Food and Recipes Breakfast Baked Oatmeal with Apple, Cranberries, and Pecans 4.0 (1) 1 Review This make-ahead oatmeal loaded with spices, fruits, and nuts will make any morning sweeter. Assemble it the night before and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, pop it in the oven and breakfast is served. Choose a firm, sweet apple (such as a Fuji or Honeycrisp) that will retain its shape and a little texture after being baked. By Karen Schroeder-Rankin Karen Schroeder-Rankin Karen Rankin is a chef, recipe developer, and food stylist with over 25 years experience cooking, developing recipes, styling food, and entertaining guests at her table and in restaurants. During the past 11 years, Karen has been styling food for various publications such as Cooking Light, Southern Living, Eating Well, Real Simple, as well as creating instructional videos for Southern Living Magazine's Tips from the Test Kitchen, featured on select television programming, and on websites. With an interest in the use of color, texture, and presentation, she develops recipes that are intended to surprise and delight the recipients of these dishes, both from a visual standpoint and a flavor experience. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on September 7, 2019 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Maggie Ruggiero Active Time: 15 mins Chill Time: 8 hrs Total Time: 1 hrs Yield: 6 serves Ingredients 2 large eggs 1 1/4 cups whole milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon apple pie spice 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, divided 8 tablespoons butter, melted, divided 2 cups small cubed, peeled apple (about 1 large apple) 3 1/2 cups uncooked old-fashioned regular rolled oats, divided 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, divided 1 cup dried cranberries, divided Directions Lightly coat an 8-inch square (2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, apple pie spice, salt, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, and 5 tablespoons of the melted butter in a large bowl. Add apple cubes, 3 cups of the oats, 1/2 cup of the pecans, and 1/2 cup of the cranberries; stir to combine. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish; cover with plastic wrap. Stir together remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 cup oats, and 1/2 cup pecans in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Place covered baking dish and covered bowl in refrigerator; chill 8 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350°F. While oven preheats, remove baking dish and bowl from refrigerator; remove plastic wrap. Stir apple-oat mixture in baking dish to redistribute wet ingredients. Sprinkle top evenly with oat-pecan topping mixture. Bake in preheated oven until mixture is set in the middle and topping is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup dried cranberries. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm. Print