Today is a day of many firsts. It is my first time writing a blog post, my first time posting a recipe online, my first time making granola, a day of many firsts. I would love to say that it all went off without a hitch and I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, that it did NOT!
(Kate helped me spread the granola on the baking sheet and yes, she always looks like a hot mess once she gets home from school!)
I had such amazing intentions today and apparently big fat dreams. I had this notion that I would come home this afternoon with two small children (4 year old and 3 month old) and ever so Betty Crocker-ish whip up granola in 40 minutes, take a few pictures, write the blog, post to social media, and be sitting pretty by 5 pm. Hold on to that dream! The baby cried off and on all afternoon, the four year old insisted on sitting exactly 2 inches from the hot stove, the first batch of granola burned, I took approximately 100 pictures to get 14 that I liked, and the dog ate half of the second batch of granola. A day of firsts turned into an afternoon of adventures. But we emerged from the kitchen at 8 pm, 5 hours after this adventure started, with both kids fed and a delicious batch of granola that even the 4 year old loves!
With this recipe, I wanted to highlight the fact that pecans can actually be eaten without being accompanied by a pie plate and corn syrup. Pecans are exceptionally heart healthy and can be sweet and delicious without all the extra sugar. The pecans in this recipe are Elliots (there are over 500 different types of pecans, a blog post for another time). Elliots are the sweetest and highest quality pecan you can buy, and are absolutely the perfect snacking pecan. With all those qualities it was a no brainer to add them into granola.
*I've posted a link at the bottom of the page where you can get Elliot pecans.*
This Coconut Pecan Granola is the perfect breakfast or snack for spring or summer days. It's packed with extra protein and absolutely zero refined sugar so there is no guilt associated. It takes 5-10 minutes to put together and 30 minutes to bake. If you would like to take up more time than that then you could always burn the first batch like I did!
(If you would like to make this recipe vegan, you can substitute the butter for coconut oil and the honey for maple syrup. Also, I used collagen protein powder so you would need to use a vegan protein powder instead.)
Coconut Pecan Granola
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 scoops collagen peptides
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped raw Elliot pecans (add a little extra for more yumminess)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Lightly grease, with yummy butter, a baking sheet and set aside.
In a large bowl melt butter and honey in the microwave.
Stir vanilla extract and collagen peptides into the honey/butter mixture. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine oats, coconut, pecans, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and mix until everything is well coated. (I personally gave up using the rubber spatula and abandoned all gadgets for mixing with my hands. They are a cook's best tools after all.)
Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes, stirring half way through. It will feel soft when it comes out of the oven but will continue to harden and become crunchy after it comes out of the oven so be careful not to over bake.
Allow the granola to cool and then transfer to an airtight container. Eat within one week or store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.
*This recipe does not make a very sweet granola. If you prefer your granola to be more sweet add 1/3 to 1/2 cups of honey depending upon your sweet tooth.
As big of an adventure as today has been, it turned out to be a wonderful day. My babies and I hung out in the kitchen, watching movies and baking all afternoon. There could definitely be worse days. I could have burnt both batches of granola!
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