Granola Cakes

About a week ago, I created a recipe for the snack mentioned in Where the Tunnel Ends: granola cakes! This was adapted from a different recipe my mom found online - I just made some changes to get it to be like the way the cakes were described in the book. Perfect for an afternoon snack!

Ingredients:

• 2--1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

• 1/2 cup peanut butter

• 1/2 cup honey

• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt (or just regular salt)

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond extract, if you need a substitute)

• 1 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Spread the oats, chopped nuts and coconut on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. When the coconut is just lightly golden, remove the pan and let it cool.

3. In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut oil, peanut butter, honey, sea salt and cinnamon over medium-low heat until the peanut butter is runny. Stir to mix.

4. Remove the saucepan from the stove and stir in the vanilla.

5. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine.

6. Fill some muffin tins about halfway with the batter (I used silicone muffin pans). Pack down firmly so it doesn't crumble when you take it out.

7. Put in oven and bake for 20 minutes.

8. Cool for at least 30 minutes before gently taking the granola cakes out of the muffin tray.

9. Lastly, enjoy!

Side note: The muffin pan I used is silicone, so when the granola cakes are done baking and cooled, it's easy to gently pop them out. When the cakes come out of the oven, they will seem soft and under-baked. This is normal. Give them time to cool and harden and they'll be nutty and delicious!