Spiced Chocolate Oatmeal

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“If chocolate granola, then why not chocolate oatmeal?” I asked myself a couple of weeks ago. And the response to that question to self, was this spiced chocolate oatmeal porridge. While my kid is quite a non-fussy eater, he has no love for porridge, but he does love chocolate (a lot). And lets just say my culinary experiment was a success and we plan to include this in our breakfast menu a lot more regularly and not just during Christmas.

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The cinnamon sticks add some warmth and holiday flavour to what could just be chocolate porridge. A smidgen of fresh orange zest would make it even better, but I did not have oranges in my fruit basket that day.

It’s fairly child’s play – this spiced chocolate oatmeal. In a pan, take instant oats, add required quantity of water along with the cinnamon sticks. Feel free to add 3-4 cloves and some orange zest too. I avoid the former because I don’t have the patience to fish for the cloves when the porridge is ready. I like to use a pinch of ground cloves instead, along with some vanilla and nutmeg for the added festive touch.

Simmer, simmer, simmer. I’m saying that thrice, once for each minute 🙂 Dissolve some cocoa powder or a square of chocolate per person in hot milk, and add the milk to the nearly cooked oats. Sweeten it up as you like. Ladle into bowls and top with a dash of ground cinnamon and some honey.

It sure made a delicious twist to a plain bowl of oatmeal porridge.

If your kid loves anything chocolate, then do give this a try 🙂 As a special treat, you can sprinkle a few chocolate chips on the top.

So here comes, the recipe of a simple spiced chocolate oatmeal.

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Spiced Chocolate Oatmeal

Spiced hot chocolate meets porridge in this utterly simple but delicious bowl for breakfast. The Christmas season is perfect to try out this recipe!

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Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1/3 cup oats instant
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk whole
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon ground
• 1/4 tsp cloves ground (optional)
• Pinch nutmeg of grated
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsps brown sugar

Instructions

 

• In a saucepan, combine oats, cinnamon sticks and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer for 3-4 minutes until oats are cooked.
• Whisk the cocoa powder into 2 tbsp milk along with ground cinnamon, ground cloves, grated nutmeg, vanilla and sugar.
• Add this to the cooked oats in the pan along with the remaining milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes.
• Divide into 2 bowls or cups.
• Garnish with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Notes

Make this bowl of chocolate oatmeal even more filling by adding a teaspoon of chocolate peanut butter, chopped roasted almonds or sliced bananas.

Chocolate oatmeal is a no effort breakfast and reasonably healthy too, before the big holiday lunches.

It has the aromas from the spices, the heartiness of a porridge and decadence of chocolate. A happy meal in a bowl, indeed!