Peanut Butter Granola

I firmly believe that granola should come in great big chunks for snacking. This version tastes like a giant peanut butter cookie and has lots of good-for-you ingredients: oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit; but the real reason to make it is the taste. It hits the perfect spot-it’s not too sweet and there are lots of different flavors and textures going on. The hit of salt really pulls this one over the top.

Ingredients:

Dry:

3 ½ cups rolled oats

¼ cup ground flax seed

¼ cup toasted oat bran (or toasted wheat germ)

1 cup roasted and salted peanuts

½ cup roasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

1 cup raisins

½ cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup almond or garbanzo bean flour

½ teaspoon salt

Wet:

1 cup natural peanut butter

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg white

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients (using a whisk really helps here). Stir the wet into the dry until all of the dry ingredients are well coated. It takes a few minutes of stirring, but trust me, it coats the dry ingredients perfectly.

Spread the granola evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth to an even layer. Bake for 50-60 minutes, stirring and patting back down to a single layer, halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool completely-like 1 or 2 hours. Break into large clusters.