I’ll be the first to admit that gluten-free baking is tougher than baking with flour. Instead of just wheat you have a hundred different varieties of flour and starches to work with and if you’ve never used them before you have no idea how they work in recipes. It’s a hassle.

I’m always drawn to making recipes that use just one type of flour because I don’t like to have to go out and buy 6 or 7 to make a single loaf of bread. This recipe only uses brown rice flour, which is a gluten-free whole grain flour that bakes well and doesn’t overpower any of the other flavors. You’ll have a hard time telling this bread is gluten-free.

I used Bob’s Red Mill’s brown rice flour for this recipe which is the least grainy I’ve found and has a great texture when baked. In baking, weight’s always the most reliable measure so if you can

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 loaf):

• 2 large bananas
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups(240 grams) brown rice flour
• 1/2 Tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup water

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash the bananas until they’re completely smooth.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the bananas, eggs, sugar, peanut butter, and oil until mixed.
4. Add in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate chips and stir.
5. Slowly add the water until the batter has a loose consistency.
6. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan.
7. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes until the center has set.
8. Remove from the oven and let the loaf cool before cutting in.

I found my loaf got stale sitting on the counter after a day but microwaving a slice for 60 seconds between two paper towels made it taste fresh out of the oven.

My favorite thing about this time of year is going present shopping for friends and family but boy does it eat up a day. After going to several stores and eventually CVS for wrapping paper and tape, I couldn’t help but do some grocery shopping and pick up the bag of Reese’s Pieces that was conveniently on sale.

I’ve made peanut butter granola before and chocolate granola but never chocolate granola with peanut butter. That was an oversight seeing how peanut butter and chocolate has to be the best combination known to man. Just think of Reese’s cups and Fastbreak bars and—of course—Reese’s Pieces. I’m not quite sure if adding candy to granola still makes it breakfast food but it has peanut butter so it must be healthy.

This is a great granola to make if you like granola with clusters since the peanut butter holds the oats together. Just be sure not to break it up too much after it’s done cooking to keep most of the clusters.

Reese’s Pieces Granola

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 3 cups):

• 2 cup rolled oats
• 6 Tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 6 Tablespoons to 1/2 cup maple syrup(or any liquid sweetener)
• 1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces
• 1/2 cup peanuts(optional)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix together the oats, peanut butter, cocoa powder and maple syrup. If the peanut butter you’re using is the no-stir kind, melt it in the microwave briefly before mixing it in.
3. Spread the oats out onto a non-stick baking tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the granola cooks together.
4. Remove from the oven and break the granola into clusters using a utensil.
5. Let the granola cool completely before adding in the Reese’s Pieces.
6. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.