A big, fat sugar cookie.
But softer and chewier, and much more filling!
This was the delicious breakfast I made on Sunday, in honor of Christmas. As I prepared my morning oats, the box of  Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea sat on the counter, staring me straight in the face. (See, sometimes a messy counter can be a good thing.) I had no idea if adding the tea would impart any noticeable flavor, but isn’t that the whole point of experimenting? To see what happens? In this case, what happened was a bowl of creamy oatmeal, remeniscent of a sweet sugar cookie. Merry Christmas, indeed.
(Breakfast was festive last year, too: Zucchini Bread Oatmeal.)
Sugar Cookie Oatmeal
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
- 2 Celestial Seasonings sugar cookie teabags (feel free to change the flavor by using any favorite tea)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- sweetener of choice, as desired
- optional: coconut butter or oil, or vegan butter (You can easily omit this. But I liked the extra buttery flavor I got by stirring a little virgin coconut oil into my oats.)
Heat the water and milk, then add the teabags and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Right before taking the teabags out, smush them a little with a fork so more of the flavor goes into the milk. Combine the liquid with the oats and salt, then microwave for 3 minutes. (If it starts to boil over, you can stop the microwave and keep heating in ten-second increments until the time is up. But don’t open the microwave door!)
Let the oatmeal sit in the closed microwave for 5 minutes, then transfer–uncovered—to the fridge. It gets thicker as it sits. (I made this, then went running for a little over an hour. It was the perfect texture by the time I got back. Bit if you want to eat this immediately, just use a little less water.) Right before eating, add your vanilla and sweetener (and oil, if using).
View Sugar Cookie Oatmeal Nutrition Info
You can make this the night before if you prefer: just add a splash of milk before reheating the next day. Also, feel free to make this on the stovetop instead of the microwave.
By the time I finished breakfast, everyone else was finally starting to wake up. So I parked myself in front of the tree to open presents. (And then I was forced to move, because Batman kept jumping into my lap and trying to lick my face. Ick… puppy kisses! Some presents, I’m not so sure I want.)
My sister’s gift to me included a bunch of colored sugars, to feed my cupcake-decorating habit. Or maybe I can use the colored sugars the next time I make sugar cookie oatmeal. It was so good that I’m definitely planning to make it again soon!
Do you like unusual oatmeal flavors?
Or do you prefer traditional oatmeal mix-ins? I know I’ve posted some outlandish oatmeal recipes, but my everyday breakfasts can actually be pretty simple– basic oats with raisins, or with a big spoonful of coconut butter and some cinnamon mixed in. Still, sometimes it’s fun to go a little crazy…
One of my crazier recipes: Chocolate Hugs Strawberry Oatmeal.
you and your sis are both so beautiful! 🙂 merry christmas!
I like to do all sorts of things with my oatmeal. Stir in pumpkin, fruit butters, dried fruit, almond milk, mix it with fat free Greek yogurt and let it sit over night in the refrigerator, add fruit the next morning – delicious!
Healthy breakfast on christmas day just make your whole day filled with joy! You be energized and and everyone around you just feel the energy.
You two are so gorgeous!
I’m open to try different oatmeal flavors but my favorite will always involve bananas and/or blueberries. =D
I love using tea bags to flavor my oatmeal! My favorite is chai
I added peanut butter to it instead of any sweetener! It thickened it up nicely and made it taste like I was eating a big bowl of peanut butter cookie dough 🙂 Yum! Thanks for the recipe.
My all time favorite is probably PB & J oats in a jar. Specifically in an almost (but not quite!) empty Whole Foods Creamy Peanut Butter jar with Raspberry Preserves! I can’t believe I haven’t tried coconut butter in my oats yet!
The crazier, the better. I never eat plain oats. I tend to put half the contents of my cupboard in each bowl of oatmeal 🙂 .
Yum, this sounds delicious…you know I love sugar cookies and sugar cookie tea!! 🙂
My go-to oats are usually vanilla, almond milk, stevia, and frozen strawberries blended with a hand blender. So creamy and pretty pink! Makes me feel ~8 years old each time I eat them 😉
Also, just want to shout-out appreciation for your easy, *healthy*, many-optioned recipes. I’ve been reading your blog for ~1 year now, and many of my breakfasts are based on your recipes. You’ve saved this grad student hundreds of $$ at local pastry shops because I now prefer my own concoctions to a (still beloved, yet now occasional) bran muffin from a cafe! Can’t wait for the next year of deliciousness.
I have the same santa hat =)
omg! I actually had the idea to do that! Brew tea and then use that same sugar cookie tea to make oatmeal with! I ended up drinking it though. oh well! its so good 🙂
Savory oatmeal is good every now and then. 😀 Cheese, garlic, vegetables…. oatmeal’s like fridge Velcro.
How I love your oatmeal recipes… 🙂 I’m glad this isn’t technically a Voluminous Oatmeal trick recipe though, because I can never get it to work and it always frustrates me. This, however, I can do 😉
I got some Whittard’s Vanilla Chai Latte Instant Tea Drink for Christmas so I’m going to try that in place of the Sugar Cookie tea bags. I’ve made overnight oats with Impress honey and prickly pear tea, that was lovely; and I often make a green tea-oats-frozen fruit smoothie (like your blended grains technique, I guess, only they’re overnight oats instead of cooked) that tastes amazing, so I’m very much looking forward to trying this!
Happy Holidays, everyone! 🙂
I wonder if I could get away with putting some crumbled up sugar cookies on this oatmeal and still calling it breakfast 😉
love this blue bowl! my sister bought me lots of cute plates and cutlery for my xmas present and now i’m on a photography props kick! 🙂