Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola #Recipe by @LibbyKlein #Gluten-Free #Dairy-Free

  Libby Klein I have had a long love affair with Peanut Butter. It's one of my favorite foods and I'll look for ways to get it into a recipe. We've been on a granola kick in my house lately. I blame the yogurt bowls. It was only a matter of time before I thought about peanut butter granola. The addition of dark chocolate makes this more of a desserty thing than a breakfasty thing in my book. That doesn't keep me from eating it at eight o'clock in the morning though. Like Poppy said, "Oatmeal cookies for breakfast just sounds reasonable." Are you a peanut butter lover like I am? Let me know in the comments.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

Yield: About 5 cups

Ingredients

4 cups gluten-free old-fashioned or quick cooking oats

1 tsp sea salt
¾ cup peanut butter
½ cup honey
¼ cup melted refined coconut oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ bag Enjoy Life chocolate chips or 1 cup dairy free dark chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 

In a small bowl, mix together oats and salt. Set aside

In a microwave safe dish, melt the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil together. Stir until smooth. Add in the vanilla.

Stir in oats and salt. Mix until well combined.

Spread mixture on a cookie sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until granola is lightly browned. You can stir it half way through for even baking. Take it out and let cool until you can handle it. If you don't think it's crispy enough, break apart into chunks and put back in the oven to toast it for another 5-10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit until cooled. Add the chocolate chips when totally cool if you want them not to melt. If you want them to melt a little, add them when the granola is still warm.

My husband had found the granola and was well on his way to polishing off the entire jar. It's very tasty! 

Gluten-free baker Poppy McAllister and her aunt Ginny are looking forward to a quiet, homey Christmas at their B&B in Cape May, but unfortunately, death isn’t taking a holiday this year . . .

Ever since Thanksgiving, Poppy and her pals have been left with an unsolved mystery of the romantic kind. But at least this mystery isn’t the kind that involves murder. That all changes when the body of a fish supplier is discovered in the kitchen of her ex’s restaurant—and he’s frozen, not fresh.

For once, it’s not Poppy who tripped over the corpse, yet she can’t escape being drawn in since the victim has a note taped to him reading Get Poppy. Figures—an engagement ring isn't labeled, but the dead guy is addressed to her. Now, while Aunt Ginny plans a tree-trimming party and pressures Poppy to decode a mysterious old diary, the amateur sleuth is asked to “unofficially” go undercover at the restaurant to help the police. Until then, the only crime Poppy had been dealing with was Figaro’s repeated thefts of bird ornaments from the tree; now it looks like it’s going to be a murder-y Christmas after all.

 

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her

classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/

Homemade Granola Bars #Recipe @PegCochran

 

 

These are very easy to make and don't take more than a few minutes.  I made them for a grab-and-go breakfast for my granddaughter.  The store was out of chopped almonds so I substituted sliced almonds and they worked just fine.  I chose to toast the almonds and oatmeal but that step is optional.  

1 cup packed dates (pitted—look for deglet noor or medjool dates)

1/4 cup maple syrup, honey or agave nectar  

1/4 cup creamy salted natural peanut butter or almond butter

1 cup roasted unsalted almonds (loosely chopped)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats  

 

Prepare an 8 x 8 inch baking pan by creating a “sling” out of parchment paper.

 

 

 

Place dates in food processor and chop into small bits until it forms a dough like consistency.

 

 

Toast oats and almonds (if raw) in 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly golden (this step is optional but adds to the flavor.) 

 

 

 

Transfer oats, almonds and dates to a large mixing bowl.

 

Warm maple syrup, honey or agave and peanut butter over low heat.  Stir thoroughly and pour over oat mixture and then mix.  Be sure to disperse dates throughout.

 

 

 

Once mixed, transfer to an 8 x 8 inch baking dish.  Press mixture down thoroughly.

 

 

 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (approximately 15 to 20 minutes.)

 

Remove from pan and cut into individual bars.

 

 

Homemade Granola #recipe @vmburns

VMBurns:  I go through phases where somedays I LOVE cooking and baking. Other days, I LOVE Door Dash (I've developed a special relationship with food deliver services over the past two years. Don't judge). Recently, I was in the cooking/baking phase. In one weekend I made a delicious taco salad, homemade cilantro lime dressing, a chocolate cake, and homemade granola. Of course, I might have been procrastinating since I had a deadline looming (I also rearranged the furniture in my office, shampooed the carpet, and cleaned out my refrigerator). Nevertheless, I'm going to call it research. 

HOMEMADE GRANOLA

INGREDIENTS

 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 1 cup pecans, 1/4 cup almonds, and 1/2 cup sunflower seeds)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup olive oil (or you could use Coconut oil)

1/2 cup maple syrup 

2 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, and stir to blend.
   
   
   
4. Pour in the oil, maple syrup, honey, and vanilla. 
   
5. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer.
   
6. Bake until lightly golden, about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway. Press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer. 
7. Let the granola cool completely, (at least 45 minutes). Top with the dried fruit. 
   

I'm trying to make better choices. So, instead of ice cream, I mix 1 tsp of honey into plain, nonfat Greek yogurt and top with a scoop of my homemade granola. It's great for breakfast or an evening treat instead of ice cream. 

READERS: Do you go through phases where you cook/bake more than others? Surely, I'm not the only one. Tell me in the comments. One random person will win an advanced reader copy of the first book in my Baker Street Mystery series, TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER. Sorry, but US ONLY!

TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER, Baker Street Mystery #1

 PREORDER NOW! 

Releasing August 30, 2022

V. M. (Valerie) Burns

In this delectable new cozy mystery series, social media maven Maddy Montgomery’s perfectly ’grammable life has come undone, and she’s #StartingOver in a tiny town with one giant problem—a killer on the loose . . .
 
When Maddy Montgomery’s groom is a no-show to their livestream wedding, it’s a disaster that no amount of filtering can fix. But a surprise inheritance offers a chance to regroup and rebrand—as long as Maddy is willing to live in her late, great-aunt Octavia’s house in New Bison, Michigan, for a year, running her bakery and caring for a 250-pound English mastiff named Baby.
 
Maddy doesn’t bake, and her Louboutins aren’t made for walking giant dogs around Lake Michigan, but the locals are friendly and the scenery is beautiful. With help from her aunt’s loyal friends, aka the Baker Street Irregulars, Maddy feels ready to tackle any challenge, including Octavia’s award-winning cake recipes. That is, until New Bison’s mayor is fatally stabbed, and Maddy’s fingerprints are found on the knife . . .
 
Something strange is going on in New Bison. It seems Aunt Octavia had her suspicions, too. But Maddy’s going to need a whole lot more than a trending hashtag to save her reputation—and her life.

Maple Cherry Granola #recipe @lucyburdette

 LUCY BURDETTE: For Thanksgiving this year I ordered a big container of pure maple sugar for Melissa Clark’s Maple Ginger Pecan Galette. (Which was delicious by the way! And I don’t even like pecan pie all that much.) Anyway, I am left with a large quantity of the maple sugar and I intend to work my way through it. I’ve made granola for a number of years, but the recipe I’ve used had quite a bit of salt and sweetener in it. This time I updated the recipe using maple sugar for a little burst of flavor, applesauce instead of some of the sugar, and no salt. This version tasted quite delicious and I offer it to you.

Ingredients:

5 cups rolled oats

2 cups slivered almonds

2 cups broken pecan pieces

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup maple sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup (use the real stuff!)

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup dried cherries or raisins 

Preheat the oven to 300. Mix oats, almonds, pecans, sugar, and coconut in a bowl. Combine syrup, oil and applesauce, and then mix into the grains and nuts. Spread the uncooked granola on baking trays. Bake for an hour and fifteen minutes, stopping every 15 minutes to stir the mixture so it browns evenly. Cool and add cherries. Store in an airtight container, but don't expect it to last very long. It also freezes well. Serve with milk or yogurt and fruit.

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries! The ebook versions of THE KEY LIME CRIME, DEATH ON THE MENU, and A DEADLY FEAST are on sale this month...

#11 in the series, A SCONE OF CONTENTION, is coming on August 10, and available for pre-order now!

Leslie’s Fruit of the Wild Granola -- Chai Another Day

LESLIE: A few years ago, one of Mr. Right’s patients brought us two golden raspberry plants and a container of her homemade granola. Naturally, we loved both, and asked for the granola recipe. She declined to share it, saying she planned to market it commercially. I thought the prospects of introducing a new granola recipe and profiting from it were slim, but said nothing. Instead, since cooking well is the best revenge, I made my own.

And we like it better.

I remembered this story when I was writing CHAI ANOTHER DAY and Pepper tries to weasel her way into getting Seetha’s mother’s recipe for chai masala, the spices brewed with black tea and milk to create an authentic chai. Mrs. Sharma will not share, but Pepper uses her wiles – all the while that she and Sandra, the Spice Shop's savvy assistant manager, create their own version. And Pepper shakes her head at the idea of sharing a dish but not the recipe, telling the story of the granola recipe that a friend of her mother’s wouldn’t share.

While writing posts for my book launch blog tour, I described how the granola recipe and a conversation with my mother about the tea her mother drank sparked the recipe subplot in CHAI. (I told the story at Femmes Fatales, in a post called Cooking Up a Subplot.)

As I wrote the post, I had to laugh at myself – I had thought about putting the granola recipe in the book, but ultimately left it out, since Pepper doesn’t actually make or eat it in the book. But here I was talking about the granola recipe and poking at characters who won’t share, and I’d never shared it with readers! So earlier this month, I made it, just for you.

It’s a moist, flavorful granola. It’s also quite flexible – the recipe calls for dried cranberries, but we didn’t have any so I used dried chopped dates instead. But don’t skip the dried apricots – they are the secret ingredient that will make your taste buds dance.

Don’t overbake this, the sin Mr. Right’s patient committed. The mixture will continue to crisp up after you take it from the oven.

And yes, I did name this in a nod to the late Euell Gibbons of Grape-Nuts fame, who proclaimed the cereal the “fruit of the wild” some-such tree.

Are you Team Pepper or Team Mrs. Sharma -- that is, do you share recipes? Obviously, we at the Kitchen LOVE sharing our recipes with you, our readers! And we love to hear from you, too!

Leslie’s Fruit of the Wild Granola

6 cups rolled oats
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup chopped almonds
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup chopped apricots
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
½ cup honey

 Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, seeds, nuts, fruit, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Melt butter and honey in a small saucepan. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread in a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Stir again when you remove the granola from the oven. Allow to cool thoroughly – several hours – before storing in a tightly lidded container. The granola will stay fresh for several weeks.

Makes about 9 cups.

Enjoy!

From the cover of CHAI ANOTHER DAY, Spice Shop Mystery #4 (Seventh St. Books, June 2019): 

 Seattle Spice Shop owner Pepper Reece probes murder while juggling a troubled employee, her mother's house hunt, and a fisherman who's set his hook for her.

As owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's famed Pike Place Market, Pepper Reece is always on the go. Between conjuring up new spice blends and serving iced spice tea to customers looking to beat the summer heat, she finally takes a break for a massage. But the Zen moment is shattered when she overhears an argument in her friend Aimee's vintage home decor shop that ends in murder. 

Wracked by guilt over her failure to intervene, Pepper investigates, only to discover a web of deadly connections that could ensnare a friend - and Pepper herself.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story; read it on her website. A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

Slow Cooker Granola #Recipe @PegCochran

Yes, the bowl in the picture is empty.  Do you know why it's empty?  Because my husband ATE ALL THE GRANOLA before I could take a picture of it!  Now isn't that a great recommendation??

This was super easy to make.  My granddaughter helped me, and it's something kids could make with a little adult supervision.  And obviously it tastes good!

I used steel cut oats in this because that was all I had.  I think I would prefer it made with rolled oats but obviously that didn't stop my husband from enjoying it!

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons applesauce (I used unsweetened)
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups oats, uncooked
1 cup chopped pecans (or nuts of your choice)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Combine all but the oats, pecans and raisins in the slow cooker and mix well.

Add oats, pecans, raisins and mix well.  Cover, leaving lid slightly ajar and cook on high for three hours stirring occasionally.

Spoon granola on a cookie sheet and allow to cool.  (Line cookie sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.)

Break into clusters and store in an air-tight container.  Or, eat it all right away!

I'm excited to announce that the ebook of BERRIED SECRETS, the first book in my Cranberry Cove series, is on SALE for $1.99 for a limited time only!

Amazon
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Please Welcome Hallie Ephron!

Please welcome our guest today--Hallie Ephron!

I keep Lucy’s granola on my fridge, in pride of place next to pictures of my grandbaby, held there by my WRITE OR DIE! magnet. Since both my husband and I are hooked on that granola (not too sweet, fantastic ingredients, healthy…) I replenish our supply every few weeks.

On a snowy day (there was no other kind this winter near Boston) I was making a vat of chicken soup and craving a savory/sweet dessert to go with. Hmmm…. apple pie? I had the apples but wasn’t up for making crust. 

Then I thought: Not pie. Crumble! My eye caught on the granola recipe and I realized it was the perfect topping. So easy. Especially if you’ve got Lucy’s granola on-hand which we always do.

Hallie Ephron’s Apple Crumble with Lucy Burdette's Granola

INGREDIENTS

4 Granny Smiths (or other crisp tart apple) peeled and cut into thick slices

2 or 3 handfuls of Lucy’s Granola   (I like it with almonds or pecans and raisins)

1/3 stick of melted butter

1/3 cup sugar (more if you like it sweeter)

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Butter a 7x11x2 glass baking dish

2. Mix the melted butter into the granola and set aside

3. Mix the sliced apples with cinnamon and sugar and transfer to dish. Spread the buttery granola over it.

4. Bake until the topping is is brown and crisp and filling is bubbling - 45-55 minutes

5. Serve warm (with vanilla ice cream if you like) 

 

 

New York Times best selling author Hallie Ephron writes suspense novels she hopes keep readers up nights. A three-time finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Hallie’s newest is just out: Night Night, Sleep Tight. Set in Beverly Hills in the 1960s and 1980s, it is inspired by Hallie’s experiences growing up there in a Hollywood family.

 

 Visit Hallie at her web site and learn more about her books.

Granola Cookies

by Sheila Connolly

Recently I visited my local supermarket and came upon a not-young couple offering free samples of their locally made granola. They were parked at a card table between the vegetable and fish sections, a rather unlikely place for any food giveaway, much less a breakfast/snack one, but at least they got a lot of foot traffic there. I’m not much of a cereal eater, much less granola, but as a writer who has spent a lot of time sitting in unlikely places doing book signings (or hoping to have anyone at all ask for a signing), I felt compelled to stop and chat. And taste, of course.

It was good stuff, I have to say. The couple operate their Golden Girl Granola business out of Carlisle, MA, their hometown, and started small, working in their kitchen and selling at local farmers’ markets. Now they have a commercial kitchen not far away, but they still hand-stir the granolas, and they make a range of flavors. My husband favored the “Creative Cranberry” while I opted for the “Forest Maple.” We bought one of each.

Our purchase came with a mini-cookbook, so of course I went straight for the desserts (although they did include some savory recipes), specifically cookies. I was going to make their Cranberry Cookies, but my husband ate all of that flavor before I could get around to baking, so I used the Forest Maple instead (which tastes very maple-y, not artificial), and threw in a few dried cranberries. It turned out to be a nice combination. In fact, the cookies are kind of addictive.

Maple (Cranberry) Granola Cookies

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups granola (whichever flavor you like)

1 cup white chocolate chips

(1 cup dried cranberries)

                            

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two baking sheets.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and orange zest.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended.

Stir in the granola and white chocolate chips (and cranberries, if you’re using them).

Drop by spoonfuls onto the baking sheets and bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for a few minutes (if you try to remove them from the pan too soon, they fall apart). When cool enough to handle, remove the cookies to a rack and finish cooling.

Makes 3 dozen. Watch how quickly they disappear!

An Early Wake, arriving in one month! 

My protagonist Maura Donovan does not cook (hard to believe, isn't it?), but I'm thinking of sending her young employee Rose Sweeney to a local cooking school--there are some good ones in the area, and the local products are outstanding (believe me, I've sampled them).  

Do you think Rose should learn to cook?