Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chunk & Pretzel Granola for #theleftoversclub

For this month's Leftover's Club I was paired with Elizabeth from Food Ramblings. Elizabeth just had an adorable baby boy, Jonah, about 2 months ago so I wanted to send her something a new Mom would enjoy.

 

As a mother to 3 boys, I know that new Moms are always super busy and never really have time to take care of themselves. I remember barely even having time to eat! I wanted to send Elizabeth a delicious, indulgent, somewhat "healthy" snack she could munch on while doing the million-and-one things new Moms do. That's how this granola was created.

It all started off pretty well with a few healthy ingredients; oats, peanut butter and nuts, but then I veered off course and threw in cinnamon and white chocolate chips I had in my pantry along with pretzels for salty crunch, chunks of dark chocolate cut from a leftover Trader Joe's chocolate bar and a healthy drizzle of melted dark chocolate. That's where the indulgent part comes in...

 

 

Every new Mom deserves a special treat. I hope Elizabeth enjoys it! And I hope her little man enjoys the little something I included for him too...

If you have a blog and would like to receive delicious treats in the mail each month, sign up to join The Leftovers Club here

 

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chunk Pretzel Granola w/Dark Chocolate Drizzle
Makes about 10 cups of granola

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup rice crispy cereal
1 cup walnuts
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup coconut
1 cup pretzels
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup dark chocolate chips + 1 cup for melting
1 cup cinnamon chips
1 cup white chocolate chips


Directions:

Preheat oven to 250f

Place the peanut butter and butter in a medium size bowl and microwave until melted. Stir well to combine.

Place the oats, cereal, walnuts, almonds, coconut and pretzels in a large bowl. Top with the remaining ingredients. Pour the melted peanut butter mixture over to top and mix well until combined.

Place the mixture on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes. During the last part of the baking, I like to pack the mixture down to help the granola clump together during the cooling process which creates chunks/clusters when you break the mixture apart.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Break the mixture apart into chunks. Add the cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips and 1 cup of the dark chocolate chips and toss to combine.

Place the remaining 1 cup dark chocolate chips in a bowl and microwave in 30 seconds intervals, stirring well after each interval, until melted. Drizzle over the granola and allow to cool completely.

Store at room temp in an air tight container for 1 week.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sweet Freedom "Paleo" Granola (Grain Free, Dairy Free, Processed Sugar-Free)

For this month's Leftovers Club, I was paired with Ginger from Stark Raving Delicious. I read that Ginger recently started following a grain-free, dairy-free, processed sugar-free diet which was challenging for me. Although I recently made all gluten-free cupcakes for a wedding, coming up with recipes to meet special dietary restrictions is challenging and often involves a lot of research.

 

For example, by reading this article on Grain Free Living, I learned that there are hidden sources of grains in many foods you wouldn't think would have them.
 

Even though Ginger was sweet enough to say she didn't have any dietary restrictions, I definitely wanted to send her something she could enjoy, but I didn't want to take risk inadvertently including a ingredient that contained any of her allergens so I immediately thought of nuts!
 

Nuts are healthy, are not a grain and can be made into "granola" or trail mix that is free from dairy and processed sugar while still tasting delicious - yay!

 

While the combination of ingredients I used is more of a "trail-mix", I decided to call it "granola" because of the chunky texture it gets during the baking and cooling process. Although the recipe doesn't contain any grains, you really feel like you're eating granola.

 

 

Regardless of what you call it, and whether or not you are following a special diet, this Paleo "Granola" is a definite winner when you're looking for a

guilt-free sweet-salty snack.


As a matter of fact, this 'granola' is my new addiction....

Sweet Freedom "Granola"

Makes approx 6 cups of granola

 

 

Ingredients

1 cup raw unsalted cashews
1 cup raw unsalted almonds
1/2 cup raw unsalted pepitas
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy)
1 cup unsweetened organic coconut flakes (get the large flake size)
1/4 cup clover honey
1/4 cup coconut oil (in solid form)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp kosher salt (do not use regular table salt)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300f and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the cashews, almonds and coconut in a food processor and pulse a few times just to break up some of the pieces.

Place the honey, coconut oil and vanilla in a large microwave safe bowl and heat approx 40 seconds. Stir well to melt the coconut oil. 

Add the nut-coconut mixture to the bowl and add the pepitas. Stir with a rubber spatula to combine making sure the mixture is evenly coated.

Dump onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes then stir. Continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the nuts are browned and toasted.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the dried cranberries and salt over the mixture. Toss to combine then spread in an even layer and flatten slightly to compact the mixture. You want the mixture to harden into a solid mass as it cools so you can break it up into chunks once it has cooled.

Allow to cool for 20-25 minutes then break into chunks. Add dark chocolate chips (or any other add ins you want) and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Enjoy your new addiction! 

 



If you'd like to receive yummy goodies in the mail from fellow bloggers each month, why not sign up to participate in The Leftovers Club. You (and your tummy) will love it!

 

Note: If you're wondering if the Enjoy Dark Chocolate Chips are considered paleo (like I did), check out this article on The Paleo List. The dark chocolate chips are widely accepted as being paleo.

An InLinkz Link-up

Coconut Banana Granola Crunch Muffins

Muffins have to be one of my favorite breakfast treats and these Coconut Banana Granola Crunch Muffins are on the top of my list. Big, moist, not overly sweet with pecans and a crispy coconut topping. Did I mention they were big? The banana flavor is pretty subtle due to the small amount of mashed banana, but the chunks of banana are a great touch.
 

I like to bake my muffins in the paper Panettone molds. They really make a nice presentation and make the muffins look that much more special. As if the delicious flavor wasn't enough....

For more information on the Panettone paper molds, see my post on baking amazing bakery style muffins here.

Coconut Banana Granola Crunch Muffins
Makes 6-7 jumbo size muffins
Adapted from Spoonful of Flavor

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, room temp lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup mashed over-ripe banana
1/2 cup chopped banana
1/2 cup diced pecans
1/2 cup granola (I used Oats & Honey flavor)
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut + more for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350f

Place 6-7 Panettone paper cups on a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the interior of each cup very lightly with non-stick cooking spray. If you do not have the paper molds, either spray your muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with standard size paper liners. Either way, the muffins will still be delicious!

 

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix to combine.

Add the melted butter and mix on low speed until combined.

Add egg, milk, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Mix on low speed until combined.

Fold in the diced banana, granola and 1/2 cup coconut using a spoon or rubber spatula.

Use a cookie scoop to divide the batter evenly between the cups, filling almost 3/4 full.

Sprinkle with additional coconut and granola if desired.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and place on wire cooling rack to cool.

Enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 day.