Put those Cocoa Puffs away! (Peanut butter cup oats)

I have a new love affair with oats since they are so good for cholesterol.  This recipe is very old, like from when I first learned my level was high, and I forgot to draft it.  I do not and cannot imagine why because I remember it fondly. It was my first toe dip into weaning me off smoothies filled with MCT oil. And what a toe dip it was!

This tastes so good you will swear it is not good for you. The only bad part is the brown sugar and cocoa powder, but heck, divide that by 12 or 16 and you realize it is not that bad.  This tasted very reminiscent of Cocoa Puffs or Count Chocula so get your kiddos or man in your life on it, they may be hooked! I am very sad I did not try this out on my Gentleman Caller or borrowed kiddos.

Make this!  It is healthy, seems not to be so, and pretty portable once you cut it.  Your breakfast choices will go from cold to hot in no time!  Full recipe to follow the montage.

I regret I did not get a cut picture!

The cast.  I will explain the molasses below.

The wets.  The original recipe called for all banana, but I was scared it would be too banana-y.

I was somehow out of brown sugar.  Molasses and white sugar will be a great sub for you!

See!  Who knew!  I was so happy I had molasses!

I promise, this is healthy and delightful!

And once you add the oats, it is!  I neglected to highlight the peanut butter swirl, but it's there!

Doesn't that just look delightful?

Peanut Butter Cup Oats (Adapted from Budget Bytes)
1 mashed ripe banana

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
1/4 cup peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's better n' peanut butter and it was great!)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups milk (I used almond, any variety will do)
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 Tbsp peanut butter (for topping)

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Mash the banana well, then place in a large mixing bowl along with the applesauce, egg, peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Whisk until the mixture is mostly smooth (there may be small pieces of banana).  Add the milk to the chocolate banana mixture, and then whisk until smooth again. Add the dry rolled oats and then stir until combined.  Pour the oat mixture into a 2-3 quart casserole dish coated with non-stick spray. Drizzle the remaining 2 Tbsp peanut butter over the oats and drag a knife through to create swirls. If needed, warm the peanut butter slightly to make it runny enough to drizzle over the oats. Bake the oats in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Serve warm, or refrigerate until ready to eat.

Happy Cooking!

Missy