Maple Pecan Cluster Granola

Dear Mother Nature,

Please stop snowing. We are running out of places to put it!

If you'd let me rant for a brief second; I've had enough of these frigid temps and constant shovelling. And since moving somewhere warmer is out of the question right now, I am ready to just go live on the ski hill until the snow melts. Yes that is the one good thing about all this lovely winter... Fresh powder! Although that might prove difficult as many of the ski hills around us closed up yesterday for blizzard conditions. How often does that happen? I mean really, you know it's bad outside when. 

Ahem (*clears throat*). Thanks for listening to my rant. Now let's get to the food!

I've got another granola recipe to share today. If you love cluster's in your granola then you're in for a treat!

Homemade granola is fairly big in my house. Once it's out of the oven it doesn't last very long. I recently experimented with using egg whites in my granola, adding them to the wet ingredients of the recipe. I was sceptical at first and thought it was a weird addition, but they really do help bind everything together and create some pretty big clusters. I mean just check out some the clusters I picked out in the photo below.

This granola is not too sweet and of course made from all-natural ingredients. The maple syrup really shines through. The vanilla and sea salt also helps to round out the maple pecan flavour. It's incredibly delicious and smells out of this world good.

Hello new oatmeal topper!

I might just have to make another batch this week. The first one is nearly gone. Enjoy!

Maple Pecan Cluster Granola Gluten-Free, Vegan Option, Vegetarian | Yields: 5 cups

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Ingredients:

WET INGREDIENTS

• 2 egg whites (*vegan option: 2 tbsp chia seeds)
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar (or other unrefined sugar)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch sea salt 

DRY INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces
• 1/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275˚F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. If you are making the vegan version swap the egg whites for 2 tbsp of chia seeds. Stir in dry ingredients, except coconut and raisins, and mix well to coat everything evenly.
3. Turn the mixture out onto prepared cookie sheet and spread evenly. Bake until golden brown and dry, about 40 to 45 minutes, stirring halfway through.
4. Remove from oven and stir in shredded coconut and raisins. Let the granola cool completely before enjoying and storing. Store in an airtight container. It will keep fresh for up to two weeks. If you store the container in the refrigerator it will stay keep fresh longer. 

Notes:

*When making this recipe with chia seeds instead of egg whites, let the wet ingredients sit for 1 - 2 minutes before stirring in the dry ingredients.

To make this recipe gluten free make sure to use uncontaminated oats. 

Nutritional Information (with egg whites):

Serving Size: 1/2 cup Calories: 172 | Fat: 6.5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Carbohydrates: 26g | Sugar: 12g | Fiber: 3g | Protein: 3g | Sodium: 38mg | Cholesterol: 0g

Nutritional Information (with chia seeds):

Serving Size: 1/2 cup Calories: 174 | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Carbohydrates: 26g | Sugar: 12g | Fiber: 3.6g | Protein: 3.7g | Sodium: 27mg | Cholesterol: 0g

Vanilla Bean Almond Butter

If there was one food item you couldn't live without, what would it be?

That's a tough question. I think I would have a hard time living without my collection of nut butters. 

Yes I said collection. I really must take a picture to show you one of these days.

One of my forever all-time favourite's is the maple cinnamon almond butter I make. Anyone I give it to dies and goes to heaven.

...and then asks for the recipe. hehe. It's a winner that's for sure.

Anyway, I got to thinking and I realized that I don't really have many nut butter's in my recipe collection here on the blog, which isn't very fitting seeing how much I love the stuff. Healthy fats are delicious you know.

So I've sworn to myself that I'm going to come up with many more nut butter recipes. From almond to peanut, and sunflower to hazelnut, you name it.

Today I've got an almond butter recipe that's got a pretty simple list of ingredients. Raw almonds that we roast for extra flavour (let's face it roasting makes everything better), a bit of sugar, pure vanilla extract, and a pinch a sea salt to round out the flavours.

Here's a quick 4 step example of what your almonds should look like on their road to becoming almond butter.

I could eat this all day long. Of course one of my favourite ways to enjoy any nut butter is on my oatmeal. Don't knock it until you try it. I've even got my relatives from England putting peanut butter on their oats and granola now. My second favourite way is straight off the spoon.

If you want to make an almond taste better, this is the way to do it.

Vanilla Bean Almond Butter gluten free, vegan, vegetarian | makes about 1 1/2 cups

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1 tbsp cane sugar (or other unrefined sugar)
• 1 vanilla bean, slit lengthwise and all seeds scraped out (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and roast them for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant and golden, stirring once during roasting.
3. Remove from oven and let the nuts cool for a few minutes, then place them in the bowl of your food processor. Process until you get a smooth and creamy nut butter to form; about 12-15 minutes. Scrape down the bowl of the food processor as necessary.
4. Add in the sugar, vanilla bean seeds (or extract), and sea salt. Process again to combine everything until incorporated.
5. Store in an air-tight jar or container. 

*Tips*

• Don't let the almonds cool down too much before processing. They are easier to turn into nut butter while they are still warm.
• I like to scrape down the food processor every few minutes or so to scrape down the sides and help the almonds along.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 2 tbsp Calories: 164 Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 60mg Carbohydrates: 7.7g Sugar: 3g Fiber: 3g Protein: 6g