Cranberry Lemon Granola

People in the Pacific Northwest are supposed to be all “crunchy and granola,” right? So, technically speaking, I am fulfilling my stereotypical duties by making granola…?  Obviously the logic is there. I own flannel, bought into a CSA, own an embarrassing amount of Chaco shoes and more outdoor gear than I know what to do with. But still no crunchy granola…

I had wanted to make my own granola for a long time.  Heck, the first recipe ever posted on my blog was for homemade granola bars!  But as time went on, I still found myself without a jar full of some Ginger Cook Granola (I would totally market that by the way, it has a nice ring to it).  A few weeks ago, when I wasn’t feeling that well but still wanted to be in the kitchen, I decided to up and make it.  I had oats on hand, natural sweeteners, dried fruit, nuts and all things delicious.  I even had some citrus on hand to zest!

Now that I’ve made it, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to buying granola from the store.  Not only was making it from scratch SO CHEAP (how DO they get off charging us $6 for a tiny bag in the stores?), but I had SO much and it didn’t take much time at all!  Throw together some ingredients, bake, cool down and watch yourself devour every last bit in a few days.  I mean, that’s what happened with me but I somehow came down with the death flu and it was the only thing I could manage to eat.  And eat it I did!

I think the next batch I made I want to have a little bit of a topical feel – toasted coconut, dried mango, dried pineapple and some macadamia nuts. Maybe? 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I have some sad news to break to you about Seattle weather in combination with Daylight Savings Time: the sun starts to set at 2:30… and the winter has only just begun.  This wouldn't be a huge issue if I wasn't such a foodie and a food blogger.  My kitchen starts up around 6pm every night, oh you know, about 2 hours after it has gotten dark here.  And that's on a sunny day.  Days when it's cloudy and grey, it starts getting darker a lot sooner.  Being that my blog is dependent on photos, it hard to take pictures in my florescent kitchen.  Or at 3 o'clock when the sun is setting on a cloudy day.  Or when I have to reheat and photograph my food the next day (it's never as pretty).  So please, hold steady with my during the long Seattle winter.  I will try my best to photograph is decent light or I may have to build a lightbox.  Who knows.  Either way, I will still keep cooking.

But, what bothers me the most about this weather is my eating schedule is all out of whack.  I wake up and eat my oatmeal and coffee… this is good.  Then I eat some lunch around 1 or 2 pm - pretty normal for me.  But when the sun starts setting, the stomach in my brain starts screaming "whaaa?  DINNER TIME!"  and I am suddenly overcome with the urge to make myself a nice dinner and pour myself a glass of wine… at 4 o'clock.  I swear, I don't have a problem… but I have the willpower to resist until at least 6 o'clock because I am a respectable lady.

Regardless of my complaints, here is a recipe for pumpkin granola bars.  More pumpkin?  I know, trust me.  The interwebs are full of pumpkin themed foods right now, but I swear this one is worth your time.  I may be a little bit biased, as I love pumpkin (I have bags of frozen puree in my freezer) and homemade granola bars.  But oh boy, these were so good.  They are moist but still have a nice firm texture… and the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate compliments the smooth texture of the pumpkin.  My favorite part?  These aren't sweet.  The honey and applesauce are nice because when I scarfed them down for breakfast in the morning, I didn't feel guilty about it!  WIN!






NOTE: I doubled this recipe and make it in a 9x13 pan (trust me, these go fast)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Adapted from: Two Peas in a Pod
Ingredients:

• 3 1/4 cups old fashioned oats

• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
¾ cup brown sugar
• 
½ cup pumpkin puree
• 
¼ cup applesauce

• ¼ cup honey

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 by 8 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk oats, spices, and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over oats and stir well, until all of the oats are moist. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. The pumpkin keeps the bars moist, so make sure they are golden and set-you don’t want them to be under baked. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
5. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars. Remove from pan and let cool completely.

Homemade, Healthy Granola Bars

Spend money on small granola bars no longer! Super easy to make, this yummy bars are an incredibly filling snack. I made them recently for a Women's Fitness Night at Bivouac - they went over incredibly well! This recipe makes about 1.5 large jelly roll pans of granola bars - but if you want less the recipe can easily be halved.

PS: I did most all of my ingredient hunting at the People's Food Coop (PFC) in Ann Arbor.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Snack Bars

Ingredients:

-parchment paper

-1 cup of honey

-1 cup natural cream peanut butter (I recommend the bulk peanut butter at the PFC)

-4 TBSP maple syrup

-2 TBSP Canola Oil

-1/2 cup light brown sugar

-1 tsp ground cinnamon

-2 tsp vanilla extract

-4 cups rolled oats

-4 cups crisp brown rice cereal

-1/2 cup wheat germ

-1 cups roasted peanuts (corse chopped)

-1 cup dried cranberries

-1 cup dried blueberries

-approx. 1 tsp kosher salt (more or less to taste)

Assembly

1. Line jelly roll pans with parchment paper (trust me - it will make removing the bars and cutting them much easier)

2. In a medium sized saucepan, put honey, peanut butter, maple syrup, canola oil, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Combine over medium/high heat juuuust until the mixture starts to bubble (it'll take about 5 to 8 min). Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

3. In a fairly large bowl, mix together the oats, rice cereal, wheat germ, peanuts, cranberries, blueberries, and salt.

4. Pour the ooey-gooey peanut butter concoction over the oatmeal/cereal mixture. Mix with a spatula until everything is combined (aka, all the dry goods are coated with the wet goods). Pour the mixture into lined jelly roll pans, cover with more parchment paper, and press the mixture firmly down into the pans.

5. I recommend allowing the bars to cool for about an hour on the counter and then pop them in the fridge overnight to 'solidify' them more. When ready - cut them into squares/bars and enjoy!

Next Up: Zucchini Cakes!