i'd rather be baking

Before moving to Utah, I dreamed of living in a real-life city with a real-life Whole Foods. It’s still hard for me to believe that there are no less than four within a thirty-mile radius of my house. I frequent the one nearest me about once a week, sometimes just for fun.

I’ve become addicted to Whole Foods’ Vegan Everything Cookies. They are now, hands down, my favorite cookie, which is saying something. I’ve eaten a lot of cookies in my day.

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After the said lovely family visit, I got up at the crack of dawn to decorate a zillion cupcakes at the bakery, and then passed out in a glorious nap. It was much needed. And then I woke up hungry for this granola from Peas and Thank You. I mean, really: it was the first thought on my mind when I woke up.

However, I didn’t have cherries or almonds. But I did have cranberries and pistachios, which just happens to be the best and prettiest granola I’ve made yet. And I like to make do. That’s just how my momma raised me.

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Hi friends! We just returned from a lovely long weekend at home, where we watched my “little” sister graduate from high school. Time flies when you’re having fun, or something like that.

But before we left, I baked some ridiculous cookies. I found this dark chocolate bark with cherries and hazelnuts at Whole Foods, and I really couldn’t leave it there. It was calling me. So I chopped it up and made cookies.

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Pretty much any recipe with “grandma’s” in the title has to be awesome, right? I can’t vouch for them all, but I can definitely vouch for this one. I’ve been eating it for approximately 22 years, I’d say.

My sweet grandma has been making these my entire life and it’s a safe assumption that I’ve been eating them since I could chew. They are a staple at every family function and the favorite cookie of my grandpa, my sister, and myself. And we really, really like cookies.

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If given the task, I’m really not sure I could calculate (or even guess) the number of granola bars I’ve consumed in the past ten years or so. Please don’t make me do it. Math has never been my favorite way to spend my time. And if you add in the handfuls of homemade granola I’ve snacked on just in the last five or so years, forget about it. The mind boggles. Let’s just say granola of some sort is pretty much a constant in our house.

Or at least it was until recently. There are reasons why we love it so much — it’s delicious, filling, and if selected/created properly, can be pretty healthy. These same reasons can make the store-bought varieties expensive. We don’t like that. We’d much rather spend that money on things like new shoes and dinners out. Four dollars here and there adds up. Just saying.

This is why every time I read a decent-looking granola recipe, I’m intrigued, despite the fact that I already have a perfectly good one that I’ve been making for years (and will share eventually, don’t worry). It’s simple, no-fail, and delicious, but yet I’m not satisfied. I know there must be other great granola recipes out there. Thankfully, I happen to be right (at least this once).

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