Recently one of my best friends said I had gone granola. I take that as a compliment. So in honor of her (love ya Beth!) I'm sharing my favorite granola recipes. These recipes are great for a snack or for breakfast. I usually just add some fresh fruit or raisins!
Granola
10 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
½ lb. shredded coconut
2 cups raw sunflower seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
3 cups almonds, pecans, walnuts or combo of all three (I also added pumpkin seeds to my last batch.)
1 ½ cup brown sugar (or 1/2 t mapeline to avoid sugar)
1 ½ cup water
1 ½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup honey
½ cup molasses (If you sub here add same amount of sugar or honey)
1 ½ t salt
2 t cinnamon
3 t vanilla
Raisins, if desired
Mix first six ingredients. In another pan combine the brown sugar, water, oil, honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Heat until sugar is dissolved but do not boil. Pour syrup over the dry ingredients and stir until well coated. Line two to three jellyroll sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Spread granola in thin layer. Bake 20-30 minutes at 325, stirring occasionally. Bake 15 minutes longer if you want it crunchier. This keeps six months. Makes 20 cups.
Homemade Granola
½ cup shredded coconut
4 cups old fashioned oats
¼ cup wheat germ
1 T. sesame seeds
1 cup almonds
¼ cup sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds)
½ t ground cinnamon
¼ t freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup honey
8 T butter, melted
½ cup golden raisins (optional)
- Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread coconut on top. Bake until toasted. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Decrease oven temperature to 300. Line two baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In a large bowl, toss together oats, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together honey and butter. Pour over oat mixture. Stir well. Spread onto two sheets. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Break up granola, sprinkle with raisins and toasted coconut.
Trail Mix
(This is a yummy snack idea from Rachel Ray)
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split
1 cup oats
1 cup peeled hazelnuts
2 cups whole natural almonds
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup shelled pumpkin or sunflower seeds
1 cup chocolate candy coated peanuts, or chocolate chips (you can pretty much add anything here - butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, etc, or nothing at all!)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place maple syrup on the stove with cinnamon and vanilla over medium low heat to infuse the flavor. Warm syrup a couple of minutes. Remove from heat.
Combine hazelnuts, almonds, raisins, cranberries and seeds in a bowl. Toss with maple syrup and remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Spread the maple coated mixture onto a cookie sheet and roast 15 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven and transfer to another cold pan, tossing the mix to quick-cool it. Once cool, toss with candy.
You can obviously make substitutions here if you don't have all the ingredients - (use normal cinnamon, vanilla or other nuts, such as cashews, almonds, etc.)
