Berkshire Grain Granola: the secret ingredient to Football Crunch

I love creating recipes and new products.

It is my profession; it is my passion. And much like the Starship Enterprise, I take foods where they have not gone before. 

Companies large and small contract my services for creative marketing ideas, prototype development, product introduction, recipe handouts, back of package copy, point of sale recipes, etc. This week, I was asked to support the product Introduction of Berkshire Grain Granola (my favorite granola by the way) at Stew Leonard's in Connecticut.

Berkshire Grain will be sampling their Cinnamon Toast and Cranberry Pumpkin Seed Granolas at the Norwalk store on Friday, February 4, 12-6pm and Saturday February 5, 10am-4pm.

The Super Bowl is a big event for entertaining, and a great time to share food with friends and family. So i thought it natural to come up with a great tasting and unique snacking mix - the perfect thing to go with a beer, wine or non-alcoholic beverage.  Just in case you can't make it to Stew Leonard's this week-end, here is one of the printed "recipe take-aways"  that I'll be giving to customers:

Football Crunch Snack Mix

Ingredients 

2 cups Popped Corn

2 cups Chex cereal

1 cup Berkshire Grain Cinnamon Toast or Cranberry Pumpkin Seed Granola

2 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread, Smart Balance buttery spread or your light butter spread of choice

2 tablespoons maple syrup or natural pancake syrup

2 tablespoons natural cane sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In medium bowl mix together, popcorn, cereal and granola.

In small saucepan combine remaining ingredients. Cook over medium high heat,

stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium . Let boil for two minutes without stirring.

Immediately pour cooked mixture over popcorn mixture, stirring with rubber spatula or wooden spoon to coat.

Turn onto cookie sheet than has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake in preheated 250 oven for one hour. Remove from oven and let cool.

Makes 5 cups mix. 

For Snack mix variation

1. Use 1 -1/2 cups Chex cereal, add 1/2 cups small pretzel sticks broken in half, or 1/2 cup  peanuts
2. Omit salt, proceed as recipe directs.
3. For a spicier mix add a dash of your favorite hot sauce.

Berkshire Grain is conducting a Super Bowl Contest on their Facebook Fan Page. It's free, and if you're lucky you can win a  case of their delicious granolas. 

Muffin Lovers Rejoice

I always wanted to be friends with the Muffin Man because I love muffins. Growing up, my mom made blueberry, cranberry and fruit and nut muffins made from recipes  adapted from the famous Jordon Marsh Department Store Chain. 

As of late, muffins have gotten some bad press. They're touted as a high fat, high calorie, nutrient-sparse food. Now I do not know the nutritional profile of the muffins mentioned above but I am here to say Muffin Lovers Rejoice!

I have found (and tested) some Delicious BFY (Better For You) muffin recipes that will become your BFF (Best Friend Forever) when you want a muffin and nothing else will do.

The recipe (below) is a great grab-and-go for snacks.

Now, there are some muffin rules, which were told to me by a friend, and I feel that I should pass along to you. My friend's rule is that you must drink a glass of milk with a muffin.

She said that she heard it directly from the Muffin Man. I wonder if the Muffin Man is friends with the Milk Man.

Enjoy these Muffins and if you run into the Muffin Man tell him to friend me on facebook.

Basic Muffin Recipe 

Ingredients 

2 cups all purpose unbleached flour (or substitute whole wheat pastry flour) 

¼ cup Florida Crystals Light Sugar 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

¼ teaspoon sea salt 

1 large egg 

1 cup plain yogurt 

4 tablespoons melted butter 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 ° Fahrenheit 

Line 8 muffin cups with natural muffin papers (look in baking section) 

Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. In a medium bowl mix next 4 ingredients together until smooth. Pour liquid mixture over the flour mix, and mix with a spoon until dry ingredients are moistened. Do Not Over Mix. 

Spoon batter evenly into each muffin cup. 

Bake 25-30 minutes. 

At 25 minutes test for doneness. 

Is it done yet? 

Testing a baked product for 'doneness' is a very delicate process. Gently insert a wooden pick (e.g., a toothpick) into the center of your baked muffin, and if it comes out clean (with no crumbs or wet batter) then your muffins are probably done. If the pick does not come out clean then put back in oven for another 5 minutes and test again. Muffins are not pin cushions so one test per muffin.