Baked Oatmeal Squares

A wee bit healthier than chocolate chip cookies, but dessert-y enough to round out a properly indulgent coffee break, Swedish-style (If you don't already know and love the Swedish tradition known as fika, read about it.  It will make you want to move there.), these baked oatmeal squares can be justified anytime of day.  And they're pretty easy to make.

Baked Oatmeal Squares

1 1/2 cups old fashioned (not instant) rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dried fruit or chocolate chips
1/4 cup seeds (i.e., sunflower, pumpkin, flax, sesame)

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry. Stir to combine.
Pour into a 9×9 baking dish either coated in cooking spray or lined with parchment. Bake for 40 minutes. Cut into squares. Eat with strong coffee in the middle of the day. 

The variation pictured below includes pecans, chocolate chips, a combination of millet, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds, and a little coconut.