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Buckwheat Granola {with Dried Cherries and Cacao Nibs}

Buckwheat Granola | Gather and Dine

 I recently came across Emmy’s Super Cereal on some recent travels and decided to buy a box as a snack for the road.  The cereal is basically sprouted buckwheat sweetened with coconut sugar and then dehydrated until the buckwheat becomes super crunchy and toasty. So delicious and satisfying!  I immediately began thinking of all of the things I could do with toasted buckwheat.  Despite having the word “wheat” in it, buckwheat is actually a seed and not part of the wheat family.  It is full of nutrients and also gluten-free.

Buckwheat Granola | Gather and Dine

This buckwheat granola comes together quickly and your whole house will smell wonderful as it bakes.  I’ve always liked the idea of sweetening my granolas with coconut sugar, but I’ve always had problems getting the coconut sugar to dissolve and it always ended up very granular.  This time I made a simple syrup from the coconut sugar by dissolving it in some water before mixing it with the coconut oil and that worked beautifully.  The buckwheat ended up being lightly sweetened with just a hint of coconut flavor from the sugar and oil and it remained crunchy for days when stored in an airtight container.  The flavor combinations for this are endless.  Substitute any type of dried fruit for the cherries and add nuts in addition to or instead of the cacao nibs.  I love cacao nibs, but my kids are not big fans so I made them a cherry and sliced almonds version and they loved it!

Buckwheat Granola | Gather and Dine

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Dried Cherry and Cacao Nib Buckwheat Granola
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 cups raw buckwheat groats
  • ⅓ cup dried cherries, chopped
  • ¼ cup cacao nibs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300.
  2. in a small saucepan, combine the coconut sugar and water and whisk together over low heat until coconut sugar is completely dissolved and mixture becomes a simple syrup. Add the coconut oil and whisk together until coconut oil is completely melted. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and salt.
  3. Spread the buckwheat groats and dried cherries out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Pour the coconut sugar mixture over the buckwheat and dried cherries and stir with a wooden spoon until buckwheat and cherries are evenly coated.
  4. Bake for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until buckwheat becomes light golden brown.
  5. Cool completely on pan, stirring occasionally to avoid clumps. Mix in cacao nibs. Transfer to an airtight container for storage.
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Blueberry Oatcakes

Blueberry Oatcakes

These Blueberry Oatcakes are slightly adapted from a recipe that my sweet college friend, Carissa, gave to me.  She told me that she makes these for breakfast at least once a week for her girls.  After I made these oatcakes this morning, my petite 4 year-old daughter ate 4 and then wanted to have the leftovers for lunch.  Needless to say that these are now a regular in our family too!

I love these oatcakes because they are completely whole-grain and comprised mostly of oats.  Although we are not even close to being a gluten-free family, I do try to vary our grains so that wheat is not our only whole grain.  This recipe does include a bit of whole wheat flour, but it can easily be substituted for a gluten-free flour to make these entirely gluten-free.  Some planning ahead is required on these as the oats and yogurt need to be mixed together the evening before in order to soften the oats.   I often like to combine my dry ingredients together the evening before as well and then everything comes together fairly quickly in the morning.

These Blueberry Oatcakes are wonderfully hearty and moist and make for a healthy morning breakfast.  Serve along with some warm maple syrup to make these even more of a treat.

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Blueberry Oatcakes
Serves: 3-4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups plain yogurt
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 mashed banana, about ⅓ cup
  • ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • Heaping ½ cup fresh blueberries
  • Unsalted butter for frying
Instructions
  1. The evening before, mix the oats and yogurt together in a large mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  2. In the morning, add the eggs, honey, and mashed banana to the oats and yogurt and mix together with a wooden spoon.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flour, flax, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until dry ingredients are just incorporated. Batter should be fairly thick.
  5. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the blueberries.
  6. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet or griddle. Ladle the oat batter into the pan, spreading batter if necessary to make circles about ⅓" thick. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the underside is golden brown and then flip to the other side and cook for another 2 minutes, until golden brown.
  7. Serve warm along with maple syrup, if desired.

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