Genesis

About 4 years ago an acquaintance gave me the infamous $250 Neiman Marcus cookie recipe with the warning that it was the best cookie she'd ever tasted. She referred to it as an "adult cookie" (whatever that means) and it sounded intriguing. So of course I made them. And yes! they were delicious, quite possibly one of the best cookies this adult had ever eaten too. But what was most intriguing to me was the ground oats in the recipe. Prior to this I had only used oats in traditional oatmeal cookies, which I adore. I remember eating the cookies and thinking how light and airy they were. Could it be the ground oats? With this question in mind, I incorporated them into my standard pumpkin bread recipe and it was a success. And then they worked just as well in my chocolate hazelnut cookies, blueberry cake and so on and so on. I was on to something. So here's a tip on getting some whole grain goodness into your baking: Replace 1/2 to 3/4 of the AP flour in your recipes with ground oats (I grind Old Fashioned Oats or Quick Oats in my spice mill). You've just given yourself a healthy excuse to have another cookie or slice of cake.

Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread
adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (my bible)
Makes 2 loaves (medium size loaf pans)

Cooking spray
2 tsp flour

2 cups oats, ground in spice mill
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup Splenda Blend (or 2 cups granulated sugar)
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs (or 2 eggs plus 1/2 cup egg substitute)
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

Topping:
1/2 cup ground oats
1/4 cup Splenda Blend (or 1/2 cup granulated sugar)
4 T softened butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare loaf pans with cooking spray and flour
In small bowl, prepare topping by combining all ingredients. Set aside
In medium size bowl, combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Set aside
In mixing bowl, combine oil, Splenda Blend, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and water. Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Pour evenly into prepared pans and sprinkle topping over batter. I press the topping down a bit, so it's not too crumbly when I remove the breads from their baking pans. Bake 55-60 minutes until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Cool a bit and remove from pans.

Re-Mix: If you like this recipe, how about adding a touch of chocolate to your pumpkin creation? It's easy. After combining all ingredients, remove 1 cup of batter to a separate bowl and stir in 1/2 cup Hershey's Lite chocolate syrup and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Pour or ladle half of the original pumpkin batter into 2 loaf pans. Top with the chocolate mixture, and finish with the remaining pumpkin batter. Insert a knife into the batter and make swirling motions through the mixture. Eliminate the topping and bake 55-60 minutes.