Granola Gone Stale? 3 Creative Ways to Bring Granola Back to Life in the Kitchen
Even the best of granola has its good and not so good days. You know what I mean: that moment when you realize your granola isn’t as toasty and crunchy as it used to be — instead you find yourself staring at a bowl of slightly soft and not nearly as delicious oats. Lucky for you (and me) I have a few ideas up my sleeve for other ways to use granola in the kitchen.
Because I own a granola company, I’m always looking for creative ways to use granola in the kitchen and in the past few weeks as we’ve been working on some Recipe cards and a Recipe page for our website, I’ve stumbled across a few winners. In looking back, it’s obvious I veer towards the sweet side of things here; I’d certainly love to hear if any of you have any savory ideas for ways you use granola in your home kitchens!
1. Granola Bark: Recently on my own blog A Sweet Spoonful, I made a dark chocolate granola bark inspired by a recipe I discovered in Food and Wine. It was one of those recipes where I a) couldn’t stop eating it and b) couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t thought to marry dark chocolate and granola before. It’s the perfect way to use up lifeless granola — or just any granola, and a great way to experiment with nut and seed combinations you may be curious or excited about. In my version, I tossed in some dried coconut and goji berries, but you could certainly use whatever you have laying around in the pantry. If white chocolate is more your speed, then try Emma’s strawberry-almond granola bark.
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2. Granola Chocolate Chip Cookies: One easy, no-fail way to wake up tired granola is by mixing it into chocolate chip cookie batter. This recipe in particular is nice because it’s pretty basic and straightforward. It has few bells and whistles — except, of course, the addition of granola. I’ve been mixing in our Hazelnut Cacao Nib flavor into these cookies and subbing in half whole-wheat flour and they’re truly out of this world.
→ Get a Recipe: Granola Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Simple Berry Crisp: Right in time for spring and summer baking, this fruit crisp recipe is almost easy enough to memorize. Use your favorite berries or fruit, a little sugar, and throw together this quick and simple topping using your favorite granola and a bit of butter. We use this recipe when traveling in the summer when in need of a quick and easy dessert — as much as I tend to be a recipe-follower and don’t often work without one, I can now make this one in my sleep.
→ Get a Recipe: Simple Berry Crisp