Wednesday, July 14, 2010

From the Kitchen...

Photo: The Design Boards

I've been wanting to make my own granola for a while now and finally had some free time over the weekend to get into the kitchen and experiment.  I'm sorry I waited so long, the results were amazing.  So delicious and super easy to make.  It was so tasty and easy to prepare that I am thinking of making it for Christmas gifts this year, but that is another post...

The great thing about homemade granola is that you can control the amount of sugar you put into the recipe so feel free to adjust this recipe according to your own tastes.  I don't like super sweet breakfast cereals and I thought this was the perfect amount of 'sweet'.  You can also alter the type of nuts and/or seeds you use.  The recipe is very versatile but this version, in my opinion, is perfecto!

1 cup almonds
1 cup walnuts
Handful of flax seed
Handful of sunflower seeds
3 cups oats
1/4 heaping cup brown sugar
1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries)

Give the almonds and walnuts a rough pulse in a food processor. 

In a bowl, combine the chopped nuts, seeds, oats, and brown sugar.  In a separate bowl combine maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla extract, and salt.  Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir to combine. 

Lay the granola on a parchment lined jelly roll pan and bake in a 300° oven for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to allow for even baking.  In the last few minutes of baking, add the dried fruit to the pan (this helps soften up the fruit a bit which makes it easier to eat!).  Remove from oven when the granola is lightly browned and crunchy.

This should store well in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.  Enjoy!

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