Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

My family loves baked oatmeal.  It's the perfect breakfast for us.  It's nutritious, filling, easy to make (I always make it the night before, no matter what recipe I'm using), and everyone is happy coming to the breakfast table when I'm serving baked oatmeal.  So I decided we would do a week of baked oatmeal, trying out a different recipe each day and then voting on our favorite.  If you ask me, breakfast is already the best meal of the day.  But it was especially good during our Baked Oatmeal week!

For Day One, I made our tried and true Banana Berry Baked Oatmeal.  It's been on our breakfast table about once a week for a couple years running, so why not start with what you know you like?

On Day Two, I made Coconut Cream Baked Oatmeal.  This is another recipe I'd already tried and knew we all liked.  

Then on Day Three of our baked oatmeal week, I used an idea from my daughter to create this Apple Pie version.  My middle gingersnap suggested one morning several months ago, "What if we put apples on the bottom instead of bananas?"  Great idea!  A few other additions and it was delicious!  

2 apples, cored, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks - I used my corer/peeler/slicer and then cut the slices into smaller chunks

1-2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp apple pie spice

2 Tbsp brown sugar, divided

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups almond milk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease square baking dish with butter or cooking spray.

Spread apple chunks evenly on bottom of the dish.  Using about 2 Tbsp butter total, distribute butter into smaller bits over the apples.  Sprinkle with apple pie spice and 1 Tbsp brown sugar.

In medium bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.  Mix thoroughly and pour evenly on top of apples.

In the same bowl, throughly mix milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Pour evenly over the oat mixture.  Use a spoon or spatula to press down, ensuring there aren't any dry oats left.

At this point, you can cover the dish with foil and store in the refrigerator overnight, making this an easy breakfast the next morning.

When ready to bake, sprinkle pecans on top and place in oven, uncovered, for 35-45 minutes, or until pecans are nicely toasted and oats are golden on top.  Serve with milk and maple syrup as a treat!