No-Cook Granola Fudge

Probably the first recipe I ever made when I was a kid was edible peanut butter play dough. It was just equal parts peanut butter, honey, and powdered milk. Mash it together, and you had sticky clay! I was much more interested in eating it though, and to do so, I would shape it into little balls and roll it in crushed cereal or oats.

Fast forward almost 30 years to the first recipe I ever made from Pinterest: energy balls. They were oh so appealing because they were essentially peanut butter playdough gussied up with some granola fixin's. The recipe is super flexible and forgiving. My version (with my preferred add-ins and ratios) is below. I'm usually too lazy to bother to roll the mixture into balls like most people, I just press it into the bottom of a square container with damp fingers and cut it into squares, hence the name, "granola fudge." These are so easy, I would have loved making these as a kid (parents, take note)! They are no-cook--just dump and stir. They're a great, filling, healthy snack for traveling, hiking, and gorging in front of the TV.

Granola Fudge
120 g/1 1/2 cups uncooked old fashioned oats
70 g/1/3 cup ground flaxseed (can substitute chia seeds, shredded coconut, or just extra oats)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or your nut or seed of choice; optional
1/4 cup dried cranberries or your dried fruit of choice; could even do chocolate chips!
130 g/1/2 cup peanut butter or nut butter of choice
100 g/1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

I love to use my kitchen scale for this recipe. Just dump in the ingredients and tare it for each new measurement. That way I don't have to get my measuring cups all goopy from peanut butter and honey. You can just eyeball this recipe if you're not a kitchen nerd like me. 

Mix everything together. The mixture may seem too dry at first, but I promise it will combine! Sometimes it helps to use a mashing motion with your spoon and a couple of minutes of patience to get everything coated. Once everything's mixed, dampen your hands, and either press the mixture into the bottom of a 8 x 8 or so pan, or roll into bite-sized balls. Refrigerate for a couple of hours until firm and chewy.

I like to cut this into 8 bars. 1/8 of the batch equals 215 calories, 13 grams fat, 19 carbs, 4 grams fiber, 7 grams protein.

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