Bready or Not: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola
Homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola is delicious and oh-so-much cheaper than buying the pre-made stuff from the store.
My son is autistic and has a very limited diet. With the help of feeding therapy, we have gradually introduced him to new foods and new combinations of textures. He has eaten yogurt for years, and it turned out he really liked the addition of granola on top.
Me being me, I saw the prices of granola at the store and decided I’d start making it myself. My son loves peanut butter and chocolate, so I knew that it’d be a great combo for him.
When I didn’t see an existing recipe that I liked, I decided to make my own. This is the result.
This granola is quick to mix together and quick to bake, too. Just be careful to NOT overbake. It’s easy to do, since it’s hard to tell how crisp the granola will get after you remove it from the oven.
If you eat gluten-free, use GF oats and check your other ingredients!
Bready or Not Original: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 275-degrees. Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil and rub with butter or apply nonstick spray.
- Place the oats in a large bowl. In a small bowl, microwave the peanut butter and honey for 30 seconds; the peanut butter should be starting to melt. Stir them together, then add vanilla extract.
- Pour the peanut butter mix over the oats; stir until the oats are completely coated. Spread the granola on the foil-lined sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Stir. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, then set out to cool. Note that it will continue to crisp up as it cools, so don't overbake!
- Once the granola is cool, mix in the chocolate chips. Store in a sealed container.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Cadbury Egg Brownies
Three years ago, I shared my recipe for Cadbury Egg Brownies. Today we revisit that glorious recipe–and double it.
Because it obviously didn’t deliver enough sweetness the first time around, right?
Here’s the thing about these brownies: they taste like Cadbury Eggs, but BETTER. That’s because they aren’t as cloying sweet. The brownie layer balances things out in a magical way.
This is a time-consuming recipe because of the layers and the refrigeration time involved, but it’s not hard. The first stage is the only one that requires baking.
I will forever be amazed at how the cream filling layer turns out, too. It’s eerily like the non-runny portion of the Cadbury Egg filling. But you make it yourself. It boggles the mind.
Even better, these brownies will keep as long as a week if sealed and kept in the fridge. Trust me, there is NOTHING healthy about these. You want to make these to share with a crowd!
I’ve modified this a good bit, but I must give credit to the original recipe from Love and Oil. They shared something amazing.
Bready or Not: Cadbury Egg Brownies
Ingredients
For Brownies:
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 12 ounces milk chocolate chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For Cream Filling:
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter half stick, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- yellow food coloring
For Glaze:
- 8 ounces milk chocolate chopped
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter half stick, cut into cubes
Instructions
Brownie stage
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, making sure to overlap the sides to create handles. Cover with nonstick spray.
- Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt (and espresso powder, if using) in a small bowl and set aside.
- Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler or in slow increments in microwave. Stir until smooth. Whisk in sugars and stir until dissolved and mixture has cooled slightly, then add eggs and vanilla extract until just combined.
- Fold together the chocolate and flour mixes until just incorporated. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Cream filling stage
- Beat together corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt on medium-high speed until smooth. Add powdered sugar, a little bit at a time, mixing until creamy.
- Dump 3/4 of the cream mixture on top of cooled brownies and spread into an even layer. Add a drop of yellow food coloring to remaining cream mixture and stir until evenly colored. Drop dollops of yellow cream on top of white layer, and then swirl gently with a spatula. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set.
Glaze stage
- Slowly melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler or microwave bowl. Stir until smooth. Pour over cream filling, carefully spreading into a thin, even layer.
- Chill in the fridge long enough for the chocolate to not quite harden, 15-20 minutes, OR let it chill for several hours and then let set at room temperature for about 15 minutes. The chocolate needs to be soft enough to cut through without cracking, but not soft enough to smear with each cut.
- Use the foil/paper to lift the entire block out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Using a large sharp knife, cut into 2-inch squares. Keep in sealed container in fridge; brownies will keep upward of a week.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Hunter’s Cake
It’s April. We’re overdue for a cake recipe, yes? How about some Hunter’s Cake?
This is a cake that’s designed for some fantasy-style questing. The crumb is tender to eat but dense, so it doesn’t crumble much.
There’s no frosting, no fussiness. Wrap up slices of this cake to go in a lunch box, a picnic basket, a backpack, or Hobbit’s leather pouch.
Use whatever kind of chocolate you want. I used milk chocolate, because that’s what I tend to keep around. Whatever kind you use, be sure to coat the chocolate chips in flour before you add them to the batter. That will prevent them from sinking.
This cake is perfect to eat right out of hand. No fork required.
Modified from Rescued Recipes by Jan D’Atri in the Arizona Republic.
Bready or Not: Hunter's Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 eggs room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces chocolate chips any kind
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan, tube pan, or angel food cake pan.
- In a large bowl, beat together the shortening, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add eggs one at a time until smooth, followed by most of the flour.
- In a small bowl, stir together the chocolate chips and remaining flour; this is important, as it will keep the chips from sinking in the batter as it bakes.
- Stir the floured chocolate and walnuts into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 minutes and use the toothpick test to check for doneness; bake longer if necessary. The top of the cake will be golden brown and will likely develop cracks.
- Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack to completely cool. Store covered at room temperature. Cake is great to slice and pack for adventures!
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Loaded Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Hey, it’s been a few weeks since I featured chocolate, so let’s indulge hardcore with some Loaded Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies.
There are a lot of similar pudding-based chocolate chip cookie recipes on food blogs. Some use terms like double, triple, or quadruple chocolate. Me, I’m calling them LOADED.
Use whatever chocolate you want. Mix ‘n match chocolate chips. Chop up some holiday candy bars. Throw in two cup’s worth, and these cookies will be good to go. In your mouth.
I’ve used pudding mix in other cookies and cakes before, with reason. It creates tender, delicious dough that also keeps well. In this case, it makes fat chocolate cookies. You’ll want to squish the dough balls, because they won’t spread much when they bake.
The result is a cookie that will make chocoholics flail in delight. These things are thick, luscious, and, well, loaded with chocolate.
Bready or Not: Loaded Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3.9 ounce instant chocolate pudding 1 box, NOT Cook N' Serve or Sugar-Free
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bars, any kind
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the pudding mix powder.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Fold in the chocolate.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and tuck into the fridge to chill for several hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Use a tablespoon scoop to dollop the dough onto a cookie sheet. The cookies won’t spread much, so flatten them a bit. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Let them settle on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Chili Spice Chocolate Brownies
This recipe, originally posted at the Holy Taco Church, adds a kick to regular ol’ brownies.
If you’ve browsed the candy aisles of late, you noticed that gourmet chocolate bars are all the rage. Take advantage of this when it comes to baked goods. Flavored chocolate adds an extra level of nuance to brownies and cookies.
For these Chili Spice Chocolate Brownies, I chopped up a combo of Green & Black Spiced Chili Chocolate and World Market’s Dark Chocolate Chipotle, but any type of amped-up chocolate will work here.
Note that I can’t handle really hot stuff–hello, burning skin and inability to breathe and feeling like a taun-taun kicked me in the intestines–but these brownies aren’t spicy in THAT way. There’s an occasional zing of chili here and there, but the main flavor is of the cinnamon and the milder chocolate.
Modified from Cinnamon-Spiced Chocolate Brownies at King Arthur Flour.
Bready or Not: Chili Spice Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter two sticks, melted
- 2 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups baking cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 bars spiced chocolate bars 3 ounces, such as chipotle or chili, chopped
- 6 ounces milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet
[toggle the chocolates to be more or less spicy based on your tastes, but equal 12 ounces total]
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and grease the surface.
- In a medium-sized saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar. Stir to combine. Heat the mixture briefly, just until it's hot throughout; it'll become shiny as you stir it. Set on a cool burner or trivet.
- Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, and vanilla.
- Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth. Add the flour, again stirring until smooth. Fold in the chopped spicy chocolate and mild chocolate.
- Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it to the edges. It will be extremely thick and lava-like.
- Bake the brownies for 34 to 36 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and just barely set in the center.
- Remove from the oven. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Five-Minute Spicy Mexican Fudge
I am here today to preach about fudge inclusiveness as I share a recipe for Five Minute Spicy Mexican Fudge.
I do not sneer at some fudges as being “better” or “real.” To me, it does not matter if the fudge is produced on stove top with a candy thermometer, or with a jar of marshmallow cream, or melted in the microwave.
When it comes to fudge, what matters is this:
Does the fudge taste good? Is the texture pleasing to the palate? Does it make me mutter, “Calories be darned to heck,” and reach for another piece?
That is the criteria by which fudge should be judged.
That said, I present to you a fudge that is zapped in the microwave and assembled all of five minutes. Let it set in the fridge for a few hours, and ta-da! You have a fudge that will keep well for days. It also holds up well at room temperature if you’re serving it at a party.
The Mexican spice element comes from cinnamon and cayenne pepper. I used the minimal amount of pepper, 1/8 teaspoon, which provides complexity but absolutely no discernible heat. Tweak the scorch level to your personal taste. Do, however, sprinkle coarse salt to add some lovely contrast.
Originally featured at the Holy Taco Church. Recipe adapted from Wine and Glue.
Bready or Not: Five-Minute Spicy Mexican Fudge
Ingredients
- 3 cups milk chocolate chips about a bag and a half
- 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk can
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon Mexican cinnamon preferred
- 1/8 - 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- kosher salt or coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Line an 8 or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Lightly grease it.
- Use a microwave or sauce pan to melt together the chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. If you're using the microwave, use short bursts of 20-30 seconds and stir well between each.
- Once the chocolate mix is smooth, pour in the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. (Note that 1/8 teaspoon provides a little flavor, not much heat, so add cayenne and taste to adjust to desired heat level.)
- Immediately pour the fudge into the prepared pan. Smooth out to edges and sprinkle salt all over the top. Let set in fridge at least four hours before cutting. Keeps in covered dish in fridge for upwards of a week.
- OM NOM NOM!
