When the container of rolled oats hit its second birthday I decided it was time to do something with them. I’ve never had a great oatmeal made with rolled oats, so I decided to try my hand at granola. Joy of Cooking had a basic recipe which I adapted (my first real recipe!). The entire process takes about 75 minutes, makes the entire apartment smell delicious, and provides enough granola for an entire week or rather heavy granola eating (that translates to about 5 cups). A real win in my book - I even had to buy more rolled oats.
I’ve done three combinations so far:
- Dried cherry, cashews, and cocoa nibs
- Dried cranberry, cashews, and coconut flakes
- Dried blueberry, slivered almonds, coconut flakes, and anise powder
The last one was really good and I think I’d try adding more spices, but it does seem to brown a little faster. I’ve also only used maple syrup as a sweetener, but you could use honey as well. One of my friends even mentioned that she’d tried coconut oil instead of canola oil.
Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup vegetable oil (I’ve used canola, but you could experiment here)
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 cup nuts broken into pieces (cashews, almonds, etc.)
- 1 cup dried fruit (dried cherries, cranberries, blueberries, etc.)
- ¼ cup coconut flakes (this is optional and could be substituted for 3 tbs. cocoa nibs if you prefer)
- 1 tsp spices (optional - you might try cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, etc.)
Processs:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Spread oats on a large baking sheet and toast for 15 min stirring occasionally.
Place oil and syrup in a small saucepan and heat for about 5 minutes.
Once oats are cool enough to touch, pour into a large mixing bowl and add dried fruit, nuts, and coconut. Pour oil mixture into bowl and add any spices. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly coated.
Spread the granola back onto the baking sheet (you may need two depending on the size) and place in the oven for 45 minutes stirring every 10-15 min to prevent burning.
Remove granola from oven, allow to cool, and scrape off the pan - it’s fine if there are clumps. Store in an airtight container for 1 week.