Easy Oil-Free Granola
It’s amazing how many granolas there are on the shelves of your favorite grocery store. If you are like me, you pick them up, look at the fat and calories and immediately put them down….how sad, right? I’ve always loved granola but never buy it because of all the added unknown ingredients (sugars and fats, particularly oil) that drive up the calories. A new mantra: Control your granola! Make your own and you can add whatever you want or just have it plain. I like to have a basic batch handy and then add in extras depending on how I’m using it. And the flavor combinations are endless! This morning I had chocolate chip, cherry and coconut granola over my yogurt.
Sweetness is subjective. I find that this is the right amount of sweetner. Taste your granola before you bake it. If you increase the sweetner, you may need to increase the oats by a 1/4 or 1/2 a cup. You don’t want the granola to be overly wet or sticky. You should be able to move it around on the pan easily and it shouldn’t stick.
By just reconstituting peanut butter powder you’ve dramatically cut the fat. If you don’t have the powder, feel free to use regular peanut butter or natural peanut butter which is thinner and will allow you to drizzle additional peanut butter on the granola before baking if you desire.
You will know when it’s done because your house will smell like baked cookies! The granola will crisp as it cools.
Recipe – Makes 2 1/2 cups
1/4 cup of PB2 powdered peanut butter
3 tablespoons of water
1/3 cup of honey or maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup of nuts (chopped almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a saucepan, mix together powdered peanut butter and water (if using regular peanut butter, skip the water). Add honey or maple syrup and vanilla extract. Warm on simmer for a minute or two, especially if you’re using honey to thin out the liquid.
Add oats and nuts to large bowl. Pour the peanut butter sauce over the oats and almonds. Stir to combine.
Spread granola on a parchment covered baking sheet or silicone mat. Bake for 15 minutes, stir. Continue to bake for 5 – 10 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool completely. Store in air tight container.
Optional Mixins: dried fruit, coconut, chocolate chips
