My Favourite Homemade Granola (to date!)

I think Mother Nature was reading my blog post yesterday and decided to play a trick on me.

I woke up to a fresh blanket of snow this morning. It is gorgeous out there right now! No more grass for this town.

Eric has been asking me to make homemade granola for a few weeks now, and I finally got around to it. I always forget how much I love making granola.

The smell of the fresh granola coming out of the oven is intoxicating, as I sneak bites knowing full well that I am going to burn my tongue, but it tastes too good to wait for it to cool.

And that first bowl of granola with almond milk poured over top…well nothing beats it.

I’ve made Power House Glonola before, but I wanted to improve upon the recipe and see what I could come up with. I doubt I will ever make the same recipe twice!

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My Favourite Granola (to date!)

This granola is crisp, flavourful, and addicting. Have fun mixing up the nuts and seeds. Enjoy it with your favourite milk poured over top for a delicious breakfast. Next time, I might try adding an extra 1 tablespoon of brown rice syrup to help it clump up a bit more as this granola was not as clumpy as I wanted it to be. It will keep for about 1 month refrigerated in an air-tight container.

Yield: ~6 cups

Ingredients:

Dry:

2.5 cups rolled oats (regular not instant)

1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped

1/2 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw sesame seeds

2 tbsp ground flax

2 tbsp sweetened coconut flakes

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

3/4 tsp kosher salt

Wet: (See note below)

3-4 tbsp brown rice syrup (I used 3 tbsp, but next time I will use 4 tbsp so it clumps more)

1 tbsp agave nectar

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp applesauce, unsweetened

2 tbsp peanut butter

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Add-ins:

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup raisins

handful pepita seeds

Directions: preheat oven to 300F. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the wet ingredients. Stir well. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a very large mixing bowl, Mix together the dry ingredients.

Add the wet mixture (while still warm!) over top the dry mixture and stir well. It will be very thick and hard to stir, but keep at it until everything is thoroughly combined.

Spread onto a pan lined with parchment paper or a non-stick mat and bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 300F. Remove the pan from the oven every 15 minutes and give the granola a good stir to ensure even baking.

Allow to cool for 20-25 minutes on the pan before serving. The granola will stiffen up as it cools. Makes about 6 cups and will keep for 1 month in the fridge in an air-tight container.

Note: You can probably substitute the brown rice syrup and agave nectar for other liquid sweeteners, although please note that the flavour and crispness will change.

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The first thing you do is gather your wet ingredients…

I always admire my brown sugar when it comes out of the measuring cup like that!

Stir well in a saucepan.

Heat over medium.

Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

While the wet mixture is simmering, grab your dry ingredients.

For the nuts and seeds, I used 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup sesame seeds, 1/2 cup walnuts, and 1 cup of almonds. All raw. I roughly chopped the walnuts and almonds, but you still want mostly large pieces.

Oats, sweetened coconut flakes, kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground flax.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together…

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. It will be very thick and sticky, but keep at it until it is thoroughly mixed. You can do this!

Now we’re talking!

Grab a spoon and shove into mouth.

That is some good granola.

Spread onto a baking sheet…

Bake for 45 minutes at 300F, stirring every 10-15 minutes to ensure even baking.

Voila!

As the granola cools it will firm up. The result is a crisp granola, but the clumps did not hold together. Next time, I will add another tablespoon of brown rice syrup in hopes of increasing the clump factor!

Allow to cool for about 30 minutes.

Now stir in your dried fruit. I added 1/3 cup raisins and 1/3 cup dried cranberries. I also decided to toss in some pepita seeds for colour.

Lovely.

Just lovely.

Grab a 2 litre bell jar.

That’ll do.

It fits perfectly!

This granola makes a wonderful gift too. Valentine’s Day, perhaps? Maybe there are some men reading whose girlfriends/wives would like some…

That would be so romantic, wouldn’t it?

I’m here for you girls.

Now pour yourself a bowl and enjoy with some of your favourite milk. I love it with Vanilla Almond Milk and a tablespoon of hemp seeds tossed in for some protein.

It is just the perfect winter breakfast.

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