Granola Party Favors

This weekend, I attended the wedding of one of my closest friends, Cassie.  It was a wonderful occasion, and the newlyweds were married outdoors on a beautiful fall day.  Returning from the wedding inspired me to post about one of the projects that I worked on for Cassie's bridal shower a few months ago.

The shower had a nature theme.  Cassie's cousin, Claire, made beautiful decorations with lots of greens, browns, and oranges abound.  We also created a "river rock guestbook" where guests could leave Cassie and Scott some well wishes by using a permanent marker to sign a rock from the nearby Delaware River, a place that is special to all of us who grew up in Northeastern PA, and of which Cass is a particularly big fan.

For the favors, we wanted to go with something useful and something that fit with the general nature theme.  I ended up combining elements of different granola recipes that I found online, testing the product, tweaking the recipe, and then baking batches and batches of "Cassie's Crunch".  (Cassie didn't even think it was weird when I emailed her to verify her favorite fruits and nuts.  We have that kind of friendship.)

I decorated pint-size mason jars using fabric squares, ribbon, and card stock, and filled them with the granola.  The tags that hung from the lid contained the recipe for the granola in case guests wanted to make their own.

I love a project that combines cooking and crafting.  Reusable, multi-purpose containers are great, too.  But most importantly, it seemed like my good friend enjoyed the favors and the other aspects of the shower that her bridesmaids put together with her style in mind.  It was a great day!

Here is the recipe for Cassie's Crunch:

 

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. oat bran and/or wheat germ (I mixed the two)

3 T. brown sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

3/4 t. salt

1/3 c. honey and/or maple syrup (I mixed the two)

1/4 c. applesauce

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 c. dried fruit (Cassie likes blueberries)

1/2 c. nuts, chopped (I used a mix of almonds, walnuts, pecans)

 

Directions: Heat oven to 350.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients (through salt).  Whisk the liquid ingredients (through vanilla) in a small bowl.  Pour liquid over dry ingredients, add nuts, and stir until combined.  Spread onto a large sheet pan.  Bake, stirring occasionally, until mixture is golden brown, 25-30 minutes.  Allow granola to cool.  Stir in fruit.

 

 

*Photos were taken by Kristin C., with Roseann H.'s magical yearbook camera