I’ve been an oatmeal lover for many years now. John Chilton is a true connoisseur, and we spent a few months scouting out the best place in Minneapolis for oatmeal. It’s Zumbro Cafe by the way. Any way when the recipe below appeared in my feed I was intrigued.

http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookie-overnight-oats/#_a5y_p=2464768

We can’t use almond products in our household due to Axes’ allergy, so I needed to adapt it to suit our needs. Of course I decided to use some food science insights, as well.

So the first change was to use regular dairy milk. After working for a dairy co-op for 7 years, I probably would have used dairy milk even without the tree nut concern, as I prefer the taste. Since this was a sweet recipe, I used lactose free milk to reduce the amount of added sugar needed. The other major change I made from a food science perspective was to cook the pumpkin along with the pumpkin pie spice. Heat causes all sorts of chemical reactions to take place, and raw spices just don’t taste right. Cooking lessens their intensity and transfers some of the flavor molecules into the food matrix (melding or blending in laymen’s terms). Beyond that I’m fuzzy on the details, but I imagine the actual flavor compounds are changing, as well.

A comment on overnight oats before we get to the recipe. When you cook starch it goes through a process called gelatinization. This is why grains and flours are so magically different after you heat them. This process also makes them much easier for your body to digest. Ungelatinized starch is called ‘resistant starch’ and your body does not process the calories very efficiently, so overnight oats, which aren’t cooked, are a pretty great breakfast food if you are trying to lose weight. Some people really aren’t fans of overnight oats, though, so I also made a cooked oat version.

And a note about chocolate chips before we get to the recipe. I tested out a few different versions of chocolate chips, and I learned some things. In the overnight oat recipe a mix of mini and regular chips is nice to ensure that you get chocolate in every bite but still get the satisfaction from some regular chips. I like to get a nice big chunk of chocolate every once in a awhile. The other thing I found was that the chocolate chips had very different melt profiles depending on the brand. Hershey’s melted really quickly when tasted plain and behaved like a regular chip in the cold oatmeal recipe. Nestle chips on the other hand were very slow melting and extremely waxy in the cold oatmeal, but when you put them on top of the hot version, they actually held up and melted in your mouth rather than completely in the bowl. I consulted some other food science friends and a textbook, and I’m still not sure why. The chocolate expert in my department told me to check to see if Hershey’s had milk fat and Nestle didn’t, but they both had milk fat. It’s possible they have different proportions, though. Having worked in butter and spreads, my mind went right to fat crystal structure, but he didn’t think that would be the cause. If I find any more out, I will be sure to let you readers in on the mysteries of science!

Pumpkin Mix

• 1 can pumpkin puree (2 cups if you are using fresh)
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Mix pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice and heat on stove top or microwave until just heated (1-3 minutes on the stovetop, about a minute in the microwave). Can be refrigerated up to 5 days, and can be used hot or cold depending on your preference.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oat Recipe

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup lactose free milk
• 1 cup pumpkin mix (see recipe above)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 teaspoon or more raw agave
• 1 teaspoon Ghirardelli mini chocolate chips
• 1 Tablespoon Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips

Mix milk and oats and let sit in refrigerator overnight.

Mix salt and agave into pumpkin mix. Mix into oatmeal. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Recipe

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup lactose free milk
• 1 cup pumpkin mix (see recipe above)
• 1 teaspoon or more raw agave
• 1 Tablespoon Nestle Dark chocolate chips

Microwave oats and water for 3 minutes. Mix all other ingredients together except chocolate chips. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Do not stir in, if you don’t want them to melt.

Okay, so what is a lagniappe? It is a bonus gift. A little something extra. I learned this wonderful word from one of my favorite author’s Gretchen Rubin. http://www.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2013/12/a-lagniappe-for-you-that-is-a-bonus-gift-for-you/

So what is my little something extra for you? Well, one morning Axes found the pumpkin mix in the refrigerator and wanted to eat it. I didn’t think that would be very appetizing, but this child is as persistent, determined, tenacious, or sometimes stubborn as his mother. So I had to think quick. I mixed a little half and half and agave into it and created a delicious pumpkin pudding.

Pumpkin Spice Pudding

• 1 cup pumpkin mix (see recipe above)
• 2 Tablespoons half & half
• 2 teaspoons raw agave syrup

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Sprinkle with Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips if desired.

It’s taken me about 2 weeks to write this post for some reason, so I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!