Nutty Chocolate Granola Clusters

My husband is a big snacker. The only real meal he ever seems to be hungry for is dinner, otherwise it's all snacking. Now that he's on the go so much, he's been talking about how he's been hungrier during the day. I figured I need to start giving him some more filling snacks. He likes granola, but it's kind of hard to eat on the go unless it's in clusters. I made up this recipe using some of his favorite nuts and, of course, chocolate. We'll see how this holds him over during the day.

(2 cups of the old fashioned oats will be ground to a powder to help hold the clusters together.)

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, and cinnamon and stir well.

In a medium saucepan, heat butter, water, and brown sugar until bubbling. Add peanut butter. Stir in vanilla and salt. Pour bubbly liquid over dry ingredients and stir well.

 Spread over large cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown (carefully stirring halfway through)

 Take out of the oven, let cool a bit (mixture will still be somewhat soggy). Add mini chocolate chips and carefully stir (Chocolate will melt a little, that's why I used mini chips. I may just omit the chocolate next time and use dried cranberries or raisins next time). Firmly press mixture into mini muffin pans and bake for another 5-15 minutes. (Watch carefully; don't over bake.)

Let cool completely before adding remaining chocolate chips and storing in an airtight container.

Ingredients

2 1/2 c. old fashioned oats

2 c. old fashioned oats, finely ground

2 c. quick oats

3/4 c. slivered almonds

1 c. chopped pecans

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. butter

1/3 c. water

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1/4 c. crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. mini chocolate chips

1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, and cinnamon and stir well.

In a medium saucepan, heat butter, water, and brown sugar until bubbling. Add peanut butter. Stir in vanilla and salt.

Pour bubbly liquid over dry ingredients and stir well.

Spread over large cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown (carefully stirring halfway through)

Take out of the oven, let cool a bit (mixture will still be somewhat soggy). Add mini chocolate chips and carefully stir. Firmly press mixture into mini muffin pans and bake for another 5-15 minutes. (Watch carefully; don't over bake.)

Let cool completely before adding remaining chocolate chips and storing in an airtight container.