Bready or Not Original: No-Bake Almond Granola Bars
These No-Bake Almond Granola Bars are fast to make and contain wholesome, basic ingredients. Plus, they are delicious.
I made this recipe several times to find the right balance of ingredients. Too many almonds and oats, and nothing sticks together. You think it’s solid until you try to cut the chilled bars. (I speak from experience.)
I find it fun to make little swaps with the ingredients, too. Use cashew butter or another kind of nut butter! Try different varieties of honey. You could even use pumpkin spice mix or other spices to give it a different vibe.
The end result will keep for a week or two in the fridge, and even longer in the freezer!
Bready or Not Original: No-Bake Almond Granola Bars
Equipment
- 9×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray
- food processor
- waxed paper
- heavy glass
Ingredients
- 1 cups almonds or buy pre-chopped almonds
- 2 cups quick-cooking oats
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt reduce if using regular table salt or salted nut butter
- 1 1/2 cups creamy almond butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 9×9 square pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
- If the almonds are whole, give them a rough chop in food processor, just a few pulses.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, cinnamon, and salt, and stir to blend. If the almond butter is stiff, measure it into a separate microwave-safe bowl and heat it for 20-30 seconds to soften it. Add almond butter, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla extract to the big bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir together until it forms a cohesive mass. If it seems too liquid, add more oats; if it’s too dry, add more almond butter. Stir in the chopped almonds to distribute them throughout.
- Dump the mixture into the prepared pan. Even out some, then use a pan-size piece of wax paper and a heavy glass to compress the dough evenly.
- Stash the pan in the fridge for at least an hour, or until the next day. Slice into bars of desired size. Store between stacked waxed paper layers in the fridge, or freeze for later enjoyment.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Quick Maple Cookie Fudge Redux
Let’s finish off the year 2022 by reviving a recipe first on Bready or Not in 2016: Maple Cookie Fudge!
This is a shortcut fudge without any need of a candy thermometer or stress. I like to use the microwave, but you can use the stovetop if you want. You can keep the maple cookies chunky, if you desire, or grind everything to crumbs–your choice! I actually like some small chunks mixed in for texture.
The maple flavor is nice and consistent here, not cloying, while the marshmallow fluff grants the texture some extra oomph. The nuts add an extra flavor and crunch, but you can omit them if you want.
This maple cookie fudge is just about perfect if you ignore the pesky nutritional side of things.
Bready or Not Original: Quick Maple Cookie Fudge
Equipment
- 9×13 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray or butter
Ingredients
- 3 cups white chocolate chips
- 12.3 ounces maple crème cookies crushed/chopped/maimed, about 20 cookies
- 7 ounces marshmallow fluff
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon maple flavor
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts walnuts, pecans, macadamias, etc
Instructions
- Prepare a 9×13 pan by lining it with foil and applying nonstick spray.
- Either in microwave or on stovetop, carefully melt chocolate with sweetened condensed milk and marshmallow cream. If microwaving, do it in short bursts because it can burn fast! Stir often.
- When the mix is smooth, add the maple flavor and vanilla. Fold in the maple cookies and nuts. Pour fudge into the prepared pan. Use an uneven spatula to smooth out the top.
- Refrigerate at least 3 hours, until the fudge is firm. Cut into bite size pieces. Keep stored in fridge between layers of wax paper. Unlike some other quick fudges, this will keep well for hours at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Maple-Walnut Cookies
It’s been too long since I featured a maple recipe. Let’s finish off November with Maple-Walnut Cookies!
The texture of these cookies is pillowy and light. Overall, they are soft and chewy, though the bottom is crisp thanks to the pan, while the turbinado sugar creates a crust on top.
Walnut and maple are such a great combination. Here, the walnut half crowns each cookie and not only adds great flavor and texture, but they just plain look lovely.
Bready or Not: Maple-Walnut Cookies
Equipment
- parchment paper
- tablespoon scoop
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temperature
- 2/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple flavor
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
- 3/4 cup walnut halves
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in maple syrup, egg, vanilla, and maple flavor. The ingredients may look curdled.
- Gradually add in the dry ingredients, scraping the bottom of the large bowl a few times. Chill bowl in fridge for about 30 minutes to reduce stickiness.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out the turbinado sugar in a small bowl.
- Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in the turbinado sugar. Set spaced out on baking sheet. Press a walnut half into the top of each round.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Cookies should be set but still soft. Let rest on sheet for 10 minutes before transitioning to a cooling rack.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats
These Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats are not the most photogenic of foods, but they are delicious, healthy, and good, and probably one of the most convenient meals in my cooking repertoire.
I’ve been cooking this recipe for over five years now, tweaking it here and there, making it better. What I present here is really a foundation. This recipe can be customized all kinds of ways–either when the food is being assembled, by adding in different spices or apples, or by tweaking it at serving time.
I love using Gala, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady apples, but go for any good baking-type apple or a variety thereof. You don’t want the apples to go to mush. Or maybe you do? That might not be a terrible thing here.
I typically use unsweetened vanilla almond milk or cashew milk, but any plain or vanilla nut, soy, or oat milks would work, or you can opt for dairy milk.
This isn’t an overnight slow cooker oats recipe. I’ve tried that. Even on low and warm settings, the oats just plain overcooked for my preference. The consistency goes brick-like and the pot requires some intense scraping if you don’t use a removable liner. I prefer to make this during the day, and then portion out the oats to go in the fridge and freezer. They reheat beautifully.
Bready or Not Original: Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats
Equipment
- large slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups steel cut oats no substitutes
- 2 cups nut milk or oat milk, regular or vanilla, sweetened or unsweetened
- 2 cups water
- 2 medium apples peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to distribute. Place lid on pot and put heat level to LOW. Cook for 3 hours before lifting lid again. Stir and taste to test doneness. Continue to cook for 30 minutes to an hour more, dependent on the desired texture for the oats. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will be.
- Serve oats fresh, or stash in fridge to reheat in microwave over the next week. These oats are great to portion out and freeze for later. If desired, add more spices, fresh fruit, or extra milk when serving–the customization possibilities are endless!
*OM NOM NOM!*
Bready or Not Original: Hard Maple Candy
This Hard Maple Candy garnered the name “Canadian meth” at my husband’s work. By that nickname, I take it that they 1) liked it, and 2) kept eating it.
On a more personal note, this candy could also work as a shiv, because this stuff is like GLASS. Trust me when I say that if you decide to break this into pieces with your hands, you will get little cuts all over. Ow.
So maybe tap the candy gently with the butt of a butter knife or use a little mallet, whatever you have that will break the candy apart without harming your pan, counter, or you.
Once you survive that stage, though, wow will you have a lot of candy to enjoy. Definitely make this to share with a crowd, or you just might go into diabetic shock.
It’d be a delicious way to go, but seriously, I don’t recommend going at all. We’ve made it this far in 2020. Hold on a while longer.
Bready or Not Original: Hard Maple Candy
Equipment
- 15x10x1-inch pan (jelly roll pan)
- candy thermometer
Ingredients
- nonstick spray
- 3 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup water
- 3 Tablespoons maple flavor
Instructions
- Heavily apply nonstick spray to the jelly roll pan.
- In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Start heating up. Set up candy thermometer and stir frequently as the heat rises to 300-degrees, which is hard-crack stage.
- Remove pan from heat. Stir in maple flavoring. Immediately pour candy into the prepared pan. Cool completely, which won’t take long.
- Carefully break into pieces. Note that this stuff is like candy glass, and if breaking with hands, it can and will cut the skin.
- Pack into individual bags or tins for gift-giving, or stack it in a large sealed container with waxed paper between layers. Can keep for weeks.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Spiced Maple Macadamia Nut Cookies
These Spiced Maple Macadamia Nut Cookies mix maple sweetness and warm spices and chocolate with the wonderful crunch of macadamias. They are perfect for fall–and throughout the year.
A food processor will be a big help in this recipe. The nuts and chocolate need to be in fine slivers. If the chunks are too big, the sliced cookies won’t be cohesive.
These are fridge cookies. Form the dough into tube shapes, wrap up well, then stash them in the fridge or freezer. Then thaw, slice, and bake when you need cookies.
If you do the full batch at once, you’ll likely get a lot of cookies, depending on your tube size and how you slice them. I got about 70 cookies.
These are perfect cookies to warm up your belly on a cool autumn or winter night (or in Arizona, to make-believe in such a temperature shift).
Bready or Not Original: Spiced Maple Macadamia Nut Cookies
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 3 sticks, room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup real maple syrup
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup macadamia nuts
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips semisweet or dark or mixture
- 1/3 cup candied ginger finely chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor or by knife, finely chop macadamia nuts, followed by the chocolate chips. Set aside. (If these are not in fine pieces, the dough will fall apart when sliced.)
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in maple syrup.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. Gradually work this into the creamed mixture. Fold in the nuts, chocolate, and candied ginger until incorporated.
- Divide dough in half and shape into foot-long logs. Encase in plastic wrap. Chill at least two hours, or freeze for later baking.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Unwrap log and cut dough into 1/4-inch thick medallions, reshaping with fingers as needed. Place spaced out on parchment-covered cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until set with a firm, golden base. Cool on pan for 5 minutes then move to rack to completely cool.
- Cookies keep for at least 3 days in sealed containers at room temperature.
