12 Days of Christmas Inspired - Pear Cranberry Baked Oatmeal

Happy December!!  I thought it might be fun do something a little different and take a theme, 12 Days of Christmas and tie our recipes to them.  So, here we go ..."Partridge in a Pear Tree."   So let's take that pear and put it in a great breakfast dish.  This would be perfect for a cold morning, maybe Christmas morning.  Oatmeal, cranberries, cinnamon, brown sugar, and pears all topped with maple sugared walnuts.  Yum .....

Pear Cranberry Baked Oatmeal with Maple Sugared Walnuts

Ingredients for Oatmeal:
· 3 cups oatmeal
· 1 cup brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon cinnamon
· 1 tablespoon baking powder
· 1 teaspoon salt
· ¾ cup milk
· 2 tablespoons oil
· 1 egg
· ½ cup dried cranberries
· 1 pear, cored, peeled and diced

Ingredients for the Maple Sugared Walnuts:
· ½ cup butter
· ½ cup sugar
· ½ cup chopped walnuts
· 1 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the milk, oil and egg and stir until combined. Fold in the cranberries and diced pears. Pour into a greased 9x9-inch baking dish.
3. To make walnuts, melt the butter over low heat in a small skillet. Add the sugar and continue cooking over low heat; stirring frequently until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the walnuts and cook an additional minute.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the maple syrup. Pour the walnut mixture on top of the oatmeal in the baking dish.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set and lightly golden brown around the edges. Serve warm.