Frugal Oatmeal Pie Recipe

Oatmeal pie is a frugal and healthy dessert that is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth without making you feel guilty! Take advantage of the opportunity to get nutritious oatmeal into even your fussiest eater, and to reap the health benefits of cinnamon too.

Oatmeal pie recipes are popular in Southern cooking, and this type of pie may well have been made to replace pecan pie when the nuts were scarce during the Civil War, But the recipe probably comes to us from Amish cooking. It is similar to the sugar pie popular in Amish. Shaker and Quebec cooking.

This pie filling is a quick and simple one to make, and uses honey as a healthier alternative to the corn syrup seen in many other recipes. Both the oats and the cinnamon in this pie are known to have a positive effect on the body's ability to metabolize sugars. These foods are a friend to anyone concerned about high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes or obesity.

Honey Oatmeal Pie Recipe
1/3 cup (80 mL) each honey and melted margarine
2/3 cup (160 mL) brown sugar
2 small eggs
1 cup (250 mL) oatmeal
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1.25 mL) salt

In a medium bowl whisk up the honey, margarine, sugar and eggs until well mixed. Stir in oatmeal, spices and salt. Pour into a prepared unbaked pie shell.

Bake 45 minutes in a 375ºF (190ºC) oven, or until the filling is firm when you give it a good shake.

Oatmeal Pie Variations
If you are looking for a crunchier texture to your oatmeal pie, try toasting the oats before adding them to the filling. This will give a texture that is closer to a pecan pie, without the expense of the nuts.

Add to the oatmeal content of your pie by using an oatmeal pie crust recipe.

Try using maple sugar or raw sugar, instead of brown sugar for a slightly different taste and texture.

For a fancier oatmeal pie, add up to ½ cup (125 mL) each of raisins and shredded coconut. If you like nuts, use them to decorate the top of the pie.

Sources:
"Cin city: Cinnamon health benefits." Women's Health

"Cinnamon, ground" and "Honey." World's Healthiest Foods

Angie Mohr, "Civil War recipes: Pinto bean pie." Yahoo! Content Network

University of Kentucky, "Oatmeal's health claims reaffirmed, study suggests." Science Daily