If you’ve never made your own granola, I suggest you do. Homemade granola has been on my list of things to attempt making for a number of months. As well as my list of things I spend too much money on, fully knowing that homemade can be cheaper and equally as tasty.
I’m excited to experiment with other ingredients and flavors. This came out surprisingly well for a first time attempt! I tried to incorporate some chai spice flavors and the result was just that – slightly spicy with a definite hint of ginger.
Maple Honey Granola
Ingredients:
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (NOT the quick cooking kind!)
½ cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/3 cup chopped cashews
1/3 cup dried cranberries
¼ cup dried blueberries
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/3 cup oil (coconut, light olive, or sunflower)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. water
1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. dried ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a large baking sheet (or two, if you prefer) with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, and cashews.
Toss together to combine, then add the cinnamon, salt, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and black pepper. Mix well.
In a medium-sized pot, combine the oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, and water. Stir constantly over medium-high heat, until all the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Pour the maple mixture into the bowl of oats. Stir until all the oats are covered in the sugar mixture.
Spread the oats evenly onto your prepared baking sheet(s). Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove the oats from the oven. Mix the blueberries, cranberries, and coconut into the mixture. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Cool completely before storing the granola.
Makes about 8 cups.
Serve with milk, over yogurt, or on ice cream.
Julie Hashimoto-McCreery
