Granola Croutons

by Suzanne Virgilio

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE salads. Salads are the opening number to a dinner that introduces the season to be celebrated. I suppose one reason salads are so popular is that it allows us to eat something delicious and nutritious. What could be better? When it comes to making salads, in my world, the crunchier the better! I’m a huge fan of croutons, nuts & smoky flavors; so I thought, why not develop a crouton that incorporates all my favor things? Not only delicious, but also good for you! I hope you enjoy this blog offering; even if your salad is your meal, you are eating well!

Savory & Sweet Granola Croutons

Oven 350

Bake 10-15 minutes, until golden

Makes about a dozen 2-inch croutons

Ingredients

• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• ½ cup Extra Virgin olive oil
• 1 cup Granola Factory Honey Pecan Granola
• ¼ cup oat flour
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• 2 Tbsp quinoa
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• ½ tsp kosher salt

Procedure

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a liquid measuring cup combine the olive oil, egg white & honey. Combine well with a fork. Set aside
• In a medium bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
• Give the liquid mixture a good stir again and pour over the granola mixture. Use a rubber spatula to combine.
• Line a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• Spread the granola mixture onto the pan using an offset spatula. Spread to an even thickness (or thinness).
• Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 – 15 minutes until golden. Croutons will spread together and become one sheet.
• Allow crouton to cool completely. Mixture will harden.
• Once cooled break into crouton size pieces. Store in airtight zip lock until ready to use. Can be made 1 day in advance

When the air becomes crisp and the leave begin to change colors, I crave this delicious reflection of the season’s offerings. Combine your favorite greens and garnish with your favorite apple slices, dried cranberries & shaved Parmesan Reggiano. The following vinaigrette completes a perfect fall or winter salad.

Enjoy!

Maple Vinaigrette

Makes approximately 1 cup

Store in refrigerator until serving

Allow to come to room temp. before serving

Ingredients

• 1/4-cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup Canola oil
• 1 Tbsp coarse grain Dijon mustard
• Pinch of salt
• 1 crushed clove of garlic

Procedure

• Combine the first 5 ingredients in a liquid measuring cup or small jar.
• Whisk mixture with a wire whisk or fork to combine.
• Add 1 crushed clove of garlic and allow it to macerate in vinaigrette. Remove clove of garlic before serving

Greek Yogurt and Granola Popsicles with Roasted Fruit

by Cal Virgilio

Though I love eating granola, I have never been the biggest fan of yogurt. Each morning, I eat our cherry almond granola for breakfast with milk. Yes, I know I’m in the minority of the granola-eating world. But when I came across a recipe for Greek Yogurt Popsicles on Dessert For Two’s blog, I thought that maybe this could be the way I finally enjoy yogurt. I had to give this recipe a try, but with one additional ingredient: granola!

The granola ended up being a great addition to these pops. I used our all-natural honey pecan granola, and the flavor shined through just as it does when you pair our granola with yogurt in a parfait.

The recipe for the most part is very simple, but a few tips before starting.

1. Use whole milk Greek yogurt. For my popsicles, I experimented with both whole milk and 2 percent greek yogurt. The whole milk yogurt was much creamier when frozen, whereas the 2 percent was more icy in texture. Though you can use any brand yogurt, I went with Fage and the flavor paired great with our honey pecan granola.
2. Use both honey and vanilla to sweeten. Though Dessert For Two’s recipe calls for agave, I used honey as a sweetener, since I would be using our honey pecan granola in the popsicles. I also added  some pure vanilla extract to the yogurt, which gave a natural vanilla flavor to the pops.
3. Roast the fruit: Sure, you can just add fresh fruit to these pops, but roasting will enhance the flavor and also give some added juices to the yogurt. I used blueberries, strawberries and raspberries in my pops, but any fruit mixture will do!

Greek Yogurt & Granola Popsicles with Roasted Fruit

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 3-4 popsicles, depending on popsicle mold size

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of plain Greek yogurt, such as Fage Yogurt
• 1 cup of sliced fresh fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, etc.
• 1/2 cup Granola Factory granola (I used honey pecan)
• 2-3 tablespoons of honey.
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract.
• 2 tsp. neutral flavored oil, such as canola
• 2 tsp. granulated sugar

Other Equipment needed: Popsicle Molds

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile slice fruit and place on parchment-line tray. Drizzle fruit with the oil and sugar and toss to combine. Roast for 20 minutes and then let cool to room temperature.

Once the fruit is cooled. Combine the Greek yogurt with the vanilla and honey. Stir well to combine. Add a small amount of yogurt to the popsicle mold. Then, layer in granola, then yogurt, then fruit and so on, until the molds are full. Add popsicle sticks to the molds and place in freezer until frozen.

 

Honey Pecan Sticky Buns

Recipe By Suzanne Virgilio

During the years when our bakery was open for retail, our sticky buns were always one of the most-demanded pastries by our customers. Though our customers loved them, making sticky buns is very labor intensive. Because of the long baking process, sticky buns were offered once a month at the bakery, and they would always sell out.

As you will see with this recipe, baking sticky buns is not for the faint of heart. But if you have the time and energy to bake them, you will be rewarded with a pastry that has unique flavor, texture and an aroma that will have you waiting by the oven until the timer finally goes off.

Pouring the topping into the muffin pan.

Ingredients for the cinnamon sugar filling

Spread the cinnamon sugar mixture onto the dough

Once the cinnamon sugar is spread on dough, sprinkle with granola.

Use a knife to make cut marks for equally-portioned buns

Wiggle the string under the dough and use it to cut into equal portions

Buns should be cut into equal portions

Once you’ve added the buns to the pan, place in warm area in kitchen and allow them to rise for an hour.

Withing the first few minutes of removing the buns from the oven, invert the pan onto a tray.

Honey Pecan Sticky Buns

Requires 1-2 days to complete

Oven 375 degrees

Bakes 25 to 30 minutes

Makes 1 dozen, 4–inch buns

Ingredients For Dough

• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water
•  ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp butter – softened
• 2 eggs – beaten
• 3 ¼ – 3 ½ cups flour

Ingredients For Sticky Topping

• 2/3-cup butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp light or dark corn syrup
• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1 cup Granola Factory Honey Pecan Granola

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup Granola Factory Honey Pecan Granola
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• flour for dusting work surface

Making The Dough

Use the ingredients that correspond with the “dough” section

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the yeast with 2 cups warm water. Stir until dissolved.
2. To the yeast/water mixture, add the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tsp. salt, 4 Tbsp. softened butter and 2 beaten eggs. Stir with a rubber spatula until well combined
3. Begin adding the flour 1 cup at a time and stir after each addition. Continue adding flour until you have a dough that is easy to handle. Dough will be soft and slightly sticky. You may only have to add 3 to 3 1/4 cups of flour.  Remember the rule for flour is…YOU CAN ALWAYS ADD MORE BUT ONCE IT’S IN THE DOUGH, YOU CAN’T TAKE IT OUT!
4. Spray the inside of a Ziploc bag with vegetable spray and place completed dough into bag. Press the air out of bag and seal.
5. Refrigerate dough several hours or overnight.

Preparing the Sticky Buns for Baking

Use the ingredients that correspond with the “sticky topping” section

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 1 dozen, 4–inch muffin pans with vegetable spray.
2. In a medium saucepan or microwave, combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Heat until butter is melted then stir to combine.  Divide mixture among 1 dozen muffin pans.
3. In a medium bowl, combine honey pecan granola and the cup of chopped pecans. Distribute granola mixture evenly into the muffin cups. Set aside.

 

Making the Filling and Rolling Out The Buns

Use the ingredient amounts that correspond with the “cinnamon sugar filling” section.

1. Divide dough in half; work with one half at a time.
2. Melt 1/2 cup butter and set aside.
3. In a small bowl combine sugar, granola and cinnamon – stir to combine
4. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 15 X 9 inch oblong.
5. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle with the granola/sugar mixture.
6. Starting at wide side, roll up dough, “jelly-roll” style, folding in edges to seal sides.
7. Roll dough tightly so buns stay rolled when cut
8. For cutting buns, first mark rolled dough into 6 equal portions. Now to cut bun, get a double length of sewing thread and tie into a knot so the dough keeps its double thickness. Slide thread under rolled dough and “criss-cross thread to make a clean cut of the dough.
9. Place cut buns on top of sticky topping in muffin pan.
10. Repeat steps with other half of dough.
11. Place muffin pans on parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in a warm part of kitchen and allow buns to rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
12. Once dough has risen, place in preheated oven and bake 25 – 30 minutes.
13. When baking is complete, carefully invert buns onto parchment-lined baking sheet, taking care to avoid the very hot sticky topping. *Invert the buns within the first few minutes of taking them out of the oven.

Now that the work is done, bite into one of the best-tasting pastries you’ve ever had!

 

Mixed Berry Crisp with Granola Crumble

by Dea Castrejon

Although I like to think of myself as a fairly healthy eater,  I love an indulgence every once in a while.  Sometimes you just need a little dessert after dinner, righhhhht?!

I know I cannot claim this granola berry crisp to be super healthy, but I will say that it is much lighter than some desserts.  And, it is perfect for a summer treat!

MIXED BERRY CRISP

*makes 2 small crisps

2 cups mixed berries

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

dash of almond extract

crumble topping

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 Organic Honey Pecan granola

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  In a mixing bowl, whip the butter and sugar together.  Add almond extract and flour and mix in well.  Finally, add the granola and fold in.  Set aside.

Wash berries and let set to dry.  In a mixing bowl, toss washed berries together with sugar and cornstarch.

In a small baking dish, layer berries until the pan is about 3/4 full.  Grab the bowl of crumble and sprinkle it on.  Pat down slightly.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until crumble starts to turn golden brown.  Allow the granola berry crisp to cool for 10 minutes before eating.

Caramel Apple Pie Bar with Granola Crumble

by Dea Castrejon

So, if you didn’t already know, here at the Granola Factory, we make the amazing, deliciously decadent and addictive Bethlehem Bars.  Yesssss, they are simply magnificent!  It is an oat shortbread cookie, topped with chocolate chunks, roasted pecans, homemade salted caramel, and shortbread crumbled on top!

Upon thinking up new granola recipes for this blog series, I thought it would be so great to do a bar!  And I am proud of this guy!  It is a salted caramel apple pie bar topped with a Native Berry granola crumble!  Do it…make it now!

CARAMEL APPLE PIE BAR WITH NATIVE BERRY GRANOLA CRUMBLE

Crust

2 sticks of unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 cups flour (reserve 1/2 cup for crumble)

Filling

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

Crumble

1/2 cup shortbread dough reserve

3/4 cup Native Berry Granola

Salted Caramel

2 cups granulated sugar

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon flaked sea salt

See posted link for directions on caramel: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/homemade-salted-caramel-sauce-recipe/

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add the flour until just incorporated.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the dough in a separate mixing bowl.  Add the granola to this and set in the refrigerator until later.

In a parchment lined baking dish (I used an 8×8 pan), press the shortbread dough into the bottom of the pan.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a golden tint starts to appear on the crust.

While the crust is baking, peal and slice your apples.  In a mixing bowl, combine apples, flour, sugar, and cinnamon.

Once crust is golden brown, add apple pie layer to the crust.

Then add the crumble on top.  Finish it off with a light drizzle of salted caramel (the recipe is posted in a link above).

Place the baking dish back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  Let cool for about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream and a drizzle of salted caramel!

Granola Battered French Toast

MOM’S FRENCH TOAST WITH A GRANOLA FACTORY TWIST

by Dea Castrejon

As I have mentioned many times, I was a picky child when it came to food growing up.  Nonetheless, my mother worked around my oddities and still managed to create my favorite dishes.

One of my favorites was her french toast.  Now, this is not your traditional, soft bread restaurant french toast.  In fact, my mother is 100% German, so we have always called it German Toast.  The biggest difference to me between traditional French toast and my mom’s German toast is the extra crunchy texture and dark color (not burnt, but dark!).  If this sounds interesting or delicious to you, then you may like todays recipe.  On account of 30 ways to granola, I have decided to take my mom’s french toast base and battered it with granola.  Let’s see how it turns out!

Granola French Toast

Sourdough bread loaf, sliced

1 cup All Natural Honey Pecan granola

1 egg

1/4-1/2 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

Let’s start by cracking an egg in a pie pan.  Add milk, cinnamon, and sugar into the same pan and mix together.  Place granola in another pie pan and set aside.

From here, we will dunk both sides of the bread into the cinnamon-milky-egg mixture.  Then, press the soaked bread into the granola.

Finally, heat up a pan on high with some vegetable or canola oil.  Once hot, add up to 2 slices of bread at one time.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes before flipping.  Repeat on the second side.

Serve with butter, syrup, and maybe some strawberries for garnish!  Yummm!

Granola Swirl Scones

By Suzanne Virgilio

Okay Granola Factory followers–those of you who have stayed at our B&B or perhaps visited our retail store when it was in operation are most likely familiar with our scones. Though this is not THE scone recipe (saving that one for the cookbook someday), these are fabulous! I came upon this recipe years ago in an issue of Food &Wine Magazine. It’s a combination of a scone and a cinnamon bun, no yeast required.

Cherry almond was one of our customer’s favorite scones, so I decided to incorporate our ever-popular cherry almond granola into this recipe. I think you’ll love the results! Feel free to experiment with our other varieties of granola. The honey pecan is equally as yummy in this recipe.

While the preparation may be a bit time intensive, take advantage of freezing the unbaked scones for a special breakfast surprise on a morning that warrants a delicious treat.

Here is my dough after processing and before adding the cream mixture. Create a well/hole in the middle of the dough, which is where you’ll pour your cream.

After adding the cream mixture, you should have a firm dough that is ready for shaping scones.

Recipe:

Bake Time: 15-20 minutes – depending on size

Makes approx. one dozen scones

Ingredients

Granola “Swirl”

• 2/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 4 Tablespoons Softened Butter
• 3/4 cup Granola Factory Cherry Almond Quinoa

Scone Ingredients

• 3 cups Flour
• 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoons Salt
• 1/2 cup Cold Butter cut into pieces (1 stick)
• 1 cup Cold Heavy Cream
• 1 whole Egg, Slightly Beaten
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ½ tsp Pure Almond Extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese – room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. soft butter
• Confectioners sugar to taste
• Milk to thin-to-drizzle consistency

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. For Granola “Swirl,” combine brown sugar, softened butter and Granola Factory Cherry Almond Granola to form soft crumbs; set aside.
3. In a food processor combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt; process in all of cold butter until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Place mixture in large bowl; make a well in the center.
4. Combine cream, egg and vanilla and almond extract, mix well with a fork; pour into the well and toss with flour mixture until firm dough forms.
5. Crumble half of the brown sugar/granola mixture into the dough and knead, leaving some streaks.
6. Lightly dust work surface with flour and turn dough onto it. Knead dough several times, sprinkling more brown sugar crumbs into each layer.
7. Gently shape dough into 1 -2 inch round. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out scones.
8. Place scones on a parchment lined sheet and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, depending on size of scones. (Baking may take more or less time, use your judgment by color of scones). You may also place the unbaked scones in the freezer and bake as many or few as you like at a time.
9. For cream cheese, drizzle combined softened cream cheese in medium bowl, blend in softened butter until completely combined. Add confectioner’s sugar to taste. Stir in enough milk to make mixture thin enough to drizzle over hot scones.

Granola Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Dea Castrejon

To me, chocolate chip cookies are an American classic!  I think it is very important to have a great chocolate chip recipe in your bag of baking tricks. I am sharing my chocolate chip recipe with you, but I am sure you can guess at this point that I have added our not so secret ingredient of granola.  Give these cookies a try…I guarantee you will want more than one!

GRANOLA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 1/4 cups flour

1 cup All Natural Honey Pecan Granola

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Begin by preheating oven to 375ºF.  In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Set aside.

Next, cream together the granulated sugar and brown sugar with the butter. Add the egg and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes).

Mix together the flour and butter-sugar mixture.  Lastly, fold in the granola and the chocolate chips.

I like to make big cookies, so grab a large chunk of dough and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet or baking stone.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges start to turn in color.  This will dish out firm but gooey-on-the-inside cookies!  Enjoy with a cold glass of milk!

 

Protein Smoothie bowl topped with Granola, Fruit, and Nuts

by Dea Castrejon

This last weekend, my husband participated in a relay marathon with some coworkers.  He happened to be running the first leg of the race, so the plan was for me to drop him off at the start line and pick him up at the end of his running stint.  It was also planned that the group of guys would be meeting at the finish line for “high-fives,” pictures, etc.

Anyway, I knew that it would be important to properly replenish the fluids and nutrients that my husband lost during the race, so being the wonderful wife that I am (at least I hope so!), I prepared my husband a “backyard bowl.”  I stole this term from the Santa Barbara eatery, ironically known as Backyard Bowls.  These bowls are typically filled with some sort of smoothie and then topped with an array of healthy supplements, such as seeds, fruit, or nuts.  Doesn’t this sound awesome!?!

This turned out to be the perfect treat, and it took little to no time to prepare!  Here is my rendition of a backyard bowl, but go crazy and mix it up with your favorite ingredients!

BACKYARD BOWLS

smoothie

*makes two large backyard bowls

1 banana

handful (about 1-2 cups) frozen strawberries

handful (about 1-2 cups) frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)

1 orange, juiced

1 scoop protein powder (I use a plant based protein)

1/2-1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)

toppings

1/2 cup Organic Honey Pecan granola

1 tablespoon dried cranberries

1 tablespoon raw pecans

1 tablespoon pistachios

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon chocolate chips

1/2 nectarine, thinly sliced

1 kiwi, sliced

Blend smoothie ingredients together and pour into 2 bowls.

Distribute topping evenly over the smoothie.  This is about as easy as it gets!  Grab a spoon and replenish!

Quinoa Salad with Organic Honey Pecan Granola

by Dea Castrejon

When we decided to start this blog series, “30 Ways in 30 Days,” it was much easier to come up with sweet ideas/recipes for granola.  This was expected.  The savory dishes, or recipes that didn’t revolve around baking something (although there is nothing wrong with that!), were a little more difficult or imaginative.

Well, one day when I was browsing pinterest for recipes, I came across this simple and healthy quinoa salad that caught my eye.  I couldn’t imagine that some of our Organic Honey Pecan Variety wouldn’t add the perfect salty and sweet crunch to this salad.  Besides a few additions or substitutions, this salad is a replica from the great blog, iFOODreal.

Granola, Avocado, Blueberry, Toasted Pecan, and Quinoa salad

*makes about 3 cups of cooked quinoa plus your additions

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups Organic Honey Pecan Granola

1 cup toasted pecans

3/4 cup blueberries

1 avocado

Honey Lime Basil Dressing

1 1/2 tablespoons basil, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

To start, bring 2 cups of water to boil in a pot.  Add 1 cup of quinoa, and simmer until thoroughly cooked (about 15 minutes).  Pour cooked quinoa into a mixing bowl and allow to cool.

 

 

While waiting, let’s make the dressing.  In a small ramekin, combine all ingredients in no particular order and mix together.

Next, let’s preheat the oven to 350ºF to toast the pecans unless you prefer to buy them already roasted.  Place in oven for only 5-10 minutes or until they are slightly darkened.

Finally, wash blueberries and set aside.  Cut up your avocado and put aside, as well.

Once your quinoa has cooled, mix all your ingredients together in a bowl including the dressing.  How easy and delicious right?  Serve and enjoy!

 

*Recipe obtained by http://ifoodreal.com/blueberry-avocado-and-toasted-pecans-quinoa-salad/.