Peanut Butter CRUNCH Granola

We live in a time of acai bowls, nut milks, chia puddings and vegan cakes. Any meat-eating, dairy-loving food blogger will tell you that times are tough. However, as a devoted foodie, I try to celebrate all food trends and even create a few myself!

While developing my awesome granola recipe, I was inspired by different textured grains, and although I love my oats just as they are, adding puffed rice gave this recipe that extra snap, crackle and pop! Throw in a combination of your favourite nuts and seeds, and you have the base to a brilliant granola.

Usually, granola is coated in melted butter and honey. But in today’s age of politically correct food - that’s simply not on! So - what’s a girl to do but become friends with agave syrup, maple syrup, coconut oil … and then it occurred to me, the pièce de résistance … PEANUT BUTTER -100% natural of course!

The last thing I do is called the ‘sister check’. This process involves leaving food on the bench and watching how fast it disappears. This is the most important step in my recipe development process and determines its classification - delicious or dud!

Results are in and this recipe’s a winner – lucky I have a secret stash in the pantry!

Ingredients

Makes 2 big jars

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup puffed rice

1 cup whole raw almonds, roughly chopped

1 cup pepita seeds (pumpkin kernels) 

½ cup flaxseeds

1/3 cup 100% natural smooth peanut butter

¼ cup coconut oil

2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

1 tsp. cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 160˚C fan-forced and line a large, shallow baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Place the oats, puffed rice, nuts and seeds in a large mixing bowl.

Melt the peanut butter and coconut oil in a small saucepan and stir in the maple syrup and cinnamon.

Pour the melted peanut butter over the granola mix and stir until every nut, seed and grain is coated.

Transfer the granola to the lined baking tray and use the back of a spoon to evenly spread the granola.

Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes. Leave to cool completely. As the granola cools it will become crunchy.

Store the granola in a large, air-tight, steralised jar or container.

Basics to Brilliance

·      Replace ½ cup of flour in your muffin recipe with 1 cup of granola for peanut butter granola muffins

·      Make peanut butter granola parfaits by layering ¼ cup of granola, ¼ cup Greek yoghurt, sliced banana, a drizzle of maple syrup, repeat

·      Use it to top some baked apples, pancakes frozen yoghurt, natural or Greek yoghurt or banana ice cream