No-Bake Granola Cookies

There are times when I crave sugar. My husband calls those days weekdays. But, for Lent, I gave up all things candy and so, I'm left with a sugar void.

I may have given up candy, but I haven't given up cookies. Especially ones that are made from that healthy, no-added fat granola. I won't lie, these aren't healthy cookies, but they aren't as bad for you as they could be.

And really, who cares? They're delicious, plus you get to use up leftovers!

 I whipped up a fresh batch of this stuff yesterday, opting for a tropical variation.

For the orchard fruits and nuts, I swapped just about everything out and used dried pineapple and mangoes, a bit of candied ginger, some pumpkin seeds and some chopped macadamia nuts. I used ¼ cup of maple syrup and ¼ cup of coconut milk. And, because I used the coconut milk, the whole thing took about 35 minutes to cook, in order for the excess liquid to evaporate.

It's not as colourful a granola as my last batch, but man, is it tasty!

I also lucked in to some huge coconut flakes, which really makes a difference in texture. Ultimately, you can use whichever granola you happen to have on hand, but, given the amount of sugar used to bind these cookies together, I recommend using a granola with minimal sweeteners!

No Bake Granola Cookies

(makes about 20)

Ingredients

¼ cup butter (or Earth balance buttery spread to make this vegan)
¼ cup milk (dairy, coconut, soy, rice, almond - your choice)
2/3 cup sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp coconut extract*
2 cups granola

* if you're not using a granola with a prominent coconut flavour, you may wish to replace the coconut extract with almond extract, or remove it all together and have ½ tsp of vanilla extract instead.

Directions

1. Melt butter with milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in extracts.

2. Stir in granola, mixing thoroughly to coat. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Dip fingers in water and pat into desired shape. Let cool on baking sheet.

There's no need to aim for perfection here! Aim for free form shapes, I say.

Orchard Fruit Granola

My husband is a granola fiend. I swear, the man goes through boxes of cereal like nobody's business. Best I can tell, he just inhales the contents.

As I had just purchased a ton of dried fruit from Nuts Online (I do highly recommend them, in spite of some serious Purolator issues), I really wanted to use them in something that would showcase the bright flavours.

Granola seemed to be the way to go! I'd left most of the tropical fruit (pineapple and mango) at work (where I had to have the shipment sent because Purolator is ridiculous), but had lots of orchard fruit on hand.

One of the best things about this recipe is it's very flexible. Vaguely maintain the oats-nuts-fruit ratio, and you have an infinite number of possibilities at your fingertips. You could stir in vanilla or almond extract (mix into the maple syrup) or replace half of the sweetener with a nut butter if you wanted. Don't like coconut? Forget about it.

As it stands, please note that this recipe doesn't result in clumps of granola, but evenly toasted and sweetened flakes.

Orchard Fruit Granola

(adapted from Mark Bittman/NY Times)

Ingredients

3 cups rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)
¼ cup almonds, chopped
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
2-3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
¼ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup maple syrup (use less if you prefer a less sweet version. I wouldn't dip below ¼ cup though)
2 dried peaches halves, chopped
2 dried pear halves, chopped
¼ cup each sour cherries and rainier cherries, chopped
  
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300º.

2. Place oats in a large pot set over medium heat. Toast, stirring constantly for about 3-4 minutes, or until oats are fragrant. Add nuts and seeds, and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Stir in coconut and cinnamon and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat, and stir in maple syrup.

3. Pour mixture into a 9"x13" baking pan and put in oven for about 20 minutes. Be sure to stir the mixture a couple of times throughout those 20 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and add mixed fruit. Stir to distribute and let mixture cool in pan on a rack. Transfer to an airtight container when at room temperature.