Pinterest Challenge #16-17: Homemade Granola Two Ways

Pinterest time! (More here.)

My kids--especially Charlie--are obsessed with granola, and since (1) it is expensive to buy, (2) I usually have oats laying around (well, okay, they are actually nicely contained in a plastic bin, but you know what I mean), and (3) the recipes are usually easy enough that I can't mess it up too badly, even though I'm not all that talented in the kitchen, I thought I'd try to find a recipe to tweak into perfection.

And if there's one thing you can be sure to find on Pinterest, it is a plethora of granola recipes.

16. Quick and Easy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
source: Savoring the Thyme
worth doing again: Maybe, if I didn't hate peanut butter

I took zero pictures of this granola happening, but here are my kids after they helped me mix it, eating pretzels while they waited for it to bake. Gracie is dressed in pajamas AND a Cinderella dress. :)

So this recipe kind of got an unfair boot from me because all through this pregnancy I have irrationally hated one of my very favorite foods: peanut butter. And there is peanut butter in this granola. Which is genius. Which the kids loved. Which made me want to throw up every time I smelled it, even if I was just sitting by the kids at the table or pouring it into a bowl for them.

We deviated from the recipe a little by using honey instead of rice syrup and omitting the chia seeds. And we added in some mini-chocolate chips that my mama had just sent us in the mail. (She sends fun mail.)

Though the kids were happy to eat this in granola clusters, I was disappointed that it didn't actually come out in bars when I made them. I had this vision of sending Grace off to school/Steve to work with gorgeous homemade granola bars. But instead we got chunks.

That said, kiddos adored it, so I would try it again if I stop hating peanut butter after baby-peanut #3 makes her debut.

17. "The Best Granola Ever"
source: Buzzfeed
worth doing again: Yes! I'm making a double batch this afternoon. :)

It even looked/tasted good before it was baked!

This recipe was kind of fun because it gave you lots of options to really customize your granola. I am picky about granola, so that was totally my jam.

I used oats, honey, a tiny bit of cinnamon, and some sliced almonds in ours, with a little canola oil and some salt. I never knew that adding oil would help add some crunch, so I was pretty excited to try that! It worked nicely. But be aware that measuring and mixing ingredients over a pregnant belly can be hazardous.

I did at least smell very nice and cinnamony for the rest of the day.

My only complaint was that it came out way too salty with their recommended salt amount. When I make my double batch this afternoon (I'm going to add chocolate chips to half the batch this time) I will be using half (or less) the amount of salt. I'm just more into a slightly sweet granola. But this definitely has the potential to be the "best granola ever" if I play around with it some more.

If you have yet to meet a granola recipe that is "the one" head over and check out their suggestions--they have some great tips on texture and other stuff, too!