Peanut Butter Granola Recipe

Peanut Butter Granola | pamela salzman

I am a nut butter addict.  I would be so skinny if nut butter didn’t exist!  I love them all — almond, cashew, hazelnut, pecan, mixed nuts and my childhood favorite, peanut.  Yes, yes, yes, I know peanuts are not actually nuts, but legumes.  And I know peanuts are less healthy than other nuts and that you must buy organic because they are heavily sprayed.  But I love the roasted nutty flavor of peanut butter and a little goes a long way.   I actually eat peanut butter pretty sparingly, but when I do, I convince myself that it has a lot of protein (which it does) and I try to eat it with other things, rather than off the spoon as I was apt to do in college and during my three pregnancies.

Peanut Butter Granola | pamela salzman

I also love my homemade granola recipe.  Granola + yogurt + fresh fruit is my go-to breakfast when I’m running late, or haven’t prepared anything else in advance.  I actually never get tired of it. If I don’t post my breakfast on Instagram on a particular day (like Monday,) it’s because I’m probably having a granola-yogurt parfait.

Peanut Butter Granola | pamela salzman

Last spring I decided I needed to spice up my life a little, so I went out on a limb and decided to make my granola recipe with peanut butter.  Oh yeah, I am a risk-taker if you don’t know that by now!  Well, let’s just say I became super obsessed with this peanut butter version and my kids went crazy for it, too.  Truth be told, I think they were starting to get bored with my standard granola which I have been making the same way for at least 15 years.  I need everyone in this house to be into granola — with yogurt or almond milk, it’s the easiest, balanced, instant breakfast I’ve got up my sleeve.  So this new version was just the thing to get everyone interested again.

Peanut Butter Granola | pamela salzman

The recipe is actually not much different from my original granola.  All I did was replace the coconut oil with peanut butter and swap peanuts for almonds and pecans.  So it’s still vegan and gluten-free (if you use GF oats, if that’s important to you.)  I’ve done lots of different dried fruits with this granola, depending on what I have on hand, but diced dates are my favorite.  I still keep this barely sweet so we don’t get any blood sugar spikes first thing in the morning.  You’ll test it out and see for yourself if it’s the sweetness that you like.  If not, the next go round you’ll add some more syrup.

Peanut Butter Granola | pamela salzman

Peanut Butter Granola | pamela salzman

We eat granola in the obvious parfait, but we also dip bananas in nut butter and sprinkle them with granola, use it to top oatmeal, I have even started making yogurt popsicles with layers of granola inside.  I also eat it out of hand when I need a little pick me up in the afternoon the car waiting for Mr. Picky to get off the bus. Zzzzzzzz.

Peanut Butter Granola | pamela salzman

Mother’s Day is on Sunday!  Buy those cards and flowers!  Make a homemade gift!  Bring her breakfast in bed, like peanut butter granola with strawberries and a side of almond milk!  Above all, if you are a kid, no bickering with your siblings on Mother’s Day and do something that will pleasantly surprise your mama, like clean your room or the whole house, do the dishes or eat a green vegetable.  Happy Mother’s Day to everyone!

Peanut Butter Granola | pamela salzman

Peanut Butter Granola

Pamela
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats look for gluten-free oats for a gluten-free granola
  • ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds pepitas
  • ½ cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • ½ cup unsalted unsweetened peanut butter*, creamy or crunchy, preferably organic
  • 1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup Grade A or Grade B
  • ¼ cup brown rice syrup or honey
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup roasted and salted peanuts preferably organic
  • 1 cup pitted chopped dates about 8 dates or other dried, unsulphured fruit

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (If your oven runs hot, preheat to 325 degrees.) Line a rimmed baking sheet or cookie sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl stir together the oats, seeds, cinnamon and salt.
  • In a small saucepan combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and vanilla and heat over low, whisking to combine well. It is really important to mix the peanut butter and syrups so that everything is well blended, otherwise the syrups may burn. Add the peanut butter and syrup mixture to the bowl with the oats and stir to coat well.
  • Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes (ovens vary), stirring occasionally until golden brown. The mixture will not be crunchy yet. Add the peanuts and dates to the pan and allow to cool. Transfer granola to an airtight container and store at room temperature or freeze.

Notes

*You can also use almond butter.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

 

No-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars Recipe (no added sugar)

no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars | pamela salzman

After I posted these chocolate peanut butter bars on instagram a few months ago, I was harassed, yes harassed! into teaching them in my classes pronto.  Of course they look delicious and beautiful and there’s no added sugar, so I can see why there would be interest.  But, no one could focus in my cooking classes after that.  “The soup looks great, Pamela.  But when are you teaching “the bars?”

base layer of peanuts and dates

So I pushed this recipe up on the schedule from February to December and I am even doing something very uncharacteristic — I am posting the recipe before I have finished teaching it.  It is the season of giving and I love you all, so here it is.

press the crust

Are these chocolate peanut butter bars all that?  Well, if I do say so myself, they really are.  They are incredibly simple to put together and taste like a Reeses peanut butter cup collided with a larabar.  But, they’re not terrible for you.  You don’t need an oven, but you do need to make them ahead.  They’re hard to beat, if you ask me.

no bake chocolate peanut butter bars | pamela salzman

The base is a combo of dates and roasted, salted peanuts — chewy with a little texture.  The chocolate layer is melted chocolate and peanut butter plus an extra drizzle of peanut butter which gets swirled around into a pretty design like you’re all of a sudden a pastry chef.  And did I mention easy to do?

no bake chocolate peanut butter bars | pamela salzman

Since there are very few ingredients here, you know what that means.  The better the ingredients with which you start, the better the final product.  Poor quality peanut butter will give you bars that are not as good as these you see here.  I think you’ve seen in one of my Friday Favorites posts that I am very loyal to Santa Cruz Organic peanut butter.  It is quite honestly the only one I buy because it is the only one that meets my standards for peanut butter which are these:

  • organic, since peanuts are very heavily sprayed
  • in glass, since plastics leach when food is stored in them for long periods of time
  • no added sugar or salt, since I like to control the types of salt and sweeteners I add to my food
  • no added hydrogenated oils; can you say “inflammation?”  Avoid please.
  • tastes delicious!

my favorite peanut butter, Santa Cruz organic | pamela salzman

I love Santa Cruz Organic because they have been in the organic business before organic became a buzz word and a trendy marketing strategy.  Their products are also non-GMO and the company supports sustainable resources.  They are the real deal and have been since day 1.  After they saw my post a few months ago, they reached out and offered to provide me product for my next recipe that involved peanut butter.  So sweet!  So even though I am always reluctant to do a sponsored post, I accepted this one with a full heart since you know I have been a fan of Santa Cruz both on the blog, in my cooking classes and in my personal kitchen for many years.  You can find Santa Cruz products, including the peanut butter, at most Whole Foods store and other natural foods stores.  I have been purchasing Santa Cruz peanut butter from thrivemarket.com, which has the best prices.  There are four options:  Light-Creamy, Light-Crunchy, Dark-Creamy and Dark-Crunchy.  For this recipe I prefer the creamy, either light or dark.

no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars | pamela salzman

no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars | pamela salzman

The key with achieving perfect swirls here is to make sure the peanut butter is a loose, drizzly consistency, like when you first stir the jar.  If it is too thick, it won’t swirl well.  Read the recipe for what to do if your peanut butter is too firm.  I am going to pan a few pans of these for cookie exchanges and for potlucks this season!

no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars | pamela salzman

No-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Pamela (inspired by these bars)
Print Recipe
Servings 16 squares

Ingredients
  

  • oil or butter for greasing dish
  • 1 cup roasted salted peanuts
  • 1 cup dates pitted
  • 3 ½ ounces semi-sweet chocolate approximately a heaping ½ cup
  • 3 ½ ounces dark chocolate or use all semi-sweet
  • ¼ cup creamy or crunchy natural unsweetened and unsalted peanut butter, divided

Instructions
 

  • Grease an 8x8 or 9x9-inch glass baking dish with oil or butter and line with unbleached parchment paper.
  • Place peanuts and dates in the bowl of a food processor and process until completely crumb-like and sticky. Press into the bottom of your baking dish evenly, creating a crust. If mixture is too sticky, use plastic wrap to help spread it out.
  • Using a double boiler or glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, melt chocolate with 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter and stir until combined and creamy. Pour on top of the peanut/date crust.
  • Using a small spoon, drizzle (do NOT dollop) the remaining 2 Tablespoons peanut butter over the chocolate, teaspoon by teaspoon, in lines. If your peanut butter is not loose enough to do this, warm over a double boiler to thin it out.
  • Using the tip of a knife, gently create swirls along the top of the bars. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator 10 minutes before serving. Remove from baking dish and cut into squares. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!