Granola! You Should Make it!

 


This is less a recipe than a PSA. No, really. You should make your own granola. You need to make your own granola. No granola you buy at a store will be as good as the granola that you make in your own oven. You might think it looks good in the box, or even in the local co-op bulk bin, but what you make yourself will be better.

Doesn't it look better?

You get complete control over what goes in it, for one thing. Hate raisins? Don't put 'em in! Can't decide whether you want almond or pecan granola? Add both! Concerned about fat and sugar? Use less! Granola is versatile and forgiving. Each batch is a little different and delicious in its own way.

And it really is easy. It's one of those things that seems like it might take some effort because there can be so many ingredients, but the hands-on time is 10 minutes max. And that's if you pour and measure real slow. So, I won't offer you a recipe. Instead I offer you a template. Go. Make granola.


Ingredients: 

• 4 cups oats (GF if that's your thing, not if not)-- old fashioned work best, but quick will work too. I'd stay away from instant
• 3-4 cups dry mix-ins. This is where the fun begins. Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, etc. Some possibilities (with asterisks next to what I used for the pictured batch):
• walnuts
• almonds*
• pecans*
• cashews
• macadamia nuts
• hazelnuts
• flax seed*
• sesame seeds
• sunflower seeds*
• millet*
• quinoa (raw, not cooked! gives nice protein and crunch!)
• wheat bran
• oat bran
• raisins
• dried cranberries*
• dried apricots (I like to slice these up)
• dried coconut*
• dates
• dried mango
• candied or crystalized ginger
• dried cherries
• anything else that sounds delicious!!
• 2 TBS brown sugar (this is optional but it does something good to the texture to have that tiny bit of solid sweetener in there)
• spices of choice-- cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc. I also like to add a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 TBS water
• 2-4 TBS liquid sweetener (honey, agave, maple syrup, etc) 

Procedure:

• Pre-heat the oven to 325°F
• Put your oats in a big bowl
• Mix in your dry mix-ins EXCEPT for the dried fruit! 
• Crumble in the brown sugar and add spices
• Stir together the oil, water, vanilla (if using) and liquid sweetener. (I like to use a liquid measuring cup where it's easy to see how much you've put in and mix at the same time).
• Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix well.
• Dump the granola onto a large baking sheet with raised sides (so you don't get granola all over the oven floor.
• Bake for 20 minutes, then pull out, stir around the pan, and add the dried fruit. Bake for 20 minutes more. Let cool.
• The granola may not be crisp at the moment it's removed from the oven but it will crisp up as it cools. If you like crazy crispy granola, bake it til the oats start to turn ever-so-slightly brown.
• Mix into yogurt or ice cream, top with milk, eat by the handful-- it's up to you. :)