Carla Hall’s Grandmother Taught Her This Cookie Recipe—And Now She Makes It For Her Mom

Plus, how she’s using oats in her Thanksgiving dinner spread.

Reviewed by Dietitian Maria Laura Haddad-Garcia

She’s a model? She’s an accountant? She’s a Food Network star? She’s Carla Hall, the chef and cooking show host recently making a buzz over her love for oatmeal.

Chef Hall enjoys the delicious, hearty whole grain so much that she’s partnered with Quaker’s Pregrain Tour campaign to celebrate the football season with its first-ever Quaker Playbook, a digital download featuring 32 oat recipes to represent each National Football League (NFL) team. In addition, Quaker is using this campaign to make a sizable contribution to GENYOUth, the national children’s food security organization that Hall has served for over a decade. The donation will help fund food carts for schools to encourage students to nourish themselves and take full advantage of free school meals.

The multi-talented chef took some time to talk with EatingWell about the importance of GENYOUth’s mission to advance food security for children. Plus, she dished on everything that has to do with oats—from her easy hacks for delicious oatmeal to her grandmother’s oatmeal-raisin cookie sandwiches, as well as her go-to game-day appetizer and favorite ways to stay active. Read on for the scoop.

Related: What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Oatmeal Every Day

EatingWell: You've been on the GENYOUth board for over 10 years now, and Quaker has supported GENYOUth for a while, donating cooking equipment, school supplies, food and more to children in need. Can you share about GENYOUth’s ongoing mission to fight food insecurity?

Hall: Quaker has been on my vision board for a couple of decades, and I was one of the founding board members on GENYOUth. I think everyone feels like GENYOUth, their partners, and their commitment to tackle hunger and give families access to proper nutrition—while advocating for children and helping them become advocates for themselves in terms of physical activity as well as proper nutrition—is where we are. During the Superbowl, Quaker is donating $250,000 to GENYOUth. That's going to go to all of the equipment and programs with flag football and carts in schools.

What people don't realize is: Students don't really have the time to go into the cafeteria. By having these carts, they can grab something and then go to class nourished. That's why this $250,000 is so important.

EatingWell: How does the Quaker Pregrain Tour play a role in helping GENYOUth advance food security?

Hall: In terms of the Pregrain Tour, it's showing people the breadth of oatmeal, which I've been talking about for decades! I do sweet, savory, breakfast, lunch, dinner. And eating oatmeal is like a connection to my grandmother because she ate oatmeal every single day. She said, “Well, I'm gonna have my rolled oats.” And at this Pregrain Tour, having the truck in six different locations around the country where people can actually taste the dish of the team is really exciting.

EatingWell: How do you plan to use the recipes from the Pregrain Tour cookbook?

Hall: Well, there was the chili with steel-cut oats. I'm always trying to get my whole grains. Having the chili with the beef, onions and then steel-cut oats folded in is delicious and amazing, and you're getting those whole grains with a delicious meal.

I'm also a fan of overnight oats. I'm a fan of using fruit with oats, but I will be making the baked oats with the crumble on top, which is the recipe that I'm going to be sharing. That one is delicious. You make a really quick and simple crunchy crumble like a granola with butter and oats. Then, you put all of the aromatics, oatmeal and milk into the blender, pour and sprinkle the crumble on top and bake it. If you like it porridge-y, you bake it less. If you'd like a bar where you grab and go, you bake it more. The versatility is already—no pun intended—baked into the recipe.

EatingWell: How do you best like to enjoy your oats?

Hall: Are you ready? Okay. One of the things that I love to do with oatmeal is use half fruit juice and half water. It can be tart cherry, apple or blueberry. Especially when I'm filming and have a regular schedule, I make my oats in the slow cooker because it is passive cooking. I put everything in there, portion it out into cups and do a little parfait. I have it in the fridge, so I can grab it and go.

Related: 13 Overnight Oat Recipes You'll Want to Make Forever

Whatever fruit juice I use, that is the fruit that I also use on top. I may use apple juice and raw apples. If I use blueberry juice, I use blueberries and almonds. If I use tart cherry with a little bit of almond extract, it’s really good with cherries frozen or fresh. Sometimes, I [make] a Mexican chocolate oatmeal by using powdered cocoa powder, a little bit of cinnamon and a tiny bit of cayenne in my oats. That's always with almond milk and slivered toasted almonds.

When I tell you I love oatmeal, I love oatmeal. And my grandmother made the best oatmeal cookies. They're crunchy on the outside, a little chewy with raisins [and] a buttercream filling. My mother loves those, too, so I tend to make those for her.

EatingWell: Are you planning on using oats in your Thanksgiving spread?

Hall: I am. I just developed this recipe. I know it sounds crazy, but it is a rustic glazed carrot tart. I'm [using] oats, dried pineapple and coconut as the crumble on top: a play on carrot cake on top of these glazed carrots. It’s like a bourbon glaze. That's certainly my new thing for Thanksgiving.

Recipe to try: Roasted Carrot Tart with Carrot-Green Pesto

EatingWell: On Top Chef season 5, you won Super Bowl tickets for your crawfish andouille sausage gumbo. Have you always been a football fan?

Hall: I gave the tickets to my husband. I'm not a football fan, but my husband went with my stepson, which made me the best stepmom ever.

EatingWell: You don't like football, but you have a lot of football lovers around you. What's your go-to game day appetizer that reminds you of home?

Hall: One of the things I love about the Pregrain Tour and the digital cookbook is that it shows you not only the breadth of the teams but it gives you ideas of how to incorporate some of the local flavors into your food.

It's funny because home is Tennessee. I live in DC. When the game comes, I'll be in LA, but I'm doing croquettes because I can do different flavors. And I am playing with a couple of different products to fold in. It can be barbecued chicken, and it can be cheesy. I just have the base and  can fold in whatever I want. As an idea: If you're doing a party and have two teams you want to represent, have the base of one [dish], then add whatever you want.

EatingWell: What’s your favorite physical activity?

Hall: I’m a big walker, and do a bit of strength training just as I age. But I love to walk, and when I’m traveling and can’t get outside, I go up and down [the] steps in the hotel.

Related: These 3 Exercises May Improve Brain Health as You Age, According to New Research

EatingWell: What does eating well mean to you?

Hall: It means nourishing my body so that I feel good [and] energized. I feel not heavy and lethargic. It means taking care of myself.

Read the original article on Eating Well.