Chewy Maple Granola

On my last visit to DC, I discovered Hippie Crack from Baked and Wired and fell in love.  Their granola stayed chunky, a little chewy, but still had some crunch.  I’ve been trying to make a similar version. The maple syrup, honey, and molasses in this recipe help the oats stick together in chunky, chewy clusters.  The cinnamon and nutmeg taste and smell like fall without being overpowering. Oh…and don’t forget the brown sugar that almost caramelizes!  This is the kind of granola that if you pinch it, it sticks together and I LOVE it!

This recipe is very versatile.  Use the dried fruits and nuts of your choosing.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, add the maple syrup, honey, coconut oil…

brown sugar…

cinnamon, molasses, vanilla, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. (The salt forgot to show up for the picture…oops.)

Whisk together.  Then, add the oats, almonds, cashews

and coconut.

Toss to evenly coat.

Pour the mixture onto your lined baking sheet.  Smooth with a spatula, but don’t press too firmly.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  It’s done when the edges start to caramelize.

Take the dried fruits of your choosing…

and measure 2 cups.

Sprinkle over the baked granola while it’s warm; just out of the oven.  DO NOT STIR.  Add the optional chocolate chips now if you want.

Allow to cool for at least 1 hour.  The longer it’s exposed to air, the crunchier it will become.  I put mine into tupperware after 1 hour so it would stay chewy.  Just look at that granola cluster!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup honey/agave/brown rice syrup (I used honey)

1/4 cup liquid-state coconut oil (canola or vegetable oil may be substituted)

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons cinnamon (reduce to 1 tablespoon if sensitive to cinnamon, or to taste)

1 tablespoon molasses (not blackstrap, too pungent)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch salt, optional and to taste

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole-rolled oats (not quick-cook or instant; use certified GF if necessary)

1/2 cup almonds (I used sliced)

1/2 cup unsalted cashews (use any combination of nuts equal to 1 cup)

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

2 cups dried fruit (I used dried apricots (cut into strips), pineapple, and cranberries; use your favorite dried fruit)

Optional: 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or line with parchment paper. This granola is messy, sticky, and I recommend either a Silpat or parchment rather than just spraying a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together first 9 ingredients, through optional salt.

Add oats, nuts, and coconut and toss to coat evenly.

Turn mixture out onto prepared baking sheet, keeping mixture lightly piled. Smoothing lightly with a spatula is okay, but don’t pack down too much. You want air to be able to flow without it being tightly packed.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the sauce that pools slightly at the edge of the baking sheet begins to barely caramelize. Watch your granola closely to make sure it’s not burning since ingredients and ovens vary. Remove baking sheet from oven and don’t stir.

Evenly sprinkle with dried fruit and chocolate chips.

Do not stir granola and allow it to cool, for at least 1 hour. The longer it’s exposed to air, the crispier and crunchier it becomes.

Break granola apart and store in airtight containers with lids or in Ziplocks. Granola will keep airtight for at least 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

I packaged mine up for some host gifts:)

White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

These cookies give you the pumpkin and cinnamon/sugar combo that tastes like Fall! They’re chewy, soft, and stay puffy even after they’ve cooled. You don’t even need a mixer for this recipe. And…there are no eggs, so you can eat as much dough as you want (if you’re into that kind of thing)!!!

Melt the butter in the microwave and add the brown and granulated sugar.

Whisk until no lumps remain.

Add vanilla and pumpkin puree.

Whisk until smooth and set aside.  It will look really thin.  Don’t worry 🙂

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a spatula.  The dough will be soft.

Once combined, fold in the white chocolate chips.  I had these fun little mini chips on hand.

Now the tough part…cover the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes.

While your dough is in the fridge, preheat your oven, line your baking sheets, and mix together 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Cookies should be around 1.5 Tablespoons each.  I like to use a cookie scoop.

Roll the dough in the cinnamon/ sugar mixture to coat.

Place on your cookie sheets and flatten with your palm.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.  I baked mine for 8 minutes.  They look slightly underdone, but this keeps them soft and chewy.  While they’re warm, you can press extra white chocolate chips onto the top if you wish.

Allow to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.  Just look at this cinnamon, sugar, pumpkin goodness!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar (I used light.)
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Tablespoons pumpkin puree (You’ll have leftover pumpkin.  HERE is a great list of pumpkin recipes, so you don’t have to waste it.)
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (careful not to overmeasure)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions:

Melt the butter in the microwave. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in white chocolate chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed among the dough. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Roll each of the dough balls generously in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and arrange on 2 baking sheets. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven. The photo above shows what the cookie dough balls should look like before baking.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out. Remove from the oven and press a few more white chocolate chips onto the tops, if desired. If you find that your cookies didn’t spread much at all, flatten them out when you take them out of the oven.

Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack. The longer the cookies cool, the chewier they will be. I let them sit out for at least 1 hour before enjoying. I find that their chewiness and pumpkin flavor is more prominent on day 2. Cookies stay soft, moist, and chewy stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Freezing directions: Roll the chilled dough into balls and freeze in a large ziplock bag for up to 2 months. Baked cookies may also be frozen up to 2 months.

*Instead of pumpkin pie spice, you may use 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon allspice

Enjoy!

I boxed mine up to give as gifts.

#choosejoy

Recipe from: Sally’s Baking Addiction

Longest Long Run!!

First things first…I just finished my longest long run in my Chicago training cycle…woo hoo!!!!!!!  I was actually really excited for this run and I enjoyed (almost) every minute of it:)

My incredible friends met me at 5am and ran the first 12 with me at 9:20 pace.
I ran the next 11 solo and tried to pick up the pace.
My last mile was at 7:39.
Today’s run gave me the confidence boost that I needed for Chicago.

I can home and drank my cherry juice…great for recovery!

Took an ice bath,

And ate the breakfast of champions: oatemeal with cinnamon and bananas and an English muffin with my Gran’s homemade pear preserves!!!

My friend corrie sent me this hilarious list last night: 15 Things That Only Happen When You’re An Athlete.  It’s just what I needed the night before a long run!

I picked a few of my favorites…

When you talk to your friends/ family after a loss

When my favorite teammates reunite after a break. (Side note: my friends and I do this even if we saw each other yesterday!)

When coach is paying for dinner

When the athletic department distributes the new gear.

When my athletic trainer wants me to do rehab after practice.

When I get in the ice bath.

When I finally get food after practice.

When I’m trying to sleep the night before a death workout.  (This is me the night before a track time trial!)

When my coach finishes his pre-game speech.

How’s your fall marathon training going?  

How far do you run for your longest long run?

What’s your favorite post-run food?

#choosejoy