In early December of 2010, I took a trip to the awesome city of San Francisco to attend a leadership conference for about a week, and to see the city decked out in Christmas lights is something that needs to be experienced. Being the savvy travelers we all were, a bunch of us had decided to do some local grocery shopping to bring the food costs down. I knew I needed to have something for breakfast every morning, and the small fridge we had asked to be placed in the room can only fit so much perishable items. This is where I made a food discovery that was one of those happy accidents and was nothing short of pure awesome deliciousness.

I had bought two boxes of Quaker Oats instant oatmeal and while I don’t remember what all the various flavor mixes were, but there were two that really stood out when they were mixed together: Maple Brown Sugar and Apple Cinnamon.

Now, 8 years later, I find myself looking to re-create that flavor from scratch with all the necessary ingredients, and I think I’ve pretty much nailed it! So, without further ado, here’s my own Maple Brown Sugar and Apple Cinnamon oatmeal recipe I wanted to share as a gift for Christmas.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Rolled Oats

• 1/4 cup Steel Cut Oats

• 1 cup water

• pinch of salt

• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

• 1 tsp Amber (dark) Honey *NOTE: I used Labonte organic dark honey as this acts as an excellent brown sugar substitute*

• 1 tbsp Amber (dark) Maple Syrup

• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

• sprinkle of Nutmeg

• 4 tsp Unsweetened Applesauce

Directions:

Combine rolled and steel cut oats with salt and water. Prepare either by stovetop, microwave or oven as you wish. I used a microwave – 1.5 min on high power. It should start to become firm and no longer soupy-looking. Add vanilla, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and applesauce, mixing well. Then, enjoy!

It’s taken a few attempts to get the taste just right for what I remember; you can change it up however you wish – add fruit/berries, use almond milk for water, or maybe even add some nuts. From my heart to yours, I wish you a very Merry Christmas 2018, all the best for the New Year of 2019, and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have!