PB & J Granola Volcanoes

Ezra is my little science guy. Mateo likes science too, but Ezra is on a science kick. He watches Sid the Science Kid over and over. He fills my mason jars with all kinds of things in the name of estimation and revels in discussing decay. 

At the end of the last day of a long week, with a jar of homemade strawberry jam in his hand, he asks me if I can help him make a volcano. We've made one before - one of those erupting ones with baking soda and vinegar. I didn't have the heart to say no, especially when he has been so enthusiastic about science. That same day he had taken another one of my jars, filled it with ice, and put it out on the porch to see how long it would take the ice to melt. I gotta get this kid a science journal. 

Anyway, I said yes. Since he wanted to use jam for the lava I suggested we make mini volcanoes out of peanut butter granola.

I used a simple no bake granola recipe from Life Made Sweeter. It comes together in a flash.



The boys pressed the sticky concoction into little volcanoes.



We popped them into the freezer for an hour or so to firm up. Then the boys filled them with a couple of teaspoons of homemade strawberry jam making sure to let some of it trickle down the sides like lava.



These little volcanoes bare a slight resemblance to bloody stumps (forget I said that), but they are so good. They were a little too sweet for me so I think I'll "experiment" with putting in 1/3 cup honey next time instead of the 1/2 cup the recipe calls for. Hopefully it will still stick together okay.

I highly recommend adding a dash of cinnamon to the peanut butter granola. Throw in the tart strawberry jam and you have a match made in heaven. My homemade jam is a quick recipe that cooks up much looser than store-bought, but we all like it and it worked great for this tasty treat. I use this recipe to mix and match whatever fruit is in season and store my jars in the freezer instead of going through the whole canning process. I also love that I can manipulate how much sugar to add when I cook up a batch.

PB & J Granola Volcanoes

(Original recipe from Life Made Sweeter)

INGREDIENTS

2 1/3 cups whole oats

1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp almond meal

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut

pinch of salt

dash of cinnamon

2/3 cup peanut butter

½ cup honey (maybe less)

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup strawberry jam (my homemade recipe follows)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients.

2. In a microwave safe bowl combine peanut butter and honey and microwave 30 seconds. Add vanilla and stir well to combine.

3. Add peanut butter mixture to oat mixture and stir until well coated.

4. Take 1/3 cup portions and form into volcanoes with a hole in the center that doesn't go all the way through (otherwise your jam will leak out the bottom). You also want to press the granola together firmly so that it packs together tightly.

5. Freeze for an hour until firm.

6. Fill each volcano with about 2 tsp jam letting some drip over the side.

Homemade

Strawberry Jam

(Original recipe from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom)

INGREDIENTS

16 oz strawberries, hulled and sliced

½ cup to ¾ cup sugar

2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice, fresh or bottled

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat all ingredients in a medium heavy bottomed pot on medium high heat.

2. When mixture comes to a boil, set a timer for 10 minutes.

3. Stir occasionally and smash strawberries against side of pot with a wooden spoon. Lower heat if jam looks in danger of boiling over.

4. Cool completely and pour into jars. Store in fridge or freeze.

* This recipe is easily doubled.