Saturday, October 13, 2007

No Fail Granola


I've been wanting to make my own granola for quite some time now. So you can imagine that I was really excited when I came across this incredibly easy and versatile recipe at Everybody Likes Sandwiches. It does take longer than I'd like to make since I chop up all the fruit and nuts, but it's definitely worth it.

I use apple juice instead of oil so I assume that's why the granola doesn't turn out hard/crispy at all, which is how I would prefer it but I don't want to add oil. At first I tried eating just a bowl of this granola with milk (as I would cereal) but it was so soft and soggy. Then I started doing half box cereal (Vector or Special K usually) and half this granola, with an extra sprinkling of almonds, and I really love it. I also love knowing that without even trying, I'm eating lots of things that are good for me every morning!


I extremely adore this jar for keeping my granola in. Originally it was purchased for cookies but I think the granola has now staked its claim on the life of the jar. (It's from Ikea.)

On top of the oats, flax and wheat germ in the granola, I like to have a real mix of seeds, nuts and dried fruit so I've been doing:
1 cup of seeds (half sunflower, half pumpkin)
1 cup of nuts (half almonds, half walnuts)
1 cup of dried fruit (mix of raisins, apricots and apples, though I'd really like to add blueberries, pears and figs - if only the dried blueberries I've seen weren't packaged using some oil!)


No Fail Granola
slightly adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

4 c rolled oats
3/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c flax seeds

Plus 3 cups of any of the following suited to your tastes:
Nuts* (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, etc)
Seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, etc)
Dried fruit* (raisins, apricots, apples, cherries, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, coconut, figs, etc)

Mix all of your grains and nuts together and add some spice:
1 T cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground ginger
1/8 t nutmeg
1/8 t ground cardamom

In a large measuring cup, mix together the following:
1/3 c + 2 T apple or pear juice, ideally the cloudy kind
1/3 c sweetener (honey, brown sugar, molasses, or maple syrup)

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix well with a wooden spoon until everything is well coated.

Pour onto a cookie sheet or large rectangular pan and bake in a 300 degree oven. Stirring every 20 minutes or so for about 45 minutes until mostly dry. Remove and cool. Store in a tight lidded container.

*I always chop up the fruit and nuts into raisin size pieces. Obviously I do not cut up the raisins!
Note: Next time I might try baking everything without the dried fruit to make sure it gets all nice and toasty (and adding the fruit in after).

12 comments:

1001 Petals said...

Why add the juice at all? I just add honey to mine and it comes out crunchy. . though a bit sticky (which I don't mind).

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

mmm, I eat granola almost every morning for breakfast - this particular recipe looks quite delicious as well!

Anonymous said...

Whenever we made granola at the restaurant I worked at, we always added the fruit last to get the right textures for each, so I think that's the best method. Looks delicious though- You can't go too far wrong with granola!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Heavenly granola!

Deborah said...

This looks delicious. I love granola on top of yogurt for breakfast - yum!

Patricia Scarpin said...

This sure looks wonderful!!
I should try it this recipe, too, I love granola and I'm sure homemade is a lot better!

Belinda said...

Oh, this sounds like a wonderful recipe for making granola at home...to eat mixed into peach or raspberry yogurt! I have a strange addiction to those little tubs of yogurt that come with the tiny container of granola on top...with a nice jar of this on hand, I could add a double portion of granola. :-)

Brilynn said...

I saw a maple granola a while back that I wanted to try and this post has got me thinking that definitely has to happen soon.

kickpleat said...

i'm glad you tried the recipe and i'm sure the lack of oil and sugar/honey/syrup was the reason you didn't get it crunchy. it still sounds great over vector (the only store-bought cereal i buy) tho! and i too always have a big ol' jar i use to store my granola!

Carla said...

I'm not a huge granola fan, but I do like to eat oatmeal.

I'm guessing Dorie's lemon muffins are worth baking? I don't own poppyseed but I suppose I could go buy some for cheap. I can't wait to check out that book from the library again when I'm home during winter break.

eatme_delicious said...

athena: I hadn't thought of that but it's a great idea, thanks!

veggiegirl: I have fast become a person who eats granola everyday too! :)

hannah: Ah good to know. Thanks. :)

cookie baker lynn: Thanks!

deborah: Ah yes granola is very delicious with yogurt. I haven't tried my granola with yogurt yet though.

patricia: Thanks!

belinda: Oh I love the idea of those little things of yogurt with granola (or chocolate chips!) on top. Thanks. :)

brilynn: Oh that sounds good! I'll be keeping an eye out for it on your blog.

kickpleat: Thanks so much for posting the awesome recipe. :)

carla: Dorie's muffins are absolutely worth baking. If you don't want to bother getting poppyseeds you can just use the muffin base and add whatever you want. I want to try making earl grey white chocolate muffins using that base!

bushymustasch said...

I think a quarter cup of flax seeds has about 400 calories so I would toss the granola in Flax seed oil and then bake and Voila you will have Crispy Granola!