It’s day 9 of love your oatmeal week, I’m renaming it Love Your Oatmeal Celebration so I sound a little less crazy! I am however a little obsessed with oatmeal and i think it’s the continued success of all my crazy flavor ideas that’s keeping me motivated. I was actually excited for the morning to come when I went to bed last night. Not an easy feat on a work night.

If you don’t have orange flower water it’s fine to leave it out. It adds a very subtle sweet flavor and aroma. Before buying any make sure it’s food grade, which most Middle Eastern stores carry. I was unable to find food grade at my local Whole Foods.

You can leave off the topping altogether or just use a teaspoon or two of your favorite nut. Depending on how sweet your figs are you may need to add a little sweetener if you make it that way.

As seen on The Nourishing Gourmet’s Pennywise Platter

Slow Cooker Vanilla Fig Oatmeal

2 to 3 servings

**This recipe uses a smaller slow cooker that’s 1 1/2 to 2 quarts

• 1/2 cup steel-cut oats
• 2 cups unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk (only 50 calories a cup!)
• 1/2 cup chopped dried figs
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon food grade orange flower water (optional)
• 1/2 vanilla bean scraped or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla

‘baklava filling’ topping

• 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon chopped almonds
• 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• pinch of cinnamon

The night before: Spray your crock with some oil to help with clean up later. Add everything except baklava filling topping ingredients to the slow cooker.  Now mix together the ‘baklava filling’ in a small bowl and store in the fridge until the morning. Cook on low over night (7 to 9 hours).

In the morning: Stir your oatmeal well. It may seem watery at the top but if stirred it should become a more uniform consistency. Top each serving with a few tablespoons of the baklava filling, making it as sweet as you like it.