recipe in a post.

The necessary ingredients include:

• 1/4 Cup Steel Cut Oat Meal (original, not quick cooking!  The one pictured is John McCann Steel Cut Oatmeal, but I've also used Bob's Red Mill Organic Steel Cut Oats, and both are good)
• 1 Tablespoon Butter (I've been using Président Salted Butter)
• 3/4 Cup Boiling Water
• 1/4 Cup Cream (pictured is Organic Valley Heaving Whipping Cream.  I've also used Regular Whipping Cream, and they're both good).
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• Handful of Toasted Slivered Almonds

I've been toasting my own almonds while the rest of the meal (pun intended) cooks and decided quickly to toast enough for a whole week and keep them in a small glass jar (exactly what I did with the walnut and rolled-oat mixture for the Magical Breakfast).  These directions will tell you the steps I take to do this, but once your almonds are toasted for the week you would (obviously) leave those steps out of the process.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place your kettle of water on the stove to boil.  Place several handfuls of slivered almonds on a lightly sprayed baking sheet.

In a small skillet, melt butter with oats over medium heat to begin toasting the oats for 2-3 minutes.

Once the oven is preheated, begin to toast almonds for 5 minutes.

When the water in the kettle begins to boil, add 3/4 cups to the oats in the skillet.  It should immediately continue to boil.  DO NOT STIR!  Add a dash of salt and reduce heat to low.  Allow oats to absorb liquid for 8-10 minutes.

I normally enjoy my cup of coffee while waiting for the timers to go off.  Check out this super cute "Milton" mug by The Scribble Studio that I picked up from 

Cheeses and Mary a few weeks ago!

 After almonds have toasted for 5 minutes, stir around and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.  NOTE: There is a very fine line between perfectly toasted almonds and over-toasted (aka, burnt) almonds.  Keep an eye on them and take them out RIGHT as they start to brown in color.  

(You'll notice in the above picture that I've found the "hot" spot of my oven 

and have learned to work around it. :)

Once your oats have absorbed liquid, stir and add 1/4 cup cream.  Allow cream to become absorbed then transfer to bowl.

 

Add honey and small handful of toasted almonds.  Save the remainder of almonds in a small glass jar to use throughout the week.

This recipe is for one but can very easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled for more!  Just as with the Magical Breakfast, have fun adding different toppings to make it unique to your taste.  I've played with a few toppings, but the honey and almonds are definitely my favorite!