Soft Chewy Cookie Granola Clusters

A super soft and chewy granola. It tastes almost like and oatmeal cookie but it’s loaded with all kinds of nutritious ingredients like walnuts, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and almonds. This granola isn’t like any other granola I’ve ever made. It’s perfectly sweet and sticks together like a delicate granola bar/oatmeal cookie. 

It’s been far too long since I shared a granola recipe with you.  But I’ve secretly been making different granola recipes all along. Snacking on them helped me get through all my studying for exams. I have always been a big fan of making granola at home.  Not only is it extremely cheap, but homemade granola is really really (really!) easy. And you have complete control over the ingredients and the texture.

You see, I have been trying to create the perfect granola recipe. I had the CVille Cluster Granola at the Great Harvest in Charlottesville for the first time a while back and feel in love with the texture. And then when I started working at the new Great Harvest where I live, I thought, Yes! I won’t have to stock up every time we pass through Charlottesville. But there’s bad news, not every Great Harvest sells the same things… the owners get to choose what to sell and what not too, not the employees. 😉 So I was determined, and I mean determined, to figure out how to get that cookie-tasting/clustery granola. And boy did I hit the jackpot.

This is my current favorite omg-I’m-starving snack. It’s so flavorful and chewy. I’ve been grabbing it by the handful way too often, and now that I’ve said that out loud I realize I need to find another home for it. You know, other than my kitchen counter where it tempts me daily  hourly.

I debated calling this recipe “granola crack,” rather than granola clusters but I refrained from doing so because I was afraid this post would end up in a lot of junk email inboxes. But YOU GUYS. This granola isn’t like any other granola I’ve ever made. It is perfectly sweet and sticks together like a very delicate granola bar/oatmeal cookie. It’s kind of doughy and a bit raw tasting (in the best way possible way). SO yummy.

The only downside to this granola? It is so addicting!

But there have been worse things in life.

This granola tastes like an oatmeal cookie but it’s packed with all things good for you! Everything from almonds to flaxseeds! There’s about 1/2 cup of peanut butter that goes in, which gives the granola an awesome subtle peanut butter flavor and also adds lots of protien.

Before this granola goes in the oven (and after it comes out, for that matter) it resembles an oatmeal cookie blob. But no worries, that’s what it’s supposed to look like. Because, after all that’s the texture I was going for. If you like the taste but not the texture, you could easily just cut the granola into bars after it cools. But why would you want to do that when you could serve it on yogurt, with milk, drizzle with warm peanut butter, sprinkle it on ice cream, or munch away while plopped on the couch after dinner on a Wednesday night. It’s ok, I won’t judge.

After the granola has cooled, you can break the granola up into as little or as big of clusters as you prefer. In my opinion, the big clusters are the best. 🙂 The granola will continue to cool and come together even after you crumble it. So just be patient!

And if you want granola bars instead of granola clusters, the only thing you would do differently is cut instead of crumble. But be sure to allow enough cooling time. The cooler they are, the easier it is to cut them.

P.S. If you are feeling naughty… you could even make pancakes with this granola and chopped pecans mixed into the batter!! My mom made some for us the other day and topped them with a drizzle of melted peanut butter. OH my gosh. Try it.

Soft Chewy Cookie Granola Clusters

A super soft and chewy granola. It tastes almost like and oatmeal cookie but it's loaded with all kinds of nutritious ingredients like walnuts, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and almonds. This granola isn't like any other granola I've ever made. It's perfectly sweet and sticks together like a delicate granola bar/oatmeal cookie.

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Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup salted butter cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter any kind is fine
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup walnuts chopped
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds shelled
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 2 Tablespoons flaxseeds

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 and coat a large baking sheet with non-stick spray and flour.
• Toss the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Add the butter, peanut butter, and sugar to a standard mixer and cream together until the mixture is smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
• Once combined, turn the mixer off and pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed.
• Stir in the walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and flaxseeds until just combined.
• Turn the batter out onto the baking sheet and press the dough into an even layer. The dough will be sticky and resemble cookie dough. That’s okay, that’s what it’s supposed to look/taste like. To spread the dough out, it helps if your hands are clean and a little bit damp. You may need to wash them a couple of times while spreading out the dough. It’s okay if the dough doesn’t completely cover the baking sheet.
• Bake the granola for 11-13 minutes. The granola will be done when a toothpick is inserted into the middle and comes of clean.
• Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes on the baking sheets before crumbling. After the granola has cooled, crumble into as little or as big of clusters as you prefer. In my opinion, the big clusters are the best. 🙂 After you have broken the granola into pieces, it will continue to cool and come together. Just be patient!
• Serve it on yogurt, with milk, drizzle with warm peanut butter, sprinkle it on ice cream, or munch away while plopped on the couch. Enjoy!