Cinnamon PB Granola
 I’m back today to complete my More Than Alive baking challenge! Today we’re making granola. Granola is one of the top 5 foods in this house. We all LOVE it! I’m always looking for good granola recipes, my favorite one being Maple Granola. This Cinnamon PB Granola is a Stacy original……a Stacy original that didn’t bomb. I have bombs regularly. To complete my box of supplies, I used organic rolled oats, organic cinnamon, and Rapadura (sucanat). |
 Let’s DO THIS! In a small saucepan, mix together some honey, maple syrup, Rapadura, coconut oil, and peanut butter. I used some homemade Cinnamon Raisin peanut butter (recipe coming soon), but you want to make sure to use natural peanut butter with no sweetener in it…..or else there will be sugar overload. Heat the mixture only until everything melts and combines. After that, add some cinnamon and give it a good stir. Refrain from sticking your finger in there to test it, because it’s hot and might burn the tar outta you. Or so I hear from OTHER PEOPLE. *Cough* |
 Grab a big mixing bowl and throw in some rolled oats, slivered almonds, and sesame seed. I love adding sesame seed to my granola – it gives it a nice extra touch. Forget that the raisins are in this photo. I decided after all was said and done that I didn’t want to add them. Raisins are always added after it cooks, so it gave me plenty of time to ponder this decision – it was not one I reached lightly. I pondered on it for a whopping 45 minutes. Deep thoughts. I’m a woman and it’s my prerogative to change my mind whenever I want. |
 Enter, sunflower seeds! I had some in the cabinet, so I dumped those in too. I won’t eat them plain, but I’ll eat them in things. I’m a weird one. They were a very nice addition. |
 After you get all your dried stuff mixed together, pour the liquid mixture over everything and stir well until everything is coated with the peanut butter mixture. Stir really hard and get some out on the cabinet, forcing your daughter to tell her Mama that she’s “messy.” You’ll be really tempted to take a big ole bite right now. It’s okay to give in…..you need to make sure it tastes right. And then you need another taste to make sure your original thought was correct. |
 Pour your mixture into a greased pan. A cookie sheet would work…if you’re a normal person. As we’ve already discovered, I have issues keeping things nice and clean when I’m stirring. So, I used a 11×15 cake pan for mine. It’s my official granola pan. Do YOU have an official granola pan? Pop your pan into a 300 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes. Make sure you’re around to hear your 20 minute beeper go off. Ahem. Stir the whole thing up very well and pop it back in the oven again for another 15 minutes. Make sure you’re around to hear your 15 minute beeper go off. Stir everything up again and let it bake 10 more minutes, for a total of 45 minutes. I’m good at math.*Note: I’ve gotten so bad at listening for my beeper that Annie now tells me “Beeper Mama.” Guess she got tired of smelling the burn. |
 It should look nice and golden like this when you’re done. If it’s black, you most likely did something wrong. Start over. It should also smell wonderful in the house. If it smells like fire, you likely did something wrong (listen for the beeper!). Start over. |
 Spread the mixture out on some wax paper to cool completely. Of course, I used cereal bags because that’s how I roll. Let it cool completely before putting in an airtight box to store. Try to make this when your husband and child aren’t around. Or else there will be a granola party with everyone standing around eating the granola off the paper…and you really don’t want to share this. It’s quite tasty if I do say so myself.  |
 You really can’t go wrong when you combine oats, cinnamon, and peanut butter. Even if all you did was mix it up in a bowl and eat it….not like I know from experience or anything. It’s just what I hear from OTHER PEOPLE. *Cough* |
 I only had one thing I didn’t use: cloves. Barry is not a huge fan of cloves, but I still wanted to work them in. So, I did the same thing my Mama has done my whole life. I grabbed a saucepan and filled it with water. I dumped in some cloves and a few cinnamon sticks and then put it on the stove on medium low heat. It will warm up and make your whole house smell like Christmas. Yum! Just make sure you don’t let all the water boil dry. *Cough* |
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Cinnamon PB Granola
4 cups rolled oats ½ cup slivered almonds 1/3 cup sunflower seeds ¼ cup sesame seed ½ cup honey ¼ cup maple syrup 1/3 cup coconut oil ½ cup natural peanut butter 1 tablespoon sucanat 1 teaspoon cinnamon In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seed. In a small saucepan, heat the honey, syrup, oil, peanut butter, and sucanat until everything is melted and combined. Pour over oat mixture and stir well to coat. Transfer mixture to a large greased baking pan (11×15). Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. Stir. Resume baking for 15 minutes. Stir again. Bake 10 more minutes for a total of 45 minutes or until golden brown. Pour mixture out onto wax paper to cool completely before storing in an airtight box. |
| This post is linked at What’s On Your Plate at Good Cheap Eats, at Sunday School on Butter Believer, at Fat Tuesday on Real Food Forager, at Pennywise Platter on The Nourishing Gourmet, at Hearth and Soul Blog Hop at Penniless Parenting, and at Healthy 2Day Wednesday at Day2Day Joys. |
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Can I just say I love your stove? I have a gas stove but grew up with a flat top electric and my husband is agreed that when we can (aka- when we’re done with debt!) we can get a flat top electric, and I very much want one with the mottled top like yours. May I ask what kind it is and how much you like it?
Loni, it’s a very nice stove. I enjoy cooking on it for the most part. Now, I will tell you that it’s hard to get cooked-on food off there. Sometimes I scrub and scrub and it’s like eternal glue.
It’s a white Whirlpool.
I’m not sure I would go with this option when we build…..we think we’d switch to gas appliances, but it’s nice right now. It does cook very well.
Can you come to my house and be my personal cook please?
Mindy @ The Purposed Heart recently posted..Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup: Boosting Immunity Naturally
You’d be surprised how often I’m asked that.
Move closer and we’ll talk. Ha!
Not many cooking blogs have me laughing out loud but this one sure does! Love your sense of humor in the kitchen. Question- Does the granola get in big chunks or is it pretty much just the oats coated? It just doesn’t look too chunky in the picture but it seems easier for my kiddo’s to eat if it is in bigger chunky pieces. Thanks!
No, it’s not very chunky. We like our’s mixed up in yogurt, so I don’t like it in big clumps. More sweetener helps it chunk up (it’s weird to say “chunk up”) so you could try adding more honey?
Thanks for the compliment!
Oh my goodness…You had me at the word “peanut butter”! This looks absolutely delicious! My recipes could never come close…but I still hope you’ll like the pb/choco chewy granola bars!
Erin@TheHumbledHomemaker recently posted..Better than Red Lobster Garlic Cheese Biscuits
Uh, you had me at peanut butter chocolate.
Yay for granola! I like to make it too, and this recipe sounds fresh and delicious!
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