Yes, you read that right. Cereal!! Crunchy sweet peanut buttery cereal!! Can you sense my excitement? I hope so! When I make a batch of this, little hands make a lot of it disappear while it cools and crisps on top of the stove.
The first time I made it, I didn't have stevia glycerite, so I just went with granulated erythritol and 5 drops of EZ-Sweetz.
It came out great! If you find yourself without stevia glycerite, or really don't like the flavor of stevia, then don't fret, use a little of the EZ-Sweetz.
Personally, I don't care for the taste of stevia. I don't pick up on the sweetness like others do. It's quite the opposite and very bitter. I have tried to grow my own plant on the deck and didn't like it straight off the plant either, but I'm not a quitter or maybe I'm just stubborn because I made myself give stevia a fair chance. Erythritol has a weird cooling effect when eaten as is, and almost every recipe cuts it with stevia. For me, recipes get to be stressful with substitutions- especially when they don't come out right. I love erythritol, so I'm going to have to get used to stevia.
My first good experience with something containing stevia, was with Zevia Natural Soda.
Some folks really don't like Zevia, but I love it! Since that was okay, I decided to continue on my quest to liking stevia.
Picked up a bottle of NOW Stevia Glycerite, and set out to make this cereal again, the way the recipe called for it. Honestly, I still need a little more time to fully appreciate stevia, but it wasn't bad. I'm not sure if the difference was from the stevia glycerite, or from the switch from Whey Protein Powder to Whey Isolate (long story, but the short version is the brand I was using started playing games with their nutrition labels). It could be a mixture of both, but the crunch was a lot more defined and the cereal definitely had a lot more sugary grit to it like regular cereal does. So if you can, stick to the original ingredients.
I always opt for using the coconut oil option instead of butter so that it keeps better at room temperature. Also, double check your peanut flour, this recipe uses the more defatted version with 12% fat. This really is a fantastic recipe that is fairly easy to make. My tip is to squish your dough into one big piece, then cut off chunks. I get a lot less crumbs that way.
**UPDATE** (4/3/12) I went to make a batch today and was struck with the idea that my french vanilla whey protein isolate would probably taste awesome in this (ok, I was low on the chocolate flavored, and you know what they say, the greatest inspiration is often born of desperation)... Anyway, it was better than awesome! I think I might always make this recipe with the vanilla instead. The peanut butter flavor was more pronounced, and it resembled the taste of cereal more. Thought I'd share, in case you find yourself in the same predicament ;)
Just one more teaser pic....
Labels: breakfast, cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, peanut flour
