Tag: granola
Nubby Granola Shortbread…More Than Cookies

Nubby Granola Shortbread…More Than Cookies

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Me.  The cookbook addict missed a book signing at Omnivore Books.  Literally, took my eye off the book and completely missed Natasha Pickowicz’s More Than Cake book signing event.

In my effort to curtail my cookbook acquisitions, I have limited my cookbook buying to books by POC authors.  There are exceptions of course, anything by Dorie Greenspan and if you own a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, Maine, and pub a new book, iykyk 😉, I’m all in.

Here is my weak defense.  Pickowicz, at first glance, is not an Asian last name, so the fact that she is part Chinese escaped me.  The title, More Than Cake also threw me off.  I’m not a big cake person, more of a cookies and pies gal.  As soon as I saw the word Cake…I tuned out, the MORE THAN got by me.

When I realized she was Asian and that her book contained WAY more than just cake, her book landed on my radar.  Then I found out she organizes amazing BAKE Sales for Planned Parenthood and Brigid Alliance and has raised thousands of dollars (lots of thousands), so I ordered a copy immediately.  It now has a spot on my cookbook shelf.

Holiday Traditions

Thanksgiving is in the books (no pun intended) which means a couple of things in our house.  First, I play Patrick Stewart’s version of A Christmas Carol which also kicks off 24-7 holiday music in our house, I am so stoked.  Second, time to plan those holiday cookie boxes!  I pulled out More Than Cake and found her recipe for Nubby Granola Shortbread.  Shortbread, y’all know I LOVE shortbread.  Time for a test run.

These crispy, buttery bites are made in a food processor.  A little pulse magic and the dough is done. How easy is that?  Plus, shortbread cookies travel well and keep longer than most cookies. These are delicious, lighter, and crunchier than traditional shortbread, perfect with a cuppa coffee or tea.  I made a batch of Jule’s Granola which worked perfectly in these cookies.  Flecks of dried fruit from the granola added a bit of color and sweetness to the shortbread, an unanticipated bonus.

PLUS, I’ll fill cute canning jars with the remaining granola to give away.  Oh this cookie is definitely going in the holiday cookie box.

Tips

  • Use your favorite granola, store-bought or homemade. You don’t have to make your own.  I love making granola so NBD.
  • Using a food processor makes quick work of the dough.  It starts with chilled butter (yay no waiting for butter to soften).

  • Rice flour makes for a fine texture, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth-cookie. Bob’s Red Mill has rice flour and can be found at larger supermarkets, Whole Foods, and online.
  • No rolling out dough, the dough is pressed into the pan.  The recipe can be cut in half and baked in an 8×8 pan.

  • The tricky part of this recipe is the baking time.  Rice flour produces a drier cookie than AP flour therefore try not to overbake these cookies.  After removing the pan from the oven, lightly score the dough and allow to cool.  Once cooled, cut through the score marks.  Sprinkle with flaky salt and dust generously with powdered sugar to finish cookies.

A buttery, crunchy, gluten-free shortbread cookie that keeps and travels well.  This is a keeper.

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Nubby Granola Shortbread

This breakfast-inspired shortbread is a great way to use your favorite granola. It adds a nice crunch to the buttery cookie. Sandy ultrafine rice flour makes a melt-in-your-mouth fine texture. It's delicious!
Course cookies, granola, shortbread
Cuisine American, Asian-American
Keyword granola, Shortbread
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 27 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups your favorite granola
  • 3/4 cup walnut pieces pecans or almonds would work but lack that characteristic tannic edge of walnuts
  • 2 cups white rice flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks) cut into 1/2-inch cubes, well chilled

Finish

  • flaky sea salt
  • powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F. Fit a sheet of parchment paper into a quarter-sheet pan (9 by 13 inches). Lightly mist the parchment with cooking spray.
  • In a food processor, combine the granola, nut pieces, white rice flour, granulated sugar, and kosher salt, and pulse until the mixture is pebbly and fine.
  • Add the butter and pulse another 8 to 10 times, until the mixture feels like damp, coarse breadcrumbs. The butter should almost disappear into the dry ingredients but not be taken so far that the dough is clumping and gathering around the blade.
  • Scatter the dough evenly in the prepared sheet pan. Use your knuckles to lightly press the crumb into an even layer. It should be about 1/2 inch thick. Do not apply too much pressure, as this would make the shortbread dense and gummy.
  • Bake until the edges of the shortbread are lightly browned, and the center feels soft but cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes (see tip).
  • Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the surface with flaky sea salt. While the shortbread is still hot, use a small knife to score it into 24 squares.
  • Let cool completely, then cut the cookies, still in the pan, along the scored lines and dust with powdered sugar.

Notes

The pan of shortbread can be held in the freezer for up to 1 month and baked from frozen.
The shortbread can be stored, tightly wrapped at room temperature, for up to 1 week.
TECHNIQUE TIP: It's tricky to tell when an unfamiliar recipe is done in your oven. Never throw away a seemingly botched batch of anything — there's always another purpose for it. If the baked shortbread tastes undercooked or feels gummy, invert the shortbread onto a clean sheet pan, so the crumbs spill out. Break it up with your fingers and bake again at 325 F for 10 minutes. Now you have instant streusel. Is the shortbread overbaked and dry? Tip the crumbs into a food processor and blend until fine and add big handfuls to your next layer cake.
Jule’s Granola

Jule’s Granola

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All things southern is the line my daughter uses on her posts from Houston, Texas.  Yes, my Cali girl is now a transplanted Texan, temporarily, hopefully.  She is finishing her 1st year at Rice University and loving it. I now have a vested interest in Texas. This means when I visit her my first question (well after how are you?) is where and what do we eat?!  Houston has great food….very diverse, Tex-Mex, great Pho, fusion, taco trucks, you name it-Houston has it.   Check out the article on the Houston food scene in the Washington Post, Best Food Cities in America.

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I started following the blog, The Homesick Texan, a couple of years ago (hmm portent of things to come?).  A transplant to New York City, the author takes us on a culinary tour of her home state.  Great recipes and entertaining writing have led to 2 cookbooks and quite a few followers. She waxed poetically in her blog about her Uncle Austin’s Granola and I was happy to find the same recipe, but in a smaller quantity in her 2nd book.  The intro to the book’s granola recipe describes Uncle Austin’s Granola and how the difference might be the love he puts in it, yadayadayada.  Confused by the different proportions of the ingredients between the 2 recipes I sent an e-mail to her.  Her response was “the proportions are different because they’re different recipes” end of the reply.

Ok, my bad, your intro led me to believe it was the same recipe.  I see she has adopted a “New York attitude”, despite being a Homesick Texan.

Lucky Me I Have a  Go-To Granola Recipe

The granola recipe in her book is ok. The amount of oil and honey creates a very wet mixture. During baking, I lowered the temp to 325 in order to dry the granola without it browning too much. Maybe Uncle Austin’s Granola on her blog is better but I think I will stick to my go-to granola recipe, Jules’s Granola.  Try it, I think you’ll like it.

Granola Tips

The base recipe is old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, maple syrup, oil and vanilla. From there you can vary the add-ins.  I love unsweetened coconut flakes, and any kind of nut works, such as pecans, almonds or pistachios.  Add pepitas and even a bit of sesame seeds as a portion of the nuts (2-3 tablespoons).  Dried fruit such as a mixed berry medley of raisins, dried cranberries, and blueberries or an island-inspired blend of mango, papaya, and pineapple top my list of favorites.  You do you and add whatever you like.

Adding dried milk powder adds a toasty richness and a touch of sweetness.  Though not a whole lot, it does add protein too.  It’s optional but if you have milk powder, by all means, add it.

There are two camps of granola folks, the loose, clump-free one and the clusters camp.  I like clusters or clumps of granola.  The secret is to compress the oats before baking and leaving the pan alone while baking-no stirring!  Place another baking sheet on top of the sheet of oats and…wait for it, step on it. Yep, serious compression.  This will smoosh the oats together and allow them to bake as clusters.  For loose granola, skip this and stir the oats occasionally during baking.

For the holidays, we fill glass jars with our homemade granola to gift to friends and co-workers.  The tags on the jars include a note “Return the jar for a refill next year, xxoo Santa”.  Invariably, the jars all come back.

It’s great sprinkled on top of yogurt and fresh berries or in a bowl with milk.  My favorite way is by itself for the hand-to-mouth toss, but in this world of transparency….gotta tell ya, granola is high in calories, so be judicious…if you’re skipping that burger lunch, have at it, if not, go easy!

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Jules's Granola

My favorite granola of old-fashioned oatmeal, maple syrup, brown sugar, and chock full of fruits and nuts!
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword granola, oatmeal
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup +1 T honey
  • 4 t vanilla
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil substitute coconut oil or butter for vegetable oil, up to 1/4 cup, max.
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-2 tbsp powdered milk optional
  • 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon optional
  • 5 cups old fashioned oatmeal yeah, like the one with the Quaker on the box
  • 2 cups nuts I use pecans and/or almonds. pistachios also work well. Pumpkin seeds or pepitas can replace 1/4-1/2 cup of nuts as an option
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Add-ins after baking

  • 2 cups mixed dried fruit cut into small pieces cranberries, mango, pineapple, blueberries, raisins, cranberries or my fav, dried blueberries

Instructions

  • Mix first 5 ingredients and powdered milk if using, then add oatmeal, nuts, and coconut flakes and mix well.
    Spread on a lipped baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment or silicon mat and cover with the same sized baking sheet. Press down firmly to compress mixture, this is how you get clumps of granola. My secret, I step on the top pan to smash the granola down-it works! 
    Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven for 10 minutes, bake again for another 12 minutes until golden brown. 
    Let cool in pan. Using a spatula or dough scraper lift granola off the sheet. Break granola into desired-size clumps.
    Add dried fruit.
    Store in an airtight container.