Overheard at the grocer: “I’m really getting into artisanal granola.”
This was followed by the horrified realization that those words, those pretentious words, came from my own mouth. It’s sad but true — there is some really good artisanal granola out there.
To wit: the goods I profiled here and here.
While definitions of “artisanal” can diverge every bit as much as definitions of “art” itself, we can probably agree that the term involves things not found in a big box made by General Mills or Kellogg’s. It requires smaller batches. There’s also a lower likelihood of finding weird wheat puffs in an artisanal granola mix; those just always seem like filler. Artisanal granola is heavy and hearty …and such is the case for Crazy Monkey Baking’s Granola Cookie Crumble.
Made in Ashland, OH and sold in brown (artisanal-looking) bags, Granola Cookie Crumble comes in big chunks. There are no real instructions on the best way to eat it, but the chunks are sizable enough that you can consume them like chips at your desk, and no one will look at you funny. That said, like any granola, you can also douse it with milk and eat it with a spoon. That works too.
The product line comes in lots of flavors that include White Chocolate Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Chip. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip was the house pick. The nuggets may be less sweet than other granolas, but they’re complex enough to inspire enthusiastic munching. This complexity comes on the wings of the recipe’s chocolate chips (the good, rich, bittersweet ones) and also from the undeniable presence of peanut butter. Those two flavors come through in every bite, as delivered in a wholesome, oaty crunch.
The ingredient list includes the stuff you’d expect from any granola (oats and honey), as well as groovy additions such as flax seed. You can find out more about the granola and local retailers at crazymonkeybaking.com.