Trail Cookies (Sugar-free, Gluten-free, Milk-free, Bad Fat-free)

And they're not gross! They are tasty, even. I promise. My kids have all approved.

In hopes of seizing the forecast sunny (!!) day this weekend, I decided to try out an idea for a healthy but hearty cookie to take along on our excursions.  It doesn't have any weird unnatural sweeteners, bad fats, or ingredients that are hard to find or expensive. My recipe made about 60 cookies and cost about $6 to make. Not bad eh?

I used homemade date paste instead of refined sugar to sweeten them. You can find the tutorial for making your own date paste here on Chocolate and Carrots. These cookies aren't as sweet as a typical oatmeal cookie (more in the realm of a muffin's sweetness), and they are full of delicious texture and moisture.

I'm so excited to pack these up for our hike this weekend! Now we won't be tempted to stuff our pockets with Halloween candy! 

Here's the recipe: 

Trail Cookies

Makes 5 dozen

Ingredients:

1.25 cups date paste (see link above for how to make your own.)

1.5 cups natural unsweetened peanut butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

4.5 cups rolled (old-fashioned) oats--gluten free

1 cup dried fruit, chopped to raisin-size (I used cranberries, raisins, and blueberries)

1 cup finely chopped nuts (I used pecans because I love them)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat date paste, peanut butter and coconut oil. Add in eggs and beat well.

3. Beat in vanilla, sea salt, and baking soda.  Mix in remaining ingredients 2 cups at at time.

4. Use a medium cookie scoop to place on cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Press down to flatten slightly. Bake 9-10 minutes. Cool and store in refrigerator or freezer. 

Here's a glimpse of the hike we took these cookies on this weekend.  My only complaint: I should have packed more! We gobbled them up!

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My Sister's Perfect Granola

While visiting my sister this summer, I had some of her homemade granola. I have had it before, but I was really struck this time at just how GOOD it is.  It is exactly the right texture: not too soft, but not so crunchy that it's work to chew. Its flavor is deliciously simple. The kind of taste you don't tire of.   And it is kind of addictive. It called to me as I walked past it in the kitchen, "Just a bite. I have fiber to soak up the calories. And I feel good to eat."  So I ate it. 

What I didn't know about her granola initially is that it is EASY to make!  Possibly the easiest granola I've ever made.  She has the whole process down to an art, which I will share with you here. She explained to me as she taught me to make it, that she has tweaked the recipe over several years into the perfect one it is today.

Here's how: 

Pre-heat oven to 300°. In an extra-large mixing bowl (or a large stock pot if you don't have a huge bowl), mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix with a whisk until completely incorporated. 

Spread on two large baking sheets/ jelly-roll pans.  Don't pat it down. Spread it to the ends, then make some "holes" in it to allow it to "breathe" as it cooks. This helps it cook more evenly and keeps it from sweating.   See what I mean by my sister perfecting her method?

Bake for 25 minutes. Stir it, moving granola on the outside of the pan to the inside, and inside to outside. Make more breathing holes. Return it to the oven to bake 25 more minutes.

Turn the oven off. Remove the pans from the oven and stir the granola again.  Now let it cool uncovered on your counter for 1-2 hours. Stirring it again while it's cooling is a good idea in moist climates.  Putting it away too soon can make it too soft.  Once it cools completely, store it in an air-tight container for 2-3 weeks. 

I love it with Greek Yogurt, milk, or just by the handful! 

My Sister's Perfect Granola

Makes fifty(50) 1/2 cup servings; Fills 1.75 large oatmeal canisters

Ingredients: 

1 large canister rolled oats

1 16oz container unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

2 cups raw, unsalted sunflower seeds

1.5 teaspoons salt

2.5 cups brown sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup canola oil

1.75 cups water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°.

2. In a very large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, peanuts, sunflower seeds, salt, and brown sugar. 

3. Using a whisk, stir in the vanilla, oil, and water. Stir until completely incorporated.

4. Spread on 2 large ungreased baking sheets (with sides).  Don't pat the mix down, and make openings in the mixture (showing the pan through) to allow air in as the granola bakes. 

5. Place in oven (layering on two racks is fine). Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven, stir well, then return to the oven (trade places if pans were on two racks). Bake an additional 25 minutes.

6. Remove from oven, and turn oven off. Stir  again, and allow to cool and dry on counter for 1-2 hours.  Stirring during cooling is good, especially in moist climates. 

7. Store in airtight containers for 2-3 weeks. (Ours never lasts that long, so this is an estimate :)). Fills 1.75 large oatmeal canisters.

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Purge the Pantry Trail Mix

I have what you'd call an "outdoorsy" family. We like to hike, bike, camp, and be in the woods.  

I also have a very HUNGRY family. And I love having snacks I can grab that I know will satisfy both their hunger and their taste-buds.   This trail mix does both, so it is a big winner!  

I am calling it "Purge the Pantry" Trail Mix because it is a great way to use up whatever you have in your pantry. For me, I needed to get some Cheerios eaten. I guess I've conditioned my kids (and hubby) to have too much of a sweet-tooth, so all the unsweetened cereal I buy goes untouched. 

I bought Cheerios at Costco recently, and they were just sitting in the pantry getting old; I needed to use them.  I also had several boxes of instant oatmeal packets that weren't going away fast enough.  A couple weeks ago, before we left for a hike,  I came up with a plan to combine the Cheerios with the oatmeal to make a snack mix, and it worked! Everyone loved it and asked for more!

It is super fast and easy, and it makes enough to fuel several kids for several outings!

 Here is your basic line-up: 6 cups of unsweetened cereal (Cheerios, Chex, Crispix, etc), 4 packets of flavored instant oatmeal, 1/2 cup liquid sugar (light corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, etc), 3 tablespoons of oil that is solid at room temp (butter, coconut oil). 

Add-ins: Pictured is just what I had in my pantry.  Your add-ins might include other nuts, dried fruit, M&Ms, chocolate chips (remember chocolate melts, though), pretzels, etc.  For mine, I added in about 1.5 cups of nuts and 1 cup of Craisins and raisins to the base recipe. What I love about this mix is it can be different every time you make it!

Here is the full recipe:

Purge the Pantry Trail Mix

Ingredients:

6 cups of dry, not-sugary breakfast cereal (Cheerios, Chex, Crispix, etc)

4 packets of single-serving flavored instant oatmeal (I like the maple-brown sugar or cinnamon spice)

1/2 cup of liquid sugar (light corn syrup, honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, etc)

3 tablespoons of butter (or other oil that is solid at room temperature)

2-3 cups of add-ins: nuts, pretzels, dried fruit, etc.

Wax paper for cooling

Directions:

1. Mix cereal, oatmeal, and any nuts or other dry ingredients in a large microwavable bowl. Set aside any dried fruit or chocolate to be added later.

2. Put liquid sugar and butter in a small microwavable bowl.  Microwave on high 30 sec to 1 minute (if it starts boiling pull it out). Stir until butter is all melted.  

3. Pour sugar-butter mix over dry mix and stir to coat.  Microwave this uncovered for 3 minutes, removing to stir every minute. 

4.  Stir any dried fruit into the mix.  Spread the mix on wax paper to cool.  Stir in chocolate add-ins after the mix has cooled.

5. Store in air-tight container or zipper-seal bags. 

Cooling on the wax paper.  This is a good time to take a taste!

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