Nobody's Gonna Lay a Finger on My Butterfinger

I love granola. It is sweet and salty and crunchy and delicious. Fo' reals. And it works as breakfast, as a snack, and as dessert. And it is great on a hike! Awesomesauce all around.

About a year ago I really got into granola, but I was buying the store-bought kind. It was good, but expensive. A friend from work asked me why I didn't just make it. I wasn't really sure. I'm usually keen on trying new things, but I wasn't sure that I would be able to make a delicious granola. At his insistence, I decided to give it a try. It turned out great!

But I wasn't done. It doesn't take long to realize how much you can experiment when making granola. This recipe is born out of one of those experiments. And a love of peanut butter.

Full disclosure: This is granola, yes, but do not be fooled. Granola packs a lot of energy, which means it is great for taking on a hike, but it is also great for traveling to the buttockular region, if you know what I mean. It is delicious, has some healthy elements to it, and it is definitely better than eating a lot of other foodstuffs. However, I wouldn't classify this as a "health food". Highly addictive, use at your own risk!

2 cups of quick cooking oats (I use gluten free from Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup all natural peanut butter

1/4 cup canola oil (plus more depending on consistency)

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons of milled flax seeds

1 hefty pinch of unprocessed sea salt (or more if you are a salt fiend like me)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

1. Mix the oats, sunflower seeds, sugar, flax seeds, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Add the honey and peanut butter and mix thoroughly (the peanut butter has a tendency to clump, so either use a mixer or get your hands in there)

3. Add the oil and mix again.

4. At this point, you need to look at your mixture: Are all of the oats coated? If not, add more oil until they are all coated.

5. Spread the oat mixture all over a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 before noshing!

Please note that this granola does not get very "crispy" like traditional granola does. But it will be crunchy. My favourite way to eat this so far is sprinkled over top of our homemade applesauce for breakfast! De-frickin-lish!

You could also try adding some chocolate chips to the mix once it is out of the oven if you'd really like it to taste like a butterfinger chocolate bar! Or some peanuts to make it super peanut-y. It's all up to you really. But I do hope you enjoy it as much as we do here!

Enjoy!

{There's money in that banana stand}