Apple Butter Granola

 

My Mom's comment on my sugar free, crock pot apple butter recipe the other day was a story from her childhood.  I'll share it with you.

"Apple butter reminds me of my Grandpa Templin. Every day that I can remember when we were visiting he had apple butter for breakfast. My Grandma would make him 2 slices of toast and put them in a shallow soup bowl. At the top of his spoon (because yes, the table was always set for breakfast, complete with a napkin in a ring beside the fork, and the Daily Bread devotional book there too) would be a little dish of apple butter. (At the top of his fork would be a dish with stewed prunes, but I digress!) When we were all at the table, Grandma would come in with a little pan of hot milk and pour it into the bowl onto his toast. His spoon would dip into the apple butter, then cut off a bite of the toast, along with a spoonful of the milk, and it would then pop into his mouth. An eminently fascinating scene for this little girl, every day!! So I double love apple butter..."

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the memory that she has and the way she tells it!  She does that a lot, my Mom, she had a very memorable childhood!

I got to thinking yesterday morning that maybe milk and apple butter would be alright together.  I got out a scoop of homemade granola, topped with with a bit of milk and then a few spoonfuls of apple butter.

Mmmmm.  The spicey-appley-taste added a little something special.  I loved it.

Even better was that each time I dipped my spoon into the milky, apple butter goodness, I thought of my Mom and my Great Grandpa.  And I smiled.

Granola (Meusli)

I tried this at Shay and Shawn's place while we were in the States last month.
I loved it, got the recipe and tried my hand at making it tonight. Sooooo yum !!

12 cups oats
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
4 cups coarsely chopped pecans & almonds & cashews
1 tsp salt

2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup honey
2/3 cup oil, I used canola

preheat oven 300F/150C
put baking paper on baking sheet ... I actually used two deep baking pans b/c this makes heaps
mix first four ingredients

stir honey, brown sugar oil in saucepan over medium low heat until smooth. ( i just popped it into the microwave for a few minutes) pour over oat mixture, toss. spread on baking sheet

bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes ... about 40 mins (mine took much longer ... it was in there over an hour)

stir. cool.

Granola Bars

I love granola bars! They are such a quick and easy breakfast or snack on-the-go. But when I went to buy some at the store recently, I started reading labels and was appalled. The only brand that wasn't filled with chemicals, preservatives, hydrogenated fats and high fructose corn syrup was, for one thing, the very most expensive brand, and also tasted terrible.

This cannot be!!! So I decided to make my own. It's actually not that labor-intensive, plus they taste good! And even better, I made nearly 4 times as many granola bars for the same amount of money as the nasty tasting store-bought brand.

GRANOLA BARS
(This recipe was adapted from one by Alton Brown)

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped almonds
(I bought whole almonds and smashed them with a hammer! Great stress relief!!)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 T butter
2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 cups chopped dried fruit
(I used cranberries and golden raisins, I think next time I might do a cran-apple of some kind)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking dish (for thicker bars, use a 9x9 pan, for thinner, use a 13x9 pan) and set aside. On a cookie sheet, spread the first four ingredients and toast in the oven for 15 minutes. Stir the mixture every so often.

Meanwhile...combine the honey, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar completed dissolves.

Reduce the oven heat to 300. Remove the oat mixture from the oven and add it to the sugar mixtures, throw in your dried fruit and stir. (I threw in some chocolate chips, but it immediately melted and disappeared, so I may not do that again. If I get real ambitious, I might drizzle some melted chocolate on top at the end.) Press the mixture into your greased baking dish, making sure to distribute it evenly. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before taking it out of the pan. Cut into squares. (This will yield a different amount depending on what size pan you use. I used a 9x9 pan and got 14 1"x3"x1" squares. AI also wrapped each bar in shrink wrap and stored what I won't eat this week in the freezer. The bars will keep at room temperature for about a week.)

Granola a la Shay and Bonnie

This recipe was originally given to me by Shay. I've made a few changes ...

In a big bowl, mix 1/3 cup cold pressed canola oil, 1/3 maple syrup, honey or both and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix well.

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Add:
4 cups oats
1 cup nuts (I like whole cashews, slivered almonds and a few peanuts)
some seeds (I like sunflower, sesame and flaz)
½ cup shredded coconut
bit of psyllium husk or wheatgerm

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Mix real well. Should not be too dry. Will goop together but not like cookie dough.

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Spread onto baking sheet ( keep together … don’t spread too thin or it will burn )

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180C bake.

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Stir every 5 minutes. Watch closely, especially at the end or it will burn.
Should be crispy and toasted.

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Add dried fruit. (I like almonds and raisins)

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Optional … choc chips. (I never add these but Shay always does !!)

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