Fuel to be back at it

I am now officially a working mom since I returned to work last week. It's a busy time as my partner is splitting parental leave and staying home with our little gal. There are a lot of firsts - baby's, daddy's and mamma's. Thankfully, I have found an energy-filled recipe for homemade granola bars that works as a quick breakfast or snack. Granola mix is something we usually have on had in one form or another. Sometimes it has different seeds, chocolate chips, different nuts, raisins, oats, etc. I have tried making bars before but they never seem to hold together or be suitable for taking to work or on-the-go. This one inspired by a Today's Parent magazine "picky eaters" insert actually works! It suggests putting the granola mixture in the bottom of muffin tins for baking so you end up with granola coins. Plus, the recipe calls for an egg which helps bind it all together. Brilliant!

Here's the recipe (but feel free to substitute items you have on hand or love (like instead of dried cranberries, use raisins or another dried fruit). I had coconut in the cupboard so I used that this time and it was yummy!

Egg, fresh, 1 large
Maple Syrup, .25 cup
Canola Oil, 1 tbs
Oats (large flake), 1 cup
Sunflower Seeds, without salt, 2 tbs
Cranberries, dried, sweetened (craisins), 0.25 cup
Almonds, 2 tbs
Cooking spray or oil for pan

In a medium bowl, whisk egg with maple syrup and oil. Stir in all the other ingredients. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (or oil the bottoms of each part of the tin). Spoon the granola mixture into the muffin tin, separating the mixture into 12 portions and patting it down with the back of a spoon.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 mins until golden around the edges. When done. let cool a few minutes then run a knife around the edge of each one to release them. Let the coins cool on a rack.

If you want to make granola, or want to cut out the oats or egg in this recipe, simply toss all the dry ingredients together in a baggie. Sealed, it should last a while or you can portion out 1/4 or 1/2 cup portions into containers or baggies for lunches and snacks.

Sugar, (maple) sugar

In the spirit of Canada Day (and summer pot lucks) I present to you a different and creative offering: maple shortbread.

You 'll need:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple suyrup (the real stuff, not pancake syrup!)
2 cups all-purpose flour

Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with parchment paper or foil (or a large springform pan like I used) and preheat the oven to 350F.

Cream together the sugar, butter and syrup until fluffy.

Add in the flour, 1/2 cups at a time by hand. Stir together until everything is just combined.
Press the soft dough into yiour prepared pan. Prick the top of the shortbread all over with a fork. Bake at 350 degress 25 minutes until golden. Let it cool on a wire rack.
You can leave the shortbread just like this, or you can gild the lilly a tad with a maple candy glaze (!) by combining in a saucepan on the stove on medium heat:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs whipping cream
2 cups peanuts (optional).

Pour the melted mixture over the prepared shortbread and smooth to cover. Put the whole thing back into the oven for 20 minutes more until the topping is caramalized and golden. Cut into wedgest (or squares/bars depending on the size pan you use). This should make about 40 decent-sized bars if you use a 9x13 inch pan. They're rich cookies with a hint of maple flavour. Just enough to