Film-loving candyphiles will certainly remember Willy Wonka, and his famous quote: “Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple.” Butterscotch. Just the thought of it evokes memories of gooey blondie bars, creamy sundaes, and decadent puddings. The sweet and salty combination of brown sugar and butter makes butterscotch sundaes spectacular, and butterscotch chip cookies give chocolate chip cookies a run for their money. But how can I reconcile my enthusiasm for butterscotch with my New Year’s resolution to eat healthier? I found one answer at Golden Fig: Bliss Gourmet’s Butterscotch Pecan granola.
Bliss Gourmet Food’s granola is based on the muesli recipe that Australian-born Leslie Powers served at her restaurant in Australia, The Metro. Now living in St Paul with her husband, a St Paul native, and her family, Powers is making small batches of granola once per week in her incubator kitchen in St. Paul.
Powers uses organic whole grain oats, and many of her ingredients are sourced locally. She wants her granola to be “as Minnesotan as possible,” so she gets her grains and seeds from Whole Grain Milling Company in Welcome, MN, honey from Ames in Watertown, MN and Black Bear Honey in North Oaks, MN, and her maple syrup from Northern Lakes—tapped and processed in Minnesota.
Along with seasonal flavors such as pumpkin spice in the fall and pecan cinnamon in the winter, she makes a slightly sweeter “Sweet & Salty” line of granola, which includes butterscotch pecan and chocolate hazelnut. Among other ingredients, the oats, sunflower seeds, pecans, butterscotch chips, and sea salt give Bliss Gourmet’s Butterscotch Pecan granola a crunchy texture and sweet and salty flavor. With your first bite, you immediately taste the sweetness of the butterscotch, brown sugar, and Minnesota maple syrup, but by the end of the bite, the sea salt becomes more detectable, balancing the sweetness. As a bonus for those with gluten sensitivity, all of her flavors are available in certified, gluten-free versions as well.
Bliss Granola is available at the Mill City Market, Cooks of Crocus Hill, Kopplin’s, bibelot, Guse Green Grocer, Grassroots Gourmet at Midtown Global Market, and the Golden Fig in the Twin Cities. Bliss out your diet some by sprinkling it on your morning yogurt and fruit for a bit of crunch, or whipping up a deft dessert by topping some baked apples with it. Your sweet tooth will thank you.
