MmMM.....Granola

Granola. One of my favorite things to have for breakfast. 

Seriously, I love granola and yogurt. It's a perfect breakfast and awesome snack. I usually buy granola which can actually be pretty pricey. So I made some (really who doesn't want to save money?). Honestly, I don't think I'll ever buy it again. It's really simple and you can play with the recipe to make the right granola for your taste buds.

I stumbled upon this recipe yesterday while on Twitter (follow me, @lynneck). Of course it came from my favorite, Martha. This recipe makes 4 cups. You can store it in an airtight container for up to two weeks (if you can keep it around that long)! I look forward to trying out different recipes and even making granola bars. Stay tuned!

Maple-Nut Granola

• 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together oats, pecans, almonds, salt, vegetable oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
2. Spread oat mixture on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let cool completely.

Pecan Snowballs

Another recipe to use up those pecans I have on hand (Thx, Melissa!)! 

I get well over 100 emails a days (and that's just to my personal account)...a lot of the emails I receive are daily recipe/food related emails. Trust me I love getting them because it really does give me last minute dinner ideas and a whole lot of inspiration! This recipe came to me from a  Real Simple "Christmas Cookie Count Down" email blast. I thought to myself, "How perfect, a recipe that got great reviews and uses pecans!" I have to admit, I read the recipe over and over because I found it really funny/strange that the recipe calls for no eggs! Perfect for people with an egg allergy, right? These pecan snowballs are really tasty and go great with a cup of coffee or tea! I have a feeling Santa would like them too! If you're not a fan of confectioners' sugar (but really who isn't?), the cookies taste really good without! 

1  cup  pecans 

1  cup  (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 3/4  cups  confectioners' sugar 

1/2  teaspoon  pure vanilla extract 

1/2  teaspoon  pure almond extract 

1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt 

2  cups  all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes. Let cool and roughly chop.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the pecans. Shape the dough into tablespoon-size balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Transfer half the balls to a second parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.
Place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Toss the warm cookies in the sugar and return to the baking sheet. Sift the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over the cookies before serving.

Maple Pecan Muffins

I'm using up those pecans! 

I wanted to make some sort of breakfast treat with the pecans. I've made maple pecan scones in the past and thought about making them again but really wanted to try something new. I came across this recipe while reading a bunch of blogs.The recipe comes from Nigella Lawson. 

I was really excited for the outcome of these muffins. I love the combination of maple and pecan. I enjoyed the muffins; however, I thought they were a little too dry. Could be from over mixing the batter although I was really careful not to? Let me know if you have better luck!

Maple Pecan Muffins
Makes 12

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill a 12-cup muffin tray with paper liners. Reserve 1/4th of the chopped pecans. Mix together the remaining pecans with flour, salt, wheat germ and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg, maple syrup, oil and vanilla.  Pour the liquids into the dry mixture. Gently fold to mix. The batter can have some lumps. Do not over mix because these muffins can get tough. Spoon batter into muffin cups.Chop the remaining nuts finely and mix with the brown sugar. Sprinkle a little of this mixture on top of each muffin.Bake for about 20 minutes until tester comes clean. The nut topping turns golden, but the muffins will be somewhat pale. Remove muffins to a cooling rack.

Nuts about Pecans!

Yesterday when I got home from work I was greeted by a nice box on my porch! My good friend, Melissa (I've talked about her before), had a box of goodies waiting for me. Isn't she so sweet! Apparently, she knows someone who knows someone who owns a pecan farm somewhere in the south. Among the goodies on the porch, she left me lots of PECANS! She knows I'm nuts about pecans (funny, right?)!

Any way, I have a lot of pecans in my kitchen now. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with them all but I have some ideas! Pecans, like most nuts, are great because they're good savory and sweet! Look out for some pecan recipes coming your way! I'll be using some up this weekend!

Thanks for the pecans, Melissa! You're awesome!! xoxo!

Baked Brie with Pecans

What's wine without cheese? I mentioned in my previous post that February club was all about wine!!! I'm a huge fan of brie...basically all cheeses! Brie is a great cheese to put out when you're having company. The presentation alone makes it look like you spent all day working on this simple dish. Brie is a soft cheese that comes in a shape of a wheel and can be cut into smaller triangle pieces.

I found this recipe and though it would be perfect for club. The roasted pecans and maple syrup really bring out the sweet taste of brie. This recipe comes from the one and only, Martha. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 small wheel of Brie or Camembert (about 9 ounces)
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces
• 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• crackers or sliced baguette, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cheese on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate; cool about 20 minutes.
2. While cheese cools, place nuts on a clean baking sheet; bake until toasted and fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle nuts over cheese.
3. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and maple syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat; simmer until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle warm sauce over slightly cooled cheese and nuts; serve with crackers or baguette.