Please excuse those blurry cranola clumps up front. You see, I just bought my first DSLR camera and have no clue how to use it. I started reading the 291-page instruction manual and watched a few tutorials on CreativeLive and YouTube but got anxious and decided to take a few test shots. Hence the poor focus (and probably a million other amateur mistakes that I’m just too ignorant to notice). Still, I think this photo is a big step up from the images I was capturing with my trusty point-and-shoot. I’ll let you be the judge.
I also splurged and bought a new laptop, so now I can finally stop saving personal files on my work computer (which I probably shouldn’t have been doing in the first place). And now I have yet one more piece of equipment to learn to use. It’s a price I’m willing to pay to become a better food blogger. I’m hoping these tools will make my job a little easier in the long run, too (less post-production, no more sending image files from my Lenovo ThinkPad to my iPhone just so I can see how colors truly appear – they’re crystal clear on my MacBook Pro).
All this to say, I couldn’t wait to perfect this shot before sharing my PB&J cookie granola recipe with you. It’s salty and sweet and oh so good. Imagine sinking your teeth into thick slices of honey-oat pain de mie slathered with nutty peanut butter and fruity jelly. Now take that flavor sensation and add some crunch and the result is a snack that’s anything but ordinary. You could even say it’s fitting for a celebration or munching on while leafing through a dense manual.
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons creamy or crunchy peanut butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups rolled oats
- 3 tablespoons blueberry (or your favorite flavor) preserves
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the coconut oil, peanut butter and sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
- Add the flours, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Then add the oats and stir with a wooden spoon. When the ingredients start to come together, add the preserves and use your hands to continue mixing until all the oats are covered with dough.
- Squeeze off chunks of dough and loosely break them apart over the baking sheet, creating large clumps.
- Bake the cranola for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and stir gently. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, remove from the oven and stir gently. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until clumps are dry.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cranola cool completely. It will harden as it cools.
- Store cranola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, if it lasts that long.
I love this idea of cranola! Have any other fun flavors in mind? I can help you brainstorm 🙂
Thank you! Send any flavor ideas my way … I’m always up for a new cranola creation!