Granola

I'm a bit of a purest. I don't know if it's the Scandanavian blood that runs through my veins or the fact that I grew up with a father who didn't want to eat anything other than meat and potatoes, but whatever the reason, I have a pallet that is not particularly refined. Therefore, I'm always looking for plain, simple foods to combine into something amazing. This morning I was craving a yogurt parfait... the strawberries in the fridge were begging to be used and I had time to kick back and bake a little. I came across this granola recipe the other day and thought I'd give it a try... really glad that I did!

Ingredients

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

5 cups oatmeal

1/2 cup dried milk

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375° Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Mix brown sugar, vegetable oil and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Pour syrup over dry mixture and mix until completely coated. Lay mixture onto a jellyroll pan and bake for 10-12 min stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and allow the granola to cool in the pan. You can add other ingredients to it at this point such as raisins, almonds, or dried cranberries, but as I said earlier, I'm a purest! When it is cool, store in an airtight container and use however you would like! This recipe makes about 5 cups : )

Cinnamon

I love cooking with cinnamon!!! Well, actually I just love cinnamon in general : ) My new favorite drink at Starbucks is a vent americano with 3 pumps white mocha and two pumps of cinnamon dolce! Heaven in a cup of coffee! So when I saw this recipe for cinnamon biscuits, I just couldn't help myself! Thank you Megan for this delicious little tidbit that is a great addition to my morning (and afternoon coffee).

Cinnamon Biscuits

Ingredients

Cinnamon Filling:

6 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

4 tsp shortening

4 tsp light corn syrup

Biscuits:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Cinnamon Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heavy Cream (enough to let icing reach the consistency of honey)

Dirctions:

Heat the oven to425°F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

Start by making the cinnamon filling. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, shortening and corn syrup with a fork until crumbly and evenly blended. Set aside.

Now it's time to make the biscuits! In a large bowl, whist together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make sure you sift your flour - it helps eliminate lumps. Pour in cream and mix quickly, just until combined. Dump the dough out on a well floured countertop and pat into a long, thin rectangle that is about 2 ft long.

Slice the rectangle into 16 equally-sized squares. Lay half the squares in the prepared baking pan - they can be molded into the right sized squares to fit the pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over each square. Cover with a second square of biscuit dough and lightly press the edges to seal. Repeat with each biscuit.

Bake for 14-16 min or until the biscuits are barely golden on the outside and just cooked through.

While you're waiting, make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, cinnamon, corn syrup, vanilla together. Add heavy cream in small amounts at a time, stirring often, until icing reaches the consistency of honey. Set aside.

Remove the biscuits from the oven and let cool slightly. Drizzle with cinnamon glaze and serve warm - preferably with coffee : )

Please note... don't try to substitute low-fat milk in this recipe. The first time I made these I used 2% milk because that is what I had in the fridge and the dough was far too gooey to use - embrace the fat my friends : )