Pumpkin pecan granola

I've never made granola at home. But now I know why people do. I'm starting to hesitate more when it comes to buying pre-made salad dressings, croutons, granola, etc. at the store because I know I can make it homemade. And what's better? I mean, really. You know what's in it. It's fresher. It's better for you. And a good recipe helps...

Zack and I eat a lot of Greek yogurt. It's the perfect thing to dive into when I don't have much time for lunch at work. Or when I want something different from my usual (and I mean, very usual) weekday-morning cereal. And when I saw this pumpkin pecan granola recipe, I knew it was the perfect thing to spice up my yogurt. Plus, we all know I love pumpkin. No secret, right?

Now about the recipe. It comes from The Sprouted Kitchen, as did my recent Greek chicken with tzatziki. The author points out that she uses extra-virgin olive oil as a healthier alternative to melted butter to ensure that the granola turns crisp. I like that. Speaking of crisp, keep a close eye on your granola. I think I baked mine for 4-5 minutes too long and it was very golden as a result. Although, it's not too bad on the toastier side, I look forward to making a more perfectly baked batch of this granola. I did use Grade A maple syrup instead of the recommended Grade B; I wonder if this made a difference.

Pumpkin pecan granola

As adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods

Makes about 3 cups.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves)

1/3 cup Grade A maple syrup

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup raw pecan pieces

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree; whisk to combine. Add oats, pecans, and sesame seeds; stir until evenly coated. Spread mixture on a baking sheet, keeping some clusters of oats and nuts intact so that finished granola has some chunks (don't be too rough spreading). Bake granola, stirring every so often until dry and light brown in color, 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool, then add raisins and toss to mix. Add a little more salt if needed. Cool before storing. Store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

I'm still enjoying this granola. You should enjoy this granola. Cheers.

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

When you see those overripe bananas going brown, I know the first thing you think of is banana bread. Well, at least I do. But now, I have options. Because I've found this incredible banana cookie; thanks to Martha Stewart's Cookies.

Chopped walnuts and rolled oats provide a great texture, and the combination of two classics (banana bread and the chocolate chip cookie) is unbeatable. Especially if you use super ripe bananas; the flavor is concentrated and that much more rich and tasty as a result.

Just be sure to mix well. I'm always trying not to over mix my cookie dough. I don't know why. But then you may end up with a bite of baking soda when you're expecting delicious cookie. I think I'm going to dump my dry ingredients through a sieve (even if the recipe doesn't mention sifting) from now on. It works really nicely for not only breaking apart chunks, but for providing an even distribution of the ingredients prior to mixing as well.

If you like banana bread and chocolate chip cookies, then this might be a dream...

Chocolate Chip Cookies Cockaigne

I know, I know. Cockaigne? What on earth does that mean? All I can find online is that it means a sort of medieval, mythical land of plenty. Alright. I guess I can take that.

I can take that because these cookies are magical. This twist on the classic American cookie is found in none other than the amazing Joy of Cooking Christmas Cookies cookbook (which I checked out from the public library). These are the greatest chocolate chip cookies ever. Even ask Zack.

Finely ground rolled oats, both semisweet chocolate chips and ground bittersweet chocolate, and finely chopped pecans. The texture of these cookies is incredible. Maybe it's the ground rolled oats? I had never heard of that before, but it is genius! A little bit crisp on the outside with a chewy abundance of chocolate on the inside. These are a winner.

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

So this recipe must be good. Because it survived the absence of a sort of crucial ingredient. Who puts brown sugar in cookies anyways? Apparently, I don't. When the cookies weren't really browning the way cookies usually do, I looked over my ingredient list, and sure enough, I had forgotten the brown sugar. You can't blame me. I mean, it was hidden at the top of the second column...apart from granulated sugar.

When these little miracles came out of the oven, I had to try one. To make sure I hadn't completely wasted a solid amount of baking ingredients. After the third cookie (they were little, okay?), I realized they couldn't be half bad. I mean, I kept eating more as if that would help me determine if they were good or not. But I couldn't be sure until Zack came home and tried one. Sure enough, he thought they were great!

If these were good without brown sugar, I can't wait to make them with it. These drop cookies are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Does it get better than that?

Banana-Oat Muffins

Yes. It's been a little while. I guess life goes on outside of keeping up this blog. There were a few nights of not too much cooking, and then I'm a little behind on my posts, but don't worry...we'll be on track in no time. Some good recipes coming your way!

First off, something simple. Banana-oat muffins. With a few little oats sprinkled on top, along with some brown sugar, these muffins make for some nice presentation. I've made quite a few sort of healthy muffins and breads in the last few months, but the one thing I'm sure of is they sort of taste the same. I'm on the hunt. The hunt for a delicious, but healthy, muffin. These, like the carrot-zucchini muffins I posted last, are good (don't get me wrong) but they don't have a lot of "wow" factor. However, if you just want something semi-sweet yet semi-healthy to munch on, such muffins are a great option!

You could really taste the banana in these. And I am so pro-banana. Put bananas on anything and it's delicious. You name it: pancakes or french toast, yogurt, cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, anything chocolate....okay, this list consists of mostly breakfast items, but still, they're so good. And such an amazing flavor. What is it about bananas?

One last note about baking muffins that contain fruit/vegetables. For goodness sake, just spray the paper liners with cooking spray. Just do it. Otherwise, you will be gnawing half of your muffin off the paper liner. But don't over-do it! If you soak the liners with muffin spray, the liners will not even be attached to your muffins when they come out of the oven. In such times, there was apparently no point in you even using them in the first place (as can be seen in the picture of my carrot-zucchini muffins). Maybe I'm the only one. But I have found that spraying muffin liners and the extent to which you do so, is a very fine line. So maybe this will help someone out. Although, it has been a great source of laughter for Zack and I, so maybe it's okay to mess up sometimes. :)