Blackberry Granola Mini Breakfast Pies

These Blackberry Granola Mini Breakfast Pies are simply adorable. I made them for Nora's second birthday and she absolutely loves them. They're semi-healthy and perfect for any special breakfast or brunch.

So, like I said, these puppies are semi-healthy. Since I was making them for my baby girl I used pure maple syrup in the blackberry filling and in the granola topping to keep things natural and lower in sugar. Feel free to add more sweetener to the filling. Just mix and taste adding in more maple syrup until it's as sweet as you like.

Grain Free Granola

So I've been making a grain free version of my favorite granola recipe that I just had to share with y'all. We were playing around with the idea of going grain free for a while last year. While we didn't make the switch, we did fall in love with this mostly nut version of our favorite granola.

Try this grain free version of our favorite granola recipe!

This version is lower carb, higher protein, and we are in total nut heaven over here. The hubster eats this granola almost every day over plain whole milk yogurt. How he can eat the same thing every morning is beyond me, but at least it's a delicious and healthy meal.

A Loverbee Staple: Granola

I love granola. The whole family does. Between breakfast and snack times a batch will only last us two or three days. As soon as Mateo can smell it baking in the oven he's on the prowl. He often sneaks pieces as it cools and then goes in for a handful when I'm not looking.

Maple Walnut Granola

This crunchy and healthy treat is one of our favorite snacks year round. We usually eat it with milk like a bowl of cereal. Every once in a while we eat it over homemade yogurt. We also gift it around the holidays.

I got my basic recipe from Better Homes and Gardens several years ago. I've totally modified it so that it's gluten free and high in protein.

Honey, coconut, pecan granola awaiting its banana chips

This recipe is so much fun to play with. Mix and match different nuts. Use different spices. Stir in mini chocolate chips after baking. Allergic to nuts? Sub more oats and coconut. Don't have almond meal or flax seed meal? Use wheat germ or bran. Don't like melting coconut oil? Use vegetable oil. Out of oats? Try quinoa. The possibilities are endless.

A double batch to get us through the week - I hope.

Here are my two favorite versions.

Maple Walnut Granola

INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole oats (certified gluten free for gluten free eaters)

1 cup walnuts

½ cup slivered almonds

½ cup sunflower seeds, unroasted and unsalted

¼ cup almond meal

¼ cup flax seed meal

½ cup pure maple syrup

2 Tbsp melted coconut oil

2 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Combine syrup, oil, and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir until well combined.

4. Dump wet ingredients into dry and mix well until all coated.

5. Dump onto lined baking sheet and spread out evenly.

6. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip sections of granola until all flipped and bake another 10 minutes.

7. Cool completely.

8. Store in an air-tight container.

Banana Pecan Granola

INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole oats (certified gluten free for gluten free eaters)

1 cup pecans

½ cup slivered almonds

½ cup unsweetened coconut

¼ cup almond meal

¼ cup flax seed meal

½ cup honey

2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ginger

1 to 1 1/2 cups banana chips, broken up a little

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine all the dry ingredients (minus banana chips) in a large bowl.

3. Combine honey, oil, and spices in a small bowl and stir until well combined.

4. Dump wet ingredients into dry and mix well until all coated.

5. Dump onto lined baking sheet and spread out evenly.

6. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip sections of granola until all flipped and bake another 10 minutes.

7. Immediately add banana chips and stir to combine.

8. Cool completely.

9. Store in an air-tight container.

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.