Almond and Brown Sugar Steel-Cut Oatmeal

EASIER

VEGETARIAN

GLUTEN-FREE

Makes 6 servings

A slow cooker takes the pain out of cooking steel-cut oats and turns this consummately healthy breakfast into a weekday morning treat. Use certified gluten-free steel-cut oats to guarantee that the porridge is gluten-free. While this porridge is fine on its own, you can also top it with a little warmed half-and-half or even cream. Hey, you’re eating healthy oats, aren’t you?

3 cups unsweetened apple juice

2 cups water

1 cup steel-cut oats

½ cup raisins

½ cup sliced almonds, optional

¼ cup packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon table salt

1. Stir all the ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker until the brown sugar dissolves.

2. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. The oatmeal can stay on the keep-warm setting for up to 4 hours longer.

Got leftovers? Pack them into a solid layer in a small baking dish, then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Cut the cold oatmeal into squares, then fry in melted butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until golden, turning once. Serve with maple syrup on the side.

Voilà! No slow cooker? Make oats in your rice cooker instead: Use 3 parts water to 1 part steel-cut oats, and add a pinch of table salt. Never fill the rice cooker above the halfway point since the oats foam. Cook the oats on the “porridge” setting, if your cooker has one. A rice cooker with so-called “fuzzy logic” will determine the amount of residual humidity in the batch to cook the oats perfectly each time, about 25 minutes. For other models, override the presets and cook the steel-cut oats at a low temperature for 20 minutes, then check the doneness and continue cooking for 5 or 10 minutes longer.