The best breakfasts(I think) are the ones that taste like a dessert.

While I might down a veggie egg omelet and perfectly salted home fries at a brunch, I’ll never cook myself something savory in the morning. I’d much rather put in the time and effort for french toast, glazed waffles, or this oatmeal.

When cinnamon brown sugar oatmeal just tastes too healthy, there’s no reason not to throw in some cocoa powder and sugar to sweeten the pot. It’s still plenty healthy with a banana and some peanut butter on top to fill out the food groups.

If you don’t want to use butter, try an oil like coconut oil to add some richness or use 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter.

Rich Chocolate Oatmeal

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules(optional)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter

Method:

1. In a large pot, combine the oats, water, powder, sugar, and salt.
2. Bring the water to a boil over the stove and stir continuously.
3. Keep stirring until the oats are fully cooked and the water is gone. If the oats are still tough, add 1/2 cup of water and keep stirring.
4. When the oats are done, remove them from the heat.
5. Stir in the vanilla, coffee(if using), and butter and continue stirring until the ingredients are well mixed.
6. Serve hot with peanut butter, banana, and other toppings.

Do you know what November is? Besides depressingly cold. It’s national peanut butter month! And to stir things up, the National Peanut Board invited bloggers to come up with a new peanut butter recipe to post and spread the love.

At this point, there are few recipes that I haven’t made with peanut butter. It’s something I eat daily—usually in the morning with oatmeal and a sweetener like maple syrup. But oatmeal can be messy and hard to have on the go, so there had to be an easy, portable way to have that delicious flavor combination.

For my entry I made a peanut butter quick bread sweetened with maple syrup. It’s healthy and amazingly delicious warmed up on a cold November morning.

To vote in the recipe, you can go to the Peanut Board’s Facebook page after 12pm on November 1st and use the contest’s tab app to vote before November 30th. Besides a prize for the winning blogger, they’re giving away 15 peanut butter prize packs with $25 gift cards to voters, so vote!

Maple Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bread

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Ingredients(Makes one loaf):

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup peanut butter, gently melted
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix together the oats and flour.
3. Add in the syrup, peanut butter, oil, eggs, and water and beat well.
4. Add in the rest of the ingredients and continue mixing until it forms a batter.
5. Lightly grease a 9-inch loaf pan with oil.
6. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle some extra oats on the top.
7. Bake for 50 minutes or until the bread rises and sets.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing. Store in a cool place when not enjoying.

Be sure to check out the other bloggers’ recipes as well! Jennifer, Laurie, Nick, Tina, and Rachel all cooked up something delicious, too.

What do you do with a ton of caramel(besides eating it off of your fingers and spoons) other than bake with it? If you know please tell me because I still have a cup left after making these and about 12 new cavities.

The first thing I thought of was coconut and caramel. It’s sweet and meaty and perfect to add textures. Adding it to muffins became a great way to start the day with something flavorful. These had a decent coconut flavor, but if you just love coconut then I’d recommend swapping in coconut oil for the vegetable oil and carton coconut milk for the regular milk.

These are “muffins”(as opposed to cupcakes) in my mind because they aren’t all that sweet; they’re a perfect breakfast pastry to have next to a cup of coffee or tea. However, if you wanted them to be sweeter and possibly a dessert, I’d recommend adding 1/2 cup of sugar to the batter.

Coconut Caramel Muffins

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 9 muffins):

• 6 Tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce, divided
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 Tablespoons shredded coconut

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 9 muffin wells with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the coconut flour, brown rice flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, 1/4 cup caramel sauce, and oil until mixed well.
4. Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and mix until the batter is even.
5. Scoop an equal amount of batter into each paper liner.
6. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining caramel sauce and shredded coconut. Scoop roughly a tablespoon of the coconut mixture in the center of each muffin and press down lightly.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until the muffins have set. Remove from the oven and let them cool before serving.