Hi friends!!!!!!! Oh, boy, am I glad to see you!!!
This is my first post I’ve written since before Christmas, and I feel like I’ve been away FOREVER! How were your holidays?? All I know is that I saw tons of camera lenses, laptops, and iPads jamming up my Instagram stream on Christmas morning, so it looked like a lot of fabulous Christmases from where I was sitting!
Our Christmas was wonderful too! We flew to California on Christmas Eve and spent about a week and half there with my in-laws. We played with a very patient kitty cat named Oliver, made tamales, ate Sushi and Pinkberry yogurt, ran the Polar Bear Run 5K on New Years Day, played a very competitive game of Scategories, went bridesmaids and flower girls dress shopping, and visited the Sacramento Zoo.
Oh yeah, and one more thing…
Um, hello???? I friggin’ got to me Dorothy and Hayley! It was only the coolest day EVER!
So, in case you don’t follow my bloggy life on FB and/or instagram (or in case you’re an actual real life friend and don’t really know who these “blog people” are…), Dorothy and Hayley have been blogging BFFs of mine for quite a while now. I think Dorothy and I have been corresponding via email, text, and comments for going on 3 years now! Can you believe that? Finally getting to meet was definitely one of the highlights of my year 
Dorothy and I spent all afternoon shopping for photo props, talking all about blog stats and Facebook groups and BlogCon 2013 (I think that was mentioned once? 
). We joined up with husbands, kids, and Hayley for a fab dinner, and it was all just so. much. fun.
If you ever get the chance to spend a day with these two, I highly recommend it
Want to know what else happened to me over the holidays?
I became a peanut butter granola crack addict. Like, really, really.
My mom has been making this granola for a couple of months now, so it’s been around for my past few jaunts down to NC to visit. But I was never really interested, because I’m not super into granola. And, if I’m being totally honest here, I’m not really that into peanut butter on it’s own either.
But I’ve been watching my sister make this Boston Cream Pie Yogurt/chocolate chips/peanut butter granola for months now, and I finally had to give in and try it for breakfast on Christmas Eve (the day we flew to California).
And I am not lying one little bit when I say that I craved that concoction for the entire 10 days we were in California. I kept trying to put it out of my mind– we were eating Pinkberry for crying out loud!! But it kept gnawing at me, day after day.
Our return trip landed us in Raleigh a little after midnight, and we pulled up to my parents’ house around 1:30am.
You had better believe that I made a beeline first thing for that granola. At 1:30 in the morning. Oh, yes I did.
It is THAT good.
The best part? The granola itself taste like peanut butter cookies, but it’s made up of only 3 simple ingredients (plus a splash of vanilla if you’re also a vanilla addict, like me)!
You will not be able to get enough of this, I promise…
Serves: 12 (1/4 cup servings)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (I like chunky)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional, but I LOVE)
- 1 - 6 oz. Yoplait Boston Cream Pie yogurt cup
- 1/3 cup peanut butter granola
- 1-2 tbsp mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicon liner.
- Put the honey and the peanut butter into a medium sized microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, until peanut butter is a little melted.
- Whisk together until smooth. Add in the vanilla and mix.
- Use a rubber spatula to mix in the oats, making sure the oats are thoroughly coated in the peanut butter/honey mixture.
- Spread the granola onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.
- Let cool completely. Crumble any large chunks into bite sized pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
- In a tall sundae glass, layer the yogurt, the granola, and the chocolate chips. Enjoy!
Notes about this recipe:
- This granola is chewy, not crunchy. I LOVE it that way. When it’s in the parfait with the chocolate, it reminds me of a Reese’s cup! However, if chewy granola just isn’t your thing, bake it for an additional 5-8 minutes, until it start to brown a little.
- We very rarely take the time to use pretty sundae glasses and make nice, orderly layers. Ok. We NEVER take the time to do this. Just toss everything in a cereal bowl, mix it up, and dig in!
- We always use mini chocolate chips in this recipe. But I didn’t have any in my pantry on the day I wanted to photograph these. Forgive the faux pas, please!
Granola from Friends:
- Funfetti Granola Bites by Sally’s Baking Addiction
- S’mores Granola by Crazy For Crust
- Peanut Butter Cup Granola by Cookies and Cups
This looks amazing! Glad you got to connect in person, how fun!
This looks incredible! And I am still jealous you gals got to meet up! Fun!
Mandy’s Recipe Box recently posted..Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Sounds like a great vacation!
Shiloh Barkley recently posted..Crockpot Chinese Chicken
so jealous you three got to hang out Ashton! I’m intrigued by a chewy granola! and yoplait boston cream pie is one of my favorite flavors! thank you for linking up to my funfetti granola bites my dear.
sally @ sallys baking addiction recently posted..healthy oatmeal raisinet cookies.
I love anything PB and we eat granola ALL the time – this looks SO good! I was actually thinkaing about parfaits all day today
Heather @French Press recently posted..Homemade {hot-chocolate} Three Musketeer Bars
Okay I’m making this today. TODAY. And finally meeting you was the highlight of my year!
:)
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust recently posted..Easy Lemon Ice Cream {Skinny}
I love peanut butter granola in yogurt! And I am so jealous you got to meet them.
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie recently posted..Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar-Walnut Topping
um, okay. making this tonight, thanks. and you know i’m not lying
glad you had such a great Christmas and that you got to meet Dorothy & Hayley! Jealous! Next time you’re in NC I expect a visit!
Caroline recently posted..Insta-Monday: Get your paint on.
Totally
I need another one of those grilled cheeses, so we’ll have to make it a lunch date!
This looks awesome! I always make yogurt parfaits, but have never tried a combination like this. And I like the idea of chewy granola…must try this!
Elaine @ Cooking to Perfection recently posted..Skinny Pumpkin and Cream Muffins
This sounds fabulous! Definitely planning on trying it out this weekend.
Nicky @ Pink Recipe Box recently posted..Sesame Seed Rolls
I plan on kissing their faces off when I meet them at BlogHer Food! Will you be there? I’ll totally put you on my “to kiss” list. Or not, if you prefer.
Love this parfait! Gorgeous!
Thanks for linking up.
Karly recently posted..What’s Cookin’ Wednesday? #1
ohmygosh Karly. Why are you the funniest person I’ve ever not met?? I’m going to be so weird around you. When I think people are funny, I just kind of awkwardly giggle at them all the time. You’ll be rolling your eyes at me from the get-go! And YES I will be at BlogHer Food!!!!!! Woo hoo!
And it’s ok. You can kiss my face off. I hope you have nutella brownies smeared all over your mouth though.
Too graphic? Weird? lol…
I am so happy that you guys all got to meet! I can’t wait for June To see everyone in Austin! I think great minds must think alike I am making a peanut butter granola bar this morning! This parfait looks out of this world!
Chandra@The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen recently posted..Show Me Your Plaid Monday’s #5
ooooh that looks really good! and I love your spoon, Target? (:
Teresa Young recently posted..shopaholic
I have no idea why I have never been really into granola. I definitely have to try again with this recipe.
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) recently posted..My Exclusive Interview with Momofuku Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi
Awww how fun! Totally jealous, but can’t wait to meet you all in June!!!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets recently posted..Spicy Grilled Fish with Citrus Slaw
The granola looks so stinking good…I’m NOT kidding! I love oatmeal cookie dough…not the cookies and I love peanut butter! I am so seriously going to be leaving work ASAP after the bell rings and going home and making this. I hope it is gooey…I need some gooey goodness in my life! I might even blog about it…I will let you know! Thank you for sharing. You are a gem!
I’ve been thinking of making a dessert-ish granola to replace all of the ice cream and cookies. This sounds great!
Time to pull out the oats!!
Meg @ Sweet Twist recently posted..10 Days of Cookies – Day 10 – Jumbo Brown Butter Rolo Cookies
I can’t tell you how envious I am reading this. All three of you together. What fun. If I could have just been a fly on the wall. Sigh. One of these days, I’ll get to meet all of you. We love granola around here, especially my picky child. I hope she never figures out it’s healthy.
Joan@Chocolateandmore recently posted..Thursday’s Treasures
What fun! It’s such a great, diverse place. What part of Cali did you visit? And until I get a chance to make this granola (which will be soon, hopefully), I’ll continue eating peanut butter straight from the jar to keep down the cravings…this recipe looks awesome.
Ala recently posted..Carrot Cucumber Nut Yogurt Dip (Revved-Up Tzatziki)
We went to Sacramento!
I am not a big fan of honey or peanut butter, but I love honey roasted peanut butter. I also happen to love granola, so I gave the granola recipe a try and it did not disappoint! The outsides got a little crispy, which was fine, but everything else stayed chewy, just like you said. The honey flavor was not strong at all and I really enjoyed the nuttiness of the oats, combined with the peanut butter.
So glad you liked it!!
O.M.Gosh! This stuff is amazing! I’ve made 3 batches of it in the last week! Between me, my husband and 2 kids eating it..it doesn’t last!
Thank you so much for posting this and thanks for making my family peanut butter granola crack addicts too! Lol! I love your blog!!! 
These were awesome! Kids loved them and shared with their friends. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
EEE! I’m so jealous. I miss Hayley (and wanna meet Dorothy!). Also-yummmmmmmyyyy I love pb granola!