Peanut Butter Honey Granola

When you start training for a marathon, you need to make a decision. Are you going to run in the morning before work, or at night? Since I’m a morning person, it was an easy answer. Not so much for Katie. While she loves running with me, she hates mornings. So we maybe run about half of our runs together.

Running in the morning is great. It’s still nice and cool outside, the sun is just rising, and you get it over and done with for the day. The only problem is that when you start to run 8-9 km per day, your run takes up an extra 45 minutes of your morning. And since I’m the guy that usually makes breakfast around here, that’s puts a bit of extra pressure on me. So I’ve started trying to figure out ways to make quick easy breakfasts. Then one day Katie said “Jay, why don’t you make your own granola?”

Brilliant. Just add fruit and yogurt and you’re ready to go.

I started scouring the internet for the perfect granola recipe, trying out a few to see what I liked best. I soon found that granola, like most dishes, is unique to whoever is making it. Some people like a bit more crunch, while others want less pecans. I’ve made my granola over and over trying to find that right balance, and it’s honestly all about feel. With that said, the amount below are estimates.

Peanut Butter Honey Granola

2 cups almonds, chopped
2 cups walnuts, chopped
2 cups pecans, chopped
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup organic peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix together the almonds, walnuts, pecans and rolled oats with your hands. Heat the peanut butter and honey over medium heat, stirring constantly to mix together and avoid burning, about 8-10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 200F. Then pour the peanut butter honey mixture over the nuts, and stir to coat. The peanut butter and honey will add sweetness and flavour, but will also act as your binding agent, helping clump your granola together.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread out your granola mixture evenly across it and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon. Put the granola in the oven, and keep an eye on it. Remove from oven every 5 minutes to stir the granola around. It will burn very easily, so stirring and flipping it every 5 minutes is crucial. After about your third time turning the granola, sprinkle with the other half of the cinnamon.

Bake for about 30 minutes in total, until the granola begins to clump. Serve with greek yogurt and fresh berries. Outstanding.