This Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal is like eating dessert for breakfast -- we're channeling all the best flavors from an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie into this nutritious meal!
PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper or grease with nonstick spray.
BATTER: Add the milk, egg, egg yolk (discard the whites or save for another recipe), maple syrup (Note 2), vanilla extract, and coconut oil (measure when melted) or melted butter to a large bowl. Use a whisk to mix until smooth. Add in the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and miniature chocolate chips (Note 4). Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
BAKE: Use a spatula to scrape every bit of batter from the bowl into the prepared pan. Using the back of the spatula, smooth in an even layer. If desired, sprinkle coarse sugar, turbinado sugar, or brown sugar on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden on top and the middle is set. (The longer in the oven, the firmer the oatmeal is; remove sooner for softer baked oatmeal.)
ENJOY: Remove and allow to slightly cool. Cut and serve in bowls. If desired, pour a drizzle of milk and maple syrup over the bars -- so good!
STORAGE: Don't make the batter ahead of time -- as soon as it's made up, it needs to bake or it will dry out (oats will absorb the liquid). Leftover baked bars store nicely though! Let cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy leftovers for up to 4 days after being made. Cut out individual portions, add to a bowl, and microwave. Add some creaminess back in with a drizzle of milk, coffee creamer, or extra maple syrup.
Notes
Note 1: Egg whites: Discard or save extra egg whites to use in a different recipe.Note 2: Maple syrup: Not to be confused with corn syrup or pancake syrup, pure maple syrup contains just one ingredient and is a great natural sweetener! These bars are sweet, so feel free to reduce the maple syrup if you'd like less-sweet bars (you can always drizzle more maple syrup over baked bars if you want them to be sweeter).Note 3: Oats: Use old-fashioned oats. Quick oats and steel-cut oats won't work properly in this recipe.Note 4: Chocolate: Again, these bars are sweet with lots of chocolate. If you'd like your oatmeal less sweet (and with less chocolate), reduce it to 1/2 cup. If not using miniature chocolate chips, you'll want to only use 1/2 cup of regular-sized chocolate chips.Nutriton information does not include the optional sugar topping.