I have never been able to find a brand of purchased granola that I like. Either they have too much sugar, too much salt (Why would you put salt in granola anyway?), bad for you oils or GM ingredients (plus assorted other nasty stuff) ...
YUCK!
So ... after perusing multiple recipes I came up with my own ...
1) 4 Cups Oatmeal (Bob's Red Mill Extra Thick)
2) 1/4 cup Brown Sugar (organic)
3) 1/4 cup Honey (local from the Farmer's Market in Shelton)
4) 3/4 cup Sliced Almonds
5) 1/2 cup Sunflower Kernels
6) 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
7) 2 tsp Pure vanilla Extract (unfortunately not my homemade ... it's not ready yet)
8) 1/4 cup Coconut Oil (Mountain Rose Organic)
9) 1/2 cup Golden Raisins
10) 1/2 cup Dried Date Pieces (Bob's Red Mill)
11) 1/2 cup Dried cranberries
12) 1/2 cup Dried Apple Bits (Bob's Red Mill)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place ingredients 1 - 7 in a large bowl.
Scoop out the coconut oil (which is semi-solid at room temperature), place in a small glass bowl an microwave for one minute on the defrost setting (Careful! It melts quickly!)
A little bit is still unmelted ... it won't hurt anything ...
Add the coconut oil to the ingredients in the bowl and mix well. (NOTE! Do not add the dried fruit yet ... it gets mixed in AFTER the cereal is cooked. If you add it now it will all become hard as rocks ... ask me how I know this )
Spread the cereal mix on a large baking tray lined with foil. Bake for 10 minutes.
Stir and turn the cereal and bake for 5 more minutes ... check the cereal again and if it is a nice golden brown it is done. You might want to stir it again and bake for 5 more minutes.
Oops! I let mine bake an extra 5 minutes (a total of 25 minutes ... 20 would have been enough) ... it got just a little too crispy around the edges. The rest is fine though.
Allow the granola to cool and then mix in the dried fruit.
This is my favorite way of serving it ... over a bowl of my homemade vanilla bean yogurt and drizzled with a little organic agave nectar ... *bliss*
Enjoy!
All right... that's IT!
ReplyDeleteEither you are coming to my house, or I am coming to yours because those 2 things are MY favorite things and I certainly don't have time to make either of them! YUMMM>.... The kids favorites, too. LOL. I'll be dreaming of fresh yogurt and granola while eating fresh pineapple today. LOL. At least I have that.
It is so nice to read "ask me how I know this" in your posts. I have to laugh every time right out loud!!! and I HOPE I won't have to say the same thing when I try your recipes! You are a treasure.
ReplyDeleteThat looks really good. I want to make my own granola too but haven't tried it yet.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI've read that agave nectar is really not from the agave plant but a manufactured item and not as good for you as first thought. Can you comment? Thanks.
Carol
Barbie: You are welcome any time!
ReplyDeletePenny: I sure wasn't laughing when I scorched milk in my 6 quart Le Creuset Dutch oven ... it's ruined!
Thanks, Becky!
Carol, both of the bottles I have say "Ingredient: Organic Agave Nectar" Product of Mexico ... so I am assuming that they are actually from the agave plant. Makes sense actually, probably a by product of tequila making :)
Oh my goodness this looks amazing. We really like granola and I am excited to try this recipe! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThat looks absolutely delicious! i think it would become addictive. :D
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe! Perfect to pair with your vanilla bean yogurt - thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteA recipe like that will make us feel healthier!!
ReplyDeleteYum, Yum, yum. There's nothing quite like homemade, non-processed granola. Totally healthy.
ReplyDelete