Category Archives: granola

Granola Cookies

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 By now, you all know how much I love granola. After a lifetime of insisting I hated it, I tried the homemade variety, and the rest is history. There is always a giant jar of the stuff on my counter, full of crispy, glossy oats and whatever odds and ends I can find in my cookie mix-in cabinet.

Yes, I have an entire cabinet dedicated to cookie mix-ins. Doesn’t everybody?! 😜 

My current batch is a play on my Maple Pecan Granola, made with pecans and almonds, large flaked coconut, chia seeds, and brown rice syrup to encourage a little clustering. I usually eat it with yogurt and fruit, but last week, I got a little crazy and bypassed the breakfast option in favor of cookies.

I took my favorite chewy oatmeal cookie base, swapped in granola for 2/3 of the quantity of oats, and threw in some chocolate chips. Within an hour (because this dough doesn’t require a chill!), I was biting into warm, chewy, chocolaty, nutty Granola Cookies. 

I love this recipe as-is, but I’ve already been dreaming up other flavors. How about peanut butter? Swap in 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter for one stick of the softened butter, and use my Peanut Butter Granola! Yum! If you like dried fruit in your granola, you could swap out some or all of the chocolate chips for raisins, dried cranberries, or anything else that strikes your fancy.

You guys, these Granola Cookies are so good that I’ve made three batches in five days. I’m out of granola mid-week and I’m not even miffed about it. Nope–changing my routine in the name of dessert has been totally worth it. And even if it weren’t, I could console myself with a cookie or two. 

 Granola Cookies
makes about 5 dozen cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
2 1/2 cups granola (homemade or purchased)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a small-medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in dark brown and granulated sugars, followed by eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture in two installments, mixing to combine. Beat in oats and granola, followed by chocolate chips. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets, making sure the mounds of dough are at least 2 inches apart.

Bake 4 minutes. Rotate the sheet pans top to bottom in the oven before baking for an additional 4-5 minutes. Cookies are done when the tops are no longer doughy-looking. Let cool on the pans for five minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Repeat baking process with any remaining dough.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Friday Favorites

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Hello!

How are you? Got any April Fools Day pranks up your sleeves? Any good plans this weekend?

I’ve got a day of work at my day job and then I’m making cake for 300 because I’m insane. Maybe I’ll get a nap next weekend…but probably not since I’m catering a party.

So I’m taking a break from the kitchen today, but that doesn’t mean I’m taking a break from the blog! No way. I spend way too many of my waking hours (and sometimes my sleeping hours…) thinking about making cookies and cupcakes and pie. Also, how to obtain Oreos right now without leaving my apartment.

Anyway, I dug through my archives so you could spend all weekend thinking about frosting, just like me. Thank me later 😜 

Why not start the weekend off with some Glazed Cream Cheese Cake Doughnuts? They’re super tender and the homemade glaze is the stuff of dreams. Mmhmm. Oh, and they’re shockingly easy, too. The batch makes a little more than 1 1/2 dozen, so they’re an excellent excuse to have friends over for a little Saturday morning doughnut party! 

But if frying doughnuts first thing on a Saturday morning sounds like a hazard, why not make a Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby}? It’s my go-to “special” breakfast. The way it puffs up in the oven is really amazing, and the recipe is easily adjustable, so you can make anywhere from 1-4 servings. 

Weekends and homemade cookies just go together. Check out these M&Ms Potato Chip Cookies! I made these for Christmas, but you could use regular M&Ms, or the pastel Easter variety. These sweet and salty little cookies always hit the spot 😊 

Oh, and the Katharine Hepburn Brownies I made this week. They’re grain- and gluten-free without any unusual ingredients! They’re sure to please all the chewy brownie lovers in your life. 

It’s supposed to get cold here this weekend, so soup has to be on the menu! This Spicy Southwestern Chicken Soup totally fits the bill. It’s full of southwestern flavors–it even has salsa in the broth! The best parts? It takes an hour start-to-finish and makes enough for a few lunches next week! 

Are you always rushing on weekday mornings? If you’re anything like me, you never have time to make breakfast. And I am one of those who absolutely *can’t* go without breakfast. My solution? I make a huge batch of granola over the weekend and then eat it with fruit and yogurt all week long. I’m obsessed with this Peanut Butter Granola! 

And because I said there would be frosting, here’s my favorite Red Velvet Cake. It’s super simple, ridiculously good, and my light and fluffy cream cheese frosting is just…well, make the cake. You’ll see.

Let me know if you have made (or are planning to make ) these or any of my other recipes! Leave me a comment below or find me on Instagram @e2bakesbrooklyn! I’ll be back next week with new recipes 😊 Enjoy your weekend!

Peanut Butter Granola

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 It must just be leftovers week here on E2 Bakes Brooklyn.

Yesterday, I posted a baked french toast recipe that came to be because a friend gave me two loaves of day-old artisan bread. Today, I’m bringing you my new favorite granola recipe, all because an out-of-town friend gave me most of a jar of peanut butter that she had as a snack in her hotel room, and another gave me a one-pound bag of honey-roasted peanuts after a party I catered with him. My friends just like to give me food, apparently. And I am happy to take anything they give me and try to make it into something delicious. Today, I succeeded. 

This Peanut Butter Granola is ridiculously good. It’s almost like having peanut butter cookies for breakfast! Except that it’s high in protein and totally whole grain, so it’s actually good for you! And it gets better: this recipe takes 90 minutes from the time you turn on the oven to when you put the cooled granola in an airtight container. On top of all that, it’s simple as can be 😊

Just whisk together equal parts peanut butter, maple syrup, and olive oil, along with some vanilla. This base will keep everything crispy, sweet, and peanut buttery (of course). Next comes a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. While I would have loved to keep this recipe refined sugar-free, this small amount helps the finished product get extra crunchy. If you don’t want to use brown sugar, you may substitute coconut or Demerara sugars. Add in just a touch of cinnamon and some salt. Neither will have a prominent flavor here–they just allow the peanut butter to shine. Without them, our granola could be overly sweet and a little bland.

How sad is the idea of bland peanut butter anything?! 😭

Once the liquid ingredients are ready to go, it’s time to fold in the oats and honey-roasted peanuts. They are used here in an almost 50/50 ratio. There are slightly more oats, but rest assured that there are plenty of peanuts in every crunchy bite! If that amount of chopped nuts sounds like too much for your taste, feel free to replace some of them with an equal volume of oats. 

 
   
After everything is mixed together, spread the granola on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet. Bake the granola for 40-45 minutes at 300F, stirring every fifteen minutes. By the time it’s done cooking, your house will smell unbelievable! Let the granola cool in the pan on a cooling rack before transferring it to an airtight container for up to three weeks.

I like to eat this granola with Greek yogurt and fruit, but it’s also great with milk, or just by itself as an afternoon snack. How good would a handful be with some chocolate chips?! Oooh, or peanut butter chips! However you choose to enjoy it, you’ll love this Peanut Butter Granola!

  
Looking for more granola? Check out my easy Maple Pecan Granola!

Peanut Butter Granola
makes about 4.5 cups

1/4 cup natural or creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar*, packed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats*
2 cups honey roasted peanuts*, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold the oats and chopped peanuts into the mixture.

Once everything is coated in the peanut butter mixture, spread it in an even layer on the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every fifteen minutes. Cool granola in the pan on a rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three weeks.

Notes:

1. Coconut or Demerara sugars may be substituted.
2. Use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola.
3. If this is too many peanuts for you, replace 1/2 cup of them with an equal volume of old-fashioned oats.