The past three days have consisted of nonstop baking.
It was raining, I had Christmas songs playing and I was prancing around the kitchen in my apron making cookies like it was nobody’s business. My life has become a total cliche.
And I love it.
First off, finals are over. This semester is DONE. I wanted to run Mt.Everest last Saturday after my biology final. I was enraged with excitement. I have now taken that happy energy into the kitchen. I have honestly never felt so relaxed and at ease baking away for others.
I’m used to baking stuff for myself. I have a hard time sharing sometimes. It’s something I’m working on…but Christmas is awesome because I get to go all out for my people. Honestly I think home made gifts completely override all other store bought things.
Homemade takes time. It takes a little more effort and in my corny opinion, love. Takes a lotta love. I’ve literally spent the last 72 hours baking. Relaxing at night. Sleeping like a baby. Working out in the morning. Then the bulk of my day is spent decorating cookies, concocting recipes and overdosing in eggnog glaze.
That takes love my friends. All the while I’m doing this I’m thinking of cute ways to package everything and all the people I’m going to give them to. Gahh I love the holidays! I eat this stuff up. Handing out all the homemade goodies to my neighbors, cousins and friends. It’s so fun! Seriously if you want to feel good and do something for others, this is the ticket.
Plus you get to save a little extra somethin somethin for yourself. All that baking, you deserve a cookie or two or five. If you need a break from cookie overload and want something sweet this granola will get the job done. It’s a festive flavor with gingerbread and the chocolate adds a yummy sweetness. We all need to get our sugar fix during the holidays, might as well balance it out with something healthy.
Granola is of course a great DIY holiday gift. It’s simple, tasty and people tend to appreciate a healthy treat. If you want to save money on jars, try saving your peanut butter jars after you have finished them. Wash them out, clean the labels off and you got a jar to hand out! Simply tie Christmas ribbon around it and attach a tag. How easy is that? And cost efficient. Also a great excuse to eat up a jar of peanut butter…Happy Holidays!
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Chocolate Gingerbread Granola {DIY Christmas Gift}
Ingredients
- 8 cups raw oats
- 2 cups pecans, chopped
- 1 cup peanuts, chopped
- 1 Tbsp: cinnamon + nutmeg
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup chocolate peanut butter*
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit.
- Melt peanut butter, molasses, maple syrup and almond milk in a skillet over medium heat until well combined.
- Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, except chocolate chips. Pour peanut butter mixture into dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Spread out granola onto parchment lined baking sheets. I had to use about 2 large baking sheets since I made a big batch.
- Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, turning granola every 10-15 minutes.
- Let cool before mixing in chocolate chips and distributing into jars.
Notes
I used Peanut butter and Co Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter which worked great but any chocolate peanut butter will do. Nutella would probably work wonders.
