December offers all kinds of events, and in combination I find that priorities conflict. Mimosa brunches are followed by dinner with the in-laws, nights of rum and eggnog are followed by work the next morning, and sparkling wine-fueled oyster binges are followed by early wake-ups for shopping with Mom. Expectations run high this time of year. In a perfect world, I’d be able to stumble from one event to the next in a twinkling haze of festive spirit and good cheer, but the thing about in-laws and work and Mom is that they have little appreciation for my kind of enthusiasm, and sometimes Nick decides it’s my turn to drive.
Knowing that Grace’s oyster feast was upon us and having bought two bottles of sparkling wine, I planned ahead. To stave off the effects of a party, I like baked oatmeal; it’s a dense, cakey version of oatmeal that will fill you up and sort you out.
Before going out, I put oatmeal, eggnog, eggs, butter, and spices into a bowl, mixed them well, and placed the mixture in a 1.5 quart baking dish that I then put in the fridge. Now, if it seems like I am asking you to bake oatmeal in custard, don’t worry. That’s absolutely what I’m asking you to do, because we’re a long way from swimsuit season, and this is a celebratory dish, the kind of thing you bring out for brunchtime and then digest during a nap that lasts all afternoon. It’s oatmeal, but it’s special. It’s like a big dish of oatmeal cookie, the dessert of breakfast dishes. High in soluble fibre and butterfat.
Use the best eggnog you can get – I use the stuff from Avalon, which I bought more of than I needed because of the beautiful dairy man who causes me to trip over my words. Also, it’s delicious.
Eggnog baked oatmeal
(Serves four.)
- 2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant – I used large flake, the kind that cooks in 10 to 15 minutes on the stove)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. allspice
- 1 cup eggnog
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp. rum or bourbon, whichever you prefer (optional, I guess)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir. Add eggnog, butter, eggs, rum or bourbon if using, and vanilla. Stir again, thoroughly. Pour mixture into a greased 1.5 quart baking dish, cover, and refrigerate for eight to 10 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 350Ā°F. Bake oatmeal for 60 minutes. It should be golden on top, with a little bit of bubbling around the edges. Let rest for five minutes before serving; serve with maple or golden syrup, if desired, or yogurt. If you were to serve it with ice cream it would be amazing but I am not so bold at 9:30 on a Sunday morning.
well fed, flat broke 
Very unique putting eggnog in oatmeal. I like it
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Oh Emily, I love your enthusiasm why else would I like to spend a special Christmas day shopping with you? Also, the fueling the shopping experience with that fluegenzoomer shopping starter-offer made it even better š
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haha. Also, that looks like great oatmeal, perhaps I’ll try that over the Christmas days off.
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Oh! I am doing this for tomorrow’s breakfast. Yes. Tuesday is the new Sunday.
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Ooh! Yes, do try it! On further consideration, I don’t even think it needs to sit overnight – I think it would be okay to make it and bake it right away.
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Hoooooly crap. Never thought of that but it sounds amazing.
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Ok you’ll make eggnog custard oatmeal but you won’t eat ice cream for breakfast? Oh come on…call it…cream on your oatmeal, who doesn’t love that?
This sounds delicious and something worthy of repeated efforts. I can hear it. “no, I don’t think it’s quite right…let’s try it again.”
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Ha! Rootie, you’re right. I totally was all, “this is a healthy breakfast, I can’t add ice cream.” Next time, I shall be much more bold. Possibly extra bold, choosing something butter-pecan over vanilla.
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I made it! Not for breakfast, but for dessert/late night snack (with leftovers for today’s breakfast.) I think that next time I’d have the sense to use unsalted butter or omit the salt, as it was just-barely too much using salted butter, but it was delicious. Hubby’s favorite thing is eggnog, and he really enjoyed it. A lot.
I found the final result to be more cookie than custard. I think that if one plumped some raisins in rum, they’d be a fine addition, but I think I remember that you hate raisins, Emily? Is that right?
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Ooh, good to know. I usually use unsalted butter, but it’s not right to assume everyone does – I’ll go update the recipe!
And I’m glad you liked it. You are correct in that I hate raisins, but that doesn’t mean a handful of toasted pecans and some chopped dried apricots soaked in rum wouldn’t make it all kinds of awesome.
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Oh, and being the disorganized idiot I am… I logged in to say “Yum, that was delicious and the leftovers made a fine breakfast indeed,” but totally neglected to say how tasty it is. It is. Yum. š
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Holy Hannah! I found your recipe in a search to also use up some tasty Avalon eggnog. I made the recipe this past Saturday evening and let it sit overnight so we could enjoy it for Sunday breakfast – here’s where the holy hannah part comes in – it was so incredibly rich and dense, we barely made it past 10am before the nap feeling hit! We pushed through though and somehow the cold remains were all gone by dinner-time last night! yum. & thanks.
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I’m glad you liked it! I know the nap feeling all too well, but I rarely resist it. Try it next time with ice cream for double the trouble š
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