Best Granola EVER!

Yield: A LOT!!

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1/2 cup ground sucanat
1 cup honey
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
9 cups rolled oats 

1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup flax meal
1/4 cup grape nuts
3 cups chopped nuts
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg

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Mix sucanat, honey, peanut better and coconut oil in small bowl.

 

Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour honey mixture over oat mixture and stir to combine.

 

Pour granola onto large baking pan and bake at 300° for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. 

 

Allow to cool in pan. Break into chunks when cool and store in ziplock bag or plastic container.

Waffles

Adapted from: Mel's Kitchen Café

I subbed 2 cups of Natural Yeast start for the almond milk and flour and added 1/2 cup rolled oats, ground to flour.  They turned out so soft and fluffy!

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2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups almond milk
4 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbsp sucanat
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

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In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs, almond milk, coconut oil, and vanilla.

 

In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients; combine the wet and dry ingredients just until smooth.
 

For an 8-inch round waffle iron, use about 1/3 cup batter (my Belgium waffle maker uses 1 cup). Cook according to waffle iron directions.

Experimental Brownies - Part 2

I think I've discovered a solution to my brownie "problem". My past attempts have been alright, but there is room for improvement. I think my new baking buddy is oat flour. It has a higher gluten percentage and higher moisture content than wheat flour, so my theory is that combining a small portion of oat flour with wheat flour will give a less crumbly and more moist result. The use of white bean puree is just to lower the fat content and hopefully give the brownies a fudgier texture.

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup white bean puree
1 cup sucanat, powdered
3 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup oat flour
3/4 cup wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 deg.  Grease bottom of 9"x13" baking pan.

Mix butter and sucanat in a mixing bowl.  Add bean puree, eggs and vanilla and mix throughly.  Add remaining ingredients and mix for two minutes on high.

Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Perfect Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

UPDATE 6/14:  I subbed coconut oil for the butter, and made adjustments to amounts.

I've been on a quest since changing to a healthier lifestyle for a good chocolate chip cookie.  For those of you who use whole wheat flour, you'll know that it doesn't turn out the same results as all purpose flour does.  Whole wheat flour still contains the bran and germ so it's heavier and doesn't always lend itself well to light and fluffy results.  So my cookies were always flat.  I typically add a cup or two of a different grain to my whole wheat bread and a few weeks ago I tried adding oatmeal and was shocked at how moist and fluffy the bread turned out!

In my search for a better version of whole wheat cookies I came across a recipe on Pinterest. The picture showed perfectly fluffy cookies. It has equal portions of oatmeal and whole wheat flour so I guess technically it's an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. But next time I make them I am going to measure out the oatmeal and then grind it for oat flour.  My theory is that the oatmeal has a higher % of gluten thereby giving the cookies the needed structure.  And the higher moisture content keeps them moist and fluffy.  The dough was a little on the "gooey" side and I was tempted to add more flour.  I'm so glad I didn't! They came out perfectly!

One change I made was to substitute half the butter for white bean puree.  Bean puree is similar in consistency to creamed butter, but without all the fat.  You shouldn't substitute puree for all the butter, because some fat is needed or the result will be crumbly and dry.  No good for cookies!  Next time I'm going to try subbing coconut oil for the butter half and see how that turns out.

The other change I made was using Sucanat for the white and brown sugars.  Sucanat is very minimally processed so it still contains lots of good vitamins and minerals.  So all-in-all these cookies are pretty healthy but they don't taste like it.  I'm loving this!

3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup white bean puree
1 cup ground sucanat
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups rolled oats, ground to flour
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cream coconut oil and bean puree for 2 minutes.  Add sucanat.  Beat in eggs and extract.

Stir in dry ingredients and then chocolate chips.

Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on rack.

"Healthier" No Bake Cookies

2 cups sucanat
½ cup almond or rice milk
1/3 cup butter
¼ tsp salt
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups regular oats

Mix sucanat, milk, butter and salt in large saucepan over medium heat.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add peanut butter, cocoa and vanilla.  Mix well.  Stir in oats.

Drop by tablespoonfuls (I use my 2 tbsp scoop) onto wax paper and allow to cool until firm.

Oatmeal Cookies

I love this recipe! (Thanks mom!) I've made these cinnamon chips and they were really good. It's a nice flavor and not overpowering. But the cookie itself is the winner!! These cookies have a nice "crust" and are soft and chewy inside. Just how I love them! They are simple to make, just don't over bake! They will be hard and crunchy. Keep them in an airtight container or ziplock bag.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

¾ cup butter
1 cup sucanat
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup flour
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup raisins, cinnamon chips, or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix butter, sucanat, honey, egg and vanilla; beat on medium-high speed about 3 minutes until fluffy. Add salt and baking soda; mix well. Add flour and oatmeal and mix until combined. Stir in raisins.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Don't over bake! Tops will be firm while the inside will feel soft. Cool on cookie sheet about 1 minute then transfer to cooling rack.

Chewy Nutty Candy

Compliments of Simple Healthy Tasty

1 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup peanut butter
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup almonds, chopped
1 cup oatmeal
Chopped walnuts or coconut (to roll candies in)

Cook honey over medium heat until it reaches the soft ball stage using a candy thermometer. Take off heat and add vanilla. Cool and add peanut butter, coconut, almonds and oatmeal. Scoop out tablespoonfuls and form into round balls. Roll in chopped nuts. Chill and enjoy!

Oat Crispies

Compliments of Simple Healthy Tasty

½ cup peanut butter
½ cup syrup
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp maple flavoring
3 cups rolled oats
pinch of salt (optional)
Options: chocolate chips, raisins, raw cashews, unsweetened coconut or whatever you like.

Mix peanut butter, syrup, vanilla and flavoring together in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Press into 9”x13” baking pan spreading to about 1-inch thick. Freeze.

Tee Pee Granola

Adapted from Clawson Live

1 cup honey
1 cup oil
1¼ cups brown sugar
8 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup wheat bran
3/4 cup flax seed

½ cup millet
1½ cups sunflower seeds
2 cups coconut
1 cup sesame seeds
2 cups slivered almond (or any kind of nut you like)
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
Dried fruit (cherries, blueberries, raisins, mangos, apricots, craisins, chopped dates, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Divide oats between two large cookie sheets and toast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring honey, oil and sugar to a simmer on the stove. Make sure the sugar has dissolved.

Combine remaining ingredients, except fruit, with honey mixture and mix until everything is coated.

Spray cookie sheets with Pam and divide the granola between the pans. Bake for 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes.

Allow to cool. Break up granola and add dried fruit of choice. Place in bags and freeze what won’t be immediately used.

Ranger Cookies

I did a bit of research on these cookies and noticed that most have crushed corn flakes or rice crispies in them. I wasn't that brave. So I guess this is just a glorified oatmeal raisin cookie... But hey, it's something different. And in this case, different is good. :)

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1¼ cup flour
1 cup quick oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375°. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on high about 30 seconds. Add sugars, baking powder and soda; mix well. Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour. Stir in oats, coconut and raisins.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute then transfer to cooling rack.

Mixed Fruit Crisp

A new twist on crisp! As you can see my family got to it before I could get a good picture! This is really good with the different fruits and the raisins add a good flavor and texture. TIPS: I alternated each fruit one-by-one (peel, core, slice an apple, put in pan; peel, pit, slice a peach, put in pan; peel, core, slice a pear, put in pan, etc) so that I didn't have to mix the fruit and risk it breaking and/or getting mushy. Then I just sprinkled the raisins over the fruit. It worked out nicely and tastes great!!

3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
3 fresh pears, peeled, cored and sliced
½ cup raisins
¼ cup water
½ cup rolled oats
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
¼ cup butter


Preheat oven to 375°. Combine apples, peaches, pears, raisins and water in a 9”x13” baking pan.

In small bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over fruit.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until topping starts to brown. Serve warm.