Happy International Waffle Day! We decided to share with you our Cinnamon Syrup that you can put over your favorite waffle recipe! If you don’t have a favorite waffle recipe I highly suggest you try Almost Famous Pecan Waffles they are filling and wonderful! It seems almost once a week we have breakfast for dinner. Maybe it is because I am becoming more and more exhausted at dinner time or most likely because we just like breakfast foods. Not only are they quick to make, we have the ingredients on hand all the time and it is a low cost meal.

One way to change things up is to vary the fillings or the toppings. We have loved putting cinnamon in our Cinnamon Waffles and thought we’d put cinnamon in syrup. The result was wonderful! This syrup is not only great for waffles, but we soon want to try drizzling it over sauteed apples or ice cream!

First all the ingredients, except for the butter are measured out and added to a saucepan. I love how Little Chef A levels off the cinnamon with the lid. Did you notice her tongue sticking out while measuring the vanilla? That is how I know she is concentrating really hard. She is a little apprehensive when measuring out liquid ingredients into small teaspoons.

After boiling and thickening remove from the heat and add in the butter then combine well. Serve over waffles or pancakes, or as a dip for apples. The syrup with thicken as it cools. If it cools too quickly zap it in the microwave for a few seconds.

Try this syrup on Almost Famous Pecan Waffles, or French Toast.

At our house, the “go to” snack has always been the granola bar.  Recently, as the price of a box of granola bars has sky rocketed. And also realizing the nutritional value of most granola bars are typically the same as a candy bar – I had to bust out the big guns and create a Homemade Granola Bars Recipe.

What we LOVE about this simple homemade granola bar recipe, is that the options are endless.  You can pick and choose your own ingredients to your own liking.  From peanut butter and chocolate chips to any dried fruit and any combination of your favorite nuts, pretzels, coconut or sunflower seeds .  And to make it a healthy bar, we will sometimes add wheat germ or ground flax-seed.

One of our favorite combination is the Cinnamon Raisin granola bar.  We created this recipe after many (and I do mean many) tries at different recipes.

Mix the oats (Tip – don’t substitute the quick oats with rolled oats, your bars will fall apart!) and coconut. We normally do not add coconut to this recipe, but Chef E decided that was an ingredient he wanted to add.  We like to mix things up a bit, so why not, and in went the coconut!  And to kick it up a notch, you can also toast the oats and coconut in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Add the rice cereal and the remaining dry ingredients.

In a saucepan combine the butter, sugar, and honey (if you were adding peanut or almond butter, you would also add it to the butter mixture) bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for about 2 minutes. Take off heat and let cool just a bit then add the vanilla.

Pour the melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients.  Pour the mixture in a parchment lined pan and press hard to make sure they are compact.  (Tip – cover the top of the granola with plastic wrap and take another pan that is the same size and press down on the granola to make them even and compact).  Throw the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, cut into bars  - and enjoy!!!

This recipe is intended to be able to change the ingredients up to however you like and make your own favorite granola bars…..the options are endless.  What is your favorite granola bar flavor combination recipe!!??

And don’t forget to check back tomorrow to find out who the lucky winner is and make sure you link up to our Fantastic Thursday which now starts Wednesday nights at 10 pm (MST).

For another great snack idea try our Baked Cinnamon Sugar Churros or our Pretzel Bites recipe!

   Next up in our family favorites series is Cinnamon Waffles. We have tried a few waffle recipes. What I love about this one is the cinnamon. If you are ambitious you can separate the egg. Mix the yolk in with the mix then whip the whites and fold in at the end. The waffles are fluffy when you do this, but a lot of times I have hungry kids and omit the extra step. They turn out great either way! A couple years ago I needed to buy a new waffle iron. I love how crispy our waffles turn out with our Cuisinart WMR-CA Round Classic Waffle Maker.
The mix is very easy to make. Little Chef C measured out and combined the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.

After whisking together she added the two eggs (not separated this time) that Little Chef D cracked. She also measured and added the oil and milk; both were extremely difficult because they were filled to the top!

She whisked everything together well and the mixture was complete. It was easy, quick and with minimal mess which is always a plus! One trick we learned from Almost Famous Pecan Waffles is to transfer the cooked waffles to a cooling rack on a baking sheet to keep warm in the oven.  I usually preheat the oven to the lowest setting when we are mixing the batter. I like to use the cooling rack because it helps the waffles stay crisp and not soggy on the bottom layer. Serve with maple syrup or our newest favorite Buttermilk Syrup.