Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola

I've discussed my obsession with the Food Network in the past. For those who don't remember, watching shows at 3:00 a.m. became a compulsive habit of mine during my first year of law school. During periods of insomnia, I would enter this strange hazy world where every thing mentioned on the Food Network would appeal to me. So naturally, I would buy the things I saw if they could be shipped. I thought the most I'd ever spend was $36 on 6 brownies from a bakery in Maine but fast forward to 2011.
Several weeks ago, just right before my birthday, Ron and I were watching"The Best I ever Ate" chocolate special. Bad news. Long story short, we spent way too much money on chocolate from New Hampshire and peanut butter from San Francisco. Um, wayyy too much money.

All in all, everything ordered was delicious and enjoyed. But one of the peanut butter spreads that arrived was somewhat dark. Ron had ordered the espresso chocolate kind. It tasted like coffee grinds, so I tried to figure out what to do with it. Peanut butter granola came to mind and this granola was promptly made. Wow, fantastic! It was much more indulgent than my normal granola recipes, but totally worth it. I did use the dark chocolate espresso spread that Ron bought, but any PB will do. What a great way to use a product that we didn't know how to handle! It smelled delightful and tasted delicious with banana. I think this might actually be considered an "Elvis" granola recipe. Enjoy!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I use a small individual carton)
• 1-2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1 cup unsalted, roasted peanuts
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 - 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Combine applesauce, honey, and peanut butter. Whisk until smooth and heated throughout. Add cocoa powder and brown sugar; whisk until thoroughly combined (will be slightly thick).
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, wheat germ, flaxseed meal, peanuts, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the oats and mix until evenly distributed.
5. Spread granola mixture onto the baking sheet and sprinkle about 1/4 c of dark chocolate chips over granola.
6. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally (chocolate will melt).
7. Remove granola to cool for 15 minutes. Mix in remaining chocolate chips and stir.
8. Keep granola in an airtight container for up to one week. Enjoy!

Granola Bars (Maple Pecan Pineapple Raisin)

Every now and then, I stumble upon a recipe that is so mind-blowingly simple. For instance, take these granola bars. For YEARS I have been purchasing store bought granola bars. For YEARS I have been wishing that I could find a granola bar that catered to my specific ingredient preferences. For MONTHS I have been bookmarking random granola bar recipes that I wanted to try. Here we finally have it. The beauty of this granola bar recipe is that it is so simple and can absolutely be adjusted to suit your granola bar desires. I am already daydreaming of different flavors and mix-ins to add into these babies. I think I'll likely spend three times as long at the bulk section of the grocery store next time I am there.

Granted, they won't last as long as the store-bought versions do. But, I am absolutely OK with this! The basic formula is pretty simple and SO easy to adapt:

Rolled Grains (2 1/2 cups total): Old Fashioned Oats, Rye flakes, Barley flakes, etc.
Nuts, Seeds and Spices (1 cup total): Almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla extract, etc.
Sticky Sweetener (1/3 cup + 1/4 cup total): Honey, Molasses, Agave, Maple Syrup, etc.
Dried Fruit (1 cup total): Raisins, Dates, Cranberries, Pineapple, Cherries, etc.
Binder (1 cup total): Apple butter, Peanut Butter, Almond butter, Unsweetened applesauce, pureed dried fruit, etc.

This was the combination that I tried the first time I made them. They were pretty sticky and sweet, but totally delicious!
Maple Pecan Pineapple Raisin Granola Bars
inspired by Brown Eyed Baker, from Good Life Eats
Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp maple extract
• 3 cups oats
• 3/4 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup dried pineapple
• 1/4 cup golden raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Whisk applesauce, honey, syrup, spices, and extract (Sticky and Binder ingredients) in a large bowl.
3. Stir in your oats (Rolled Grain ingredients) thoroughly mixing to moisten completely.
4. Mix in your nuts and dried fruit.
5. Firmly press mixture in your parchment lined baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
6. Place baking pan in freezer to firm for 1 hour.
7. Remove the pan from the freezer, remove bars with parchment, and cut. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Molasses Honey Granola

Yes, another granola recipe.  I can't stop making it!

I think this should be titled "earth granola."  It is essentially based off of Bobby Flay's recipe for Agave Mango granola.  I watched him bake it on his show, Brunch with Bobby, and subsequently went to the bulk item section in the grocery store to purchase all of the ingredients.  I cannot emphasize enough how obsessed I am with the bulk item section and the salad bar sections in the grocery store.  They save me a ton of money!  Anyway, I got home and was all ready to make the Agave Mango granola only to find that I had no agave in the pantry and no diced mango as I originally thought.  (Recall that post about how I always forget what I need at the store?  Well, I fought the urge to return.)  So, without the agave and the mango component to the agave mango granola, I decided to push forward with the granola but use what I had on hand.  Hence, this came from it.  Delicious, nutty, health packed granola.  I've eaten it with yogurt and blueberries or sliced banana in the morning.  And for the first time in what may be ever, a breakfast at 7 a.m. has kept me full until lunch.  I'm still in shock!  It's a very good base recipe and dried fruit/other nuts could easily be mixed in.  And, it's as easy as other granola recipes.  If you like granola and you have yet to try your hand making it at home, I strongly encourage you to do so.
Molasses Honey Granola
adapted from Bobby Flay
Ingredients

• about 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used one small container)
• 3-4 Tbsp honey
• 3-4 Tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, honey, molasses, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, almonds, seeds, wheat germ, flaxseed, and salt.  
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to thoroughly coat.
5. Spread the granola onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until granola is light golden brown and starting to harden.
7. Set granola aside to cool.  After cooling slightly and breaking apart large pieces, mix in any dried fruit that you may want to add.
8. Store in a container for up to two weeks.

Winter Spiced Apple Granola

I haven't made granola in a while and was craving some the other day.  I always have to be very cautious when I have granola lying around the house because I tend to eat it within a few days.  That is a lot of granola to be consuming alone, but sadly, I've almost already plowed through this batch!  It is THAT good!   I was originally planning on making a pumpkin spice granola, but the Thanksgiving holiday kind of pumpkins me out.  So, the snow and the Christmas holiday inspired this idea.  Honestly, the cinnamon chips put it over the top!  As with any granola, you can easily adapt it to your preference.  Add nuts or seeds if you'd like and feel free to swap the flaxseed with wheat bran.  Serve with some yogurt and enjoy!

Winter Spiced Apple Granola
Yield:  About 4.5 cups

Ingredients

• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 3 Tbsp apple butter
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 3 oz. package of dried apples, chopped
• 1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine dry ingredients (oats, wheat bran, flaxseed meal, spices, and salt) in a medium bowl.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring oil, apple butter, honey, and extracts just to a boil.  Stir and pour over dry ingredients.  Mix to combine thoroughly.
4. Bake for 10 minutes; stir.  Bake for 15 minutes; stir.  Add chopped apples.  Bake for 5 more minutes; remove from oven and stir.
5. Let cool then stir in cinnamon chips.
6. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

Banana Nut Granola

My favorite thing about making granola is the fact that it always turns out so well.  I live off of granola, so I normally make a new batch every two weeks.  This recipe didn't come from anywhere, but was more or less compiled with what I had on hand and inspired by my brown bananas that I refused to turn into a bread.  I realized I've been making granola so often that I don't even need measuring cups anymore!  It was super exciting.  Next time, I'll probably mix in some dried banana chips to really make the banana flavors stand out.
Banana Nut Granola
Ingredients

• 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup pecans
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce (or canola oil)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup of dried bananas or other dried fruit

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Combine oats and nuts in a large bowl.
3. Mash bananas in a medium bowl.  Add honey, applesauce or oil, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Beat with a mixer until smooth.  Alternatively, you could probably use an immersion blender (or real blender) to puree.
4. Pour the wet over the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Pour granola on large baking sheet.  Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
6. Let cool completely.  Once cooled, add additional mix-ins (one cup of banana chips or other dried fruit) if desired.

Apple Honey Granola

I've posted a recipe for applesauce granola before, and this one is quite similar, but it is somehow ten times better.  Perhaps it is the cloves.  I love the smell of cloves.  The whole house smelled like Christmas when this was baking in the oven.  But, I think the best part was that it actually tasted like apple pie.  Apple pie in the form of granola!

As all granola is, the recipe was very quick to whip up.  I think left it in the oven a tad bit too long so unfortunately, apple pie granola was a bit more hard compared to apple pie dessert, but it still tasted awesome.

Apple Honey Granola
Home is Where the Heart Is
Ingredients

• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup dried apples, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried raisins, chopped
• 1/2 cup unsalted almonds, chopped
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 T olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing with a wooded spoon until wet ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
3. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and bake approximately 1 hour, stir/turn after 30 minutes.
4. Let cool completely and transfer to an airtight container.

Apple Cinnamon Granola

It's been a long time since I posted.  Sorry about that!  I haven't spent much time inside and in the kitchen over the past week or so.  Instead, I've been outside!  I have made some small things here and there, but nothing worth posting.  However, I am back at it and hoping to post some good recipes.  (The few times I have been in the kitchen have been slight failures, by my standards.)


This is, by far, my favorite homemade granola recipe.  I've made it several times now and it is just really, really, REALLY good.  I always pick up the ingredients at the bulk section in the grocery store.  I love the 'heart healthy mix' of walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc. because they have less sodium than the jarred containers.  This recipe uses applesauce instead of oil (I lie; there is 1 tbsp of oil, but unless you are eating the entire batch, I don't think it should have too much of an impact) but it does not fall short.  I added some flax seeds to the recipe, but these can easily be left out.  Also, I HIGHLY recommend added dried apple pieces to the granola.  You'll be sorry if you don't!

Applesauce and Apple Granola
adapted from Fake Ginger

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats 
• 1 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds) 
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 
• 1/4 cup flax seeds (or sesame seeds)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 1 tablespoon honey 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 2/3 cup chopped, dried apple

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, nuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, warm the applesauce with the honey and oil over low heat.
4. Mix the applesauce mixture into the oat mixture and stir to coat everything.  Spread the mixture onto a 9 x 13 baking pan.
5. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the granola is a deep brown.
6. Remove from oven and stir in raisins. Cool completely before enjoying.

Carrot Cake Granola

Anything that involves carrot and cake is fine by me in my book.  At some point, carrot cake became my go-to dessert of choice.  It surpassed chocolate and went far beyond cheesecake.  I started dreaming about a slice of carrot cake that I saw at a grocery store.  I finally gave in.  It was not worth it, so now I bake my own.  But, Ron doesn't eat carrot cake.  So, I'm normally left with a gigantic cake to eat by myself.  That's not good, so I simply don't make it.  I did recently find a fantastic recipe for cupcakes that is easy to cut in half.  I may have to give it a shot.


I recently saw "carrot cake granola" on one of my frequently visited food blogs.  WOAH, WHAT??  Carrot Cake granola?  How can they get all of those amazing flavors into one granola?  Well, they did.  It's incredible.  It's easy.  It's healthy.  And it smells/tastes/delivers like a carrot cake does.  


On a side note, I've never actually toasted nuts or coconut.  I've always been too afraid to burn it because they burn so easily.  However, this recipe called me for me to add the nuts / coconut about 10 minutes before taking it out of the oven.  Wow.  The flavors that came from the toasted nuts and coconut was incredible.  From now on, if a recipe calls for me to toast the nuts.  I'm toasting the nuts!

Carrot Cake Granola
adapted from Healthy Food for Living
Ingredients

• 1.5 c rolled oats
• 1.5 c puffed brown rice cereal
• 1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 c finely grated carrots
• 1/4 c agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c chopped pecans
• 1/2 c unsweetened flake coconut
• 1/2 c raisins

Instructions  

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Put the oats and cereal into a large bowl; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the applesauce, carrot, agave, extract, spices and salt.  Whisk until very smooth.
4. Pour wet ingredients over cereal and stir until evenly coated.  Spread mixture onto baking sheet in an even layer.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes.  Remove sheet from oven and stir in the nuts and coconut.
6. Bake for an additional 8-12 minutes, or until granola is brown and crisp.
7. Remove granola from oven, toss with raisins, and cool completely.  

Pumpkin Cranberry Granola

Granola is one of my favorite snacks.  For a while, I got hooked on eating Nature's Path Hemp granola w/ blueberries, banana and honey.  Thanks to a buttload of carbs, I was sprinting around like I had the energy of a 5 year old!  Sadly, after 3 months straight, I eventually grew sick of it.  But, you can best bet that once blueberry season rolls around, I'll start up the routine again.


For the past few months, I've been making my own granola.  I still love some of the store-bought brands, but I love how easy it is to make your own granola.  You can make tons in a roasting pan or a small amount in a baking sheet.  Plus, the kitchen (and entire house) smells incredible while it's baking.  It is easy to store and you can easily add your own ingredients.


This recipe is great.  It is easily adaptable and you can add whatever mix-ins you want.  And, prepare for some incredible smells emanating from your oven! 

Pumpkin Cranberry Granola
adapted from Homemade by Holman who adapted from A Year in the Kitchen
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups old fashion rolled oats
• 1/2 c flax seed
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)
• 3/4 cup currants
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts
• 1 T olive or canola oil
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 
2. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. 
3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well until the wet ingredients are evenly incorporated. 
1. I whisked the wet ingredients & the spices in a small, separate bowl before adding to the dry to ensure an even mixture.
4. Spread out mix onto a baking sheet, try to get it into an even layer but don't worry too much about clumps at this point. 
5. Bake about 30 minutes, stir and spread mixture in an even layer again. 
6. Continue baking about 30 minutes more. 
7. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.