Cooking

Two trays of granola, ready for the oven.

There are plenty of prepackaged granolas out there, but I like mine the best. It’s based on Alton Brown’s recipe, but I’ve played with the ingredients a bit and have ended up with a creation that’s uniquely mine.

I use two kinds of almonds because I like the difference in texture between the slivers and the slices. The basic recipe always has almonds, cashews and coconut, but the other add-ins largely depend on what I have in my pantry when it’s Granola Day.

Ingredients

• 6 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup broken cashews
• 1 cup shredded sweet coconut
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
• 1/2 cup pistachios (optional)
• 1/2 cup flax seeds (optional)
• 1/2 cup pepitas (optional)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• Vanilla extract
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cover two large sheet pans with foil.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut and brown sugar. Mix thoroughly to distribute the brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, vanilla and salt.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix thoroughly. Pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes and switching racks to achieve an even color.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets. Once cool, store in an airtight container or zip-top baggie.

To maximize the life of the granola, add your chosen fruit — raisins, dates, dried cranberries, dried cherries, chopped dried apricots — as needed when serving.

I like to mix a handful with Greek yogurt and dried fruit for a lazy lunch.

Results

The Tiny Kitchen Assistant never ate granola before, but once he helped me make it and understood the ingredients, he was sold. he munched on “sneaky handfuls” that he swiped from the tray as it cooled. I think it’s a hit.

Tags: Alton Brown, breakfast, cereal, granola, main dish, nuts, oats, oven

« Previous Entry Next Entry »