Homemade Peanut Butter Granola

In an attempt to know what exactly was going into the granola we were eating, I set out to find a simple and tasty recipe for peanut butter granola. My husband is a peanut butter fanatic, so I knew I had to find a good one. Success! After combining and condensing two particular recipes, I came up with a super simple recipe that is 5 minutes prep and 15 minutes bake time! I make two batches at a time because it perfectly fills the glass jar we have in our kitchen. This recipe is so very flexible; you can substitute sweeteners as you wish and add nuts, dried berries, etc to suit your taste. We simply mix ours into our Homemade Vanilla Yogurt and eat it up! So, if you're looking for something tasty and simple, give this a try!

Peanut Butter Granola

Ingredients:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup light agave nectar (you can substitute honey or pure maple syrup here if you like)
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
3 cups Old Fashioned Oats (be sure to buy Old Fashioned and not Quick Oats)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Melt butter/margarine and peanut butter over medium heat in saucepan. Do not let this boil.
3. Mix in vanilla, salt and agave and stir on medium heat until well blended.
4. Remove from stovetop and thoroughly mix in 3 cups of oats. Mixture will be sticky.
5. Pack granola mixture evenly into a 9x13 baking dish.
6. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes. The granola will be a bit golden on the top.
7. Remove from oven and let this cool completely, as it will harden beautifully as it cools. Break apart from dish and store in a glass container. You may store it in a plastic, air tight container as well, but glass keeps granola fresh for up to two weeks!

Enjoy it in yogurt, a bowl of fruit, ice cream or simply as an easy, in-hand snack!