granola – LoremIpsum

I don’t know about you, but October is probably one of my favorite months of the year. October is the month in Texas where we finally start getting cooler weather, it is the month that starts the festivities of the holiday season (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, then New Years), and it is the month where I can enjoy making festive, aromatic, fall treats like pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and today, pumpkin granola.

I found this extremely easy and tasty granola recipe from Peanut Butter Fingers (PB Fingers). If you have not heard of this blog, you must take a look….it is one of my favorite food/health blogs on the Internet. If you like granola, you might want to check out PB Finger’s other flavors such as nutella, peanut butter, cinnamon, and almond butter granola under her snack recipes section.

Like I said, this granola was super easy to make and only involves 5 ingredients, most of which you will have at home. The recipe says to bake the granola for only 15 minutes, but I would suggest upping the time to 20-30 minutes for a crunchier granola….this granola was chewy (but still delicious). I like to sprinkle pumpkin butter granola on vanilla or Greek yogurt, oatmeal, swiss oatmeal, or just eat it plain.

By the way, Pumpkin Butter is not “fatty” like it sounds. Like jam, it has 0 grams of fat and only 35 calories per serving. I LOVE Pumpkin Butter!

Pumpkin Butter Granola
Ingredients
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp pumpkin butter
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp canola oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until oats are no longer dry
3. Spread out granola on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking sprya
4. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through
5. Allow to cool until granola is crunchy

Yield: four 1/4 cup servings
Peanut Butter Fingers

These are my favorite “bar” cookie when I’m not in the chocolate-brownie mood. The name is deceptive…they are nothing like a “granola” bar that you would buy at the store. Instead they are more like a sweet blondie with granola instead of chocolate chips. The flavor from the brown sugar is excellent and the taste and sweetness depends on the different type of granola you use. By the way, the batter in these granola bars are delicious…maybe even better than cookie dough! This recipe is from the Peach Tree Family Cookbook in Fredericksburg, TX. I also have to give credit to my sister, Brittany, who made these yesterday. Enjoy!

Combine the butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Beat in mixer until light.

Stir in the flours, baking powder, and salt.

Add the granola and nuts last.

Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool and cut into bars.

Chewy Granola Bars
Ingredients
1/2 cup soft butter
1 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
*1 1/2 cups granola (We used Kashi Go Lean Crunch).
1/2 cup nuts, coarsely chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat with a spoon or whisk until light. Stir in the flours, baking powder, and salt. Add the granola and nuts last.
3. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*The sweetness of the granola in these bars will change the taste. If using a sweet granola, you may cut the sugar down to 1 1/4 cups.

Makes 32