Oat

Feel free to substitute other dried fruits for the apricots. We particularly like using sour cherries, cranberries, golden raisins, or chopped figs.

Pies and tarts filled with Swiss chard, pine nuts, and raisins are common in southern France and Italy, where they may be served for dessert, sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar or toasted almonds. Goat cheese and anchovies make this galette decidedly savory, while the crust departs from the standard with wholesome oats and whole-wheat flour.

Complete comfort food . . . Layer these with our Cinnamon Ice Cream (page 143) and savor the spicy-sweet goodness of this sandwich. Try using freshly grated nutmeg instead of ground—you’ll be surprised by the difference.

In one batch, find the flavors of two bakery classics: chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. Chopped walnuts and rolled oats add texture and more layers of taste. Use a ripe banana, which has more concentrated flavor, and is easier to mash, than an unripe one.

A glass of milk is the ideal accompaniment to these drop cookies. Besides white chocolate, the cookies are also chockablock with oats, coconut, golden raisins, and walnuts.

These bars are more rustic than traditional dried fruit bars, since they are covered with a crumbly oat topping before baking. You can substitute chopped dried figs or dates for the raisins.

These are like tiny inside-out carrot cakes, with the signature cream cheese frosting on the inside and spiced “cake” on the outside.

This recipe calls for natural peanut butter, which gives the cookies a richer peanut flavor. Old-fashioned rolled oats produce a heartier texture than the smaller-cut quick-cooking variety, while whole peanuts deliver added crunch.

If you want to rein in this over-the-top recipe a bit, feel free to serve the cookies on their own.

This cookie is a slightly different base recipe from the chocolate chip cookie recipes, but the basic technique is the same. The brown sugar and oats are the most noticeable flavors in this chewy cookie. For a crunchier version that highlights the raisins more, add 2 to 4 minutes to the cooking time. You can also play around with this recipe by adding semisweet chocolate chips or dried cranberries (or both) instead of raisins.

Granola is easy to make, and will keep for weeks. Toasting the oats, wheat germ, and walnuts before combining with the other ingredients deepens their flavor and ensures a satisfying crunch.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SHOW OFF APPLES in desserts, but warm apple crisps are always a favorite. Nine varieties of apple are grown in Washington State, including Gala, Braeburn, Cripps Pink, and Granny Smith. Use a mixture of your favorite apples, including one sweet variety, such as Fuji or Jonagold, and a more tart variety, such as Granny Smith or Cripps Pink. If you’d prefer to make one large crisp, use a 9 × 13-inch baking dish.

What makes these cookies crisp is the mixing together of baking soda and boiling water before adding them to the batter.