If you’re on what I like to call “FoodTok”, you’ve probably heard of the new viral food: baked oats. These have become increasingly popular due to their versatility and of course, their taste. Baked oats are made by blending oats with milk, baking powder, a pinch of salt and vanilla, along with other recipe-specific ingredients such as maple syrup, protein powder, chia seeds, berries, honey and anything else you could dream of putting in oatmeal. These are then baked in the oven and enjoyed as a nutritious and delicious meal.

Today I made a recipe from Trace Alexander, or @tracesoats, on TikTok. Alexander has a huge number of recipes, ranging from shamrock oats, cinnamon roll oats, pumpkin pie oats, birthday cake oats and more. I decided to make his cookies and creme oats.

I started by adding ⅔ cup of milk (I chose cashew, but you can do any kind you like) to a blender. The blender is not required, but I recommend using one. I then added ⅔ cup of oats, ½ tablespoon of chia seeds, a splash of vanilla extract, one tablespoon of maple syrup, a pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon of baking powder and an optional scoop of protein powder and another splash of milk. Then, I blended until it was all mixed and had a liquidy consistency. 

After it was blended, I added the mixture to an oven-safe bowl and added a dollop of cream cheese in the middle (I used almond-based cream cheese, but you can use anything you prefer) and crushed two Oreos on top. I then baked it for 20 minutes (recipe says 18-20) at 400°F and enjoyed the sweet, chocolatey aroma from upstairs.

After anxiously waiting for my oats, I carefully took them out of the oven to let them cool for five minutes, then it was finally time to take a bite.

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As my fork dug into the bowl, I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet, pleasant aroma of the oatmeal. I was not particularly pleased with the texture, which was more tough and rubbery than I expected. However, once I took a bite, everything felt alright. That bite of baked oats tasted like sweetened oatmeal with cookies. With the addition of protein powder, I felt nourished and sustained, like eating a full meal.

Even as delicious as the oats were, I do have some critiques. Firstly, if it wasn’t for the Oreos, they would be quite bland. Yes, they were sweet thanks to the maple syrup, but besides that, they just tasted like oatmeal. Additionally, and this part is optional, I could have gone without the cream cheese. It just felt that the flavor had been interrupted and it did not blend well. 

Of course, some of these could be a result of my mistakes or ingredients I used and not the recipe. As always, there are hundreds of baked oats recipes out there, and you could even make your own.