It has been one busy workweek. We’re in the throes of our biggest project of the year and my to-do list is out of control. Deadlines are always looming and I’ve kissed my lunch breaks goodbye, opting instead to eat at my desk to squeeze another hour of productivity into the day. Thankfully, there’s light at the end of the tunnel and by mid-October I think I’ll be in a much better place.
Until then, I’ll be consuming a lot of coffee and cranola to stay alert and at the top of my game. (If you don’t know what cranola is, you’re missing out.) In just the past month, I’ve single-handedly polished off 12 cups of this highly addictive snack. And rather than feel guilty about it, I just made more.
This “double cookie” cranola is fast becoming my favorite. (But I say that every time I come up with a new flavor.) As you may have guessed, there’s a double dose of cookie goodness in each crunchy clump thanks to a hit of cookie butter in the cookie dough base. It’s a treat that truly delivers a one-two punch!
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons cookie butter, creamy or crunchy
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ½ cup rice crisps
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the coconut oil, cookie butter and sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
- Add the flours, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Then add the oats and rice crisps and stir with a wooden spoon. When the ingredients start to come together, use your hands to continue mixing until all the oats and rice crisps are covered with dough.
- Squeeze off chunks of dough and loosely break them apart over the baking sheet, creating large clumps.
- Bake the cranola for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and stir gently. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, remove from the oven and stir gently. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes until clumps are dry.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cranola cool completely. It will harden as it cools.
- Store cranola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, if it lasts that long.
