This was item #2 in my Thursday night baking sprint. Once you try it fresh from the oven, and not fresh from the bag, you'll be making it all. the. time.
As always, * for organic, ** for local!
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| Granola to the rescue! |
Easy Homemade Granola (it really was easy!)
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
2 cups rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill, cause Bob knows his oats)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (original recipe called for 1 teaspoon of cinnamon)
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (from Trader Joe's--this was my addition!)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey**
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract*
2/3 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup dried cherries
Dried apples
*feel free to add 1/3 cup whole hazelnuts for 1/3 of the almonds. I didn't have any hazelnuts on hand, and they were expensive, so I just added the nuts I had! I wouldn't recommend subbing with walnuts--ick.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Swear quietly to yourself because you realize that you forgot to get parchment paper at the store. Turn off your preheated oven, run to the store, and get parchment paper. It's essential to this recipe, otherwise you'll literally have a hot mess to deal with as you're cooking.
In a large bowl, toss the oats with the spices and salt.
In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined, in other words, until the oil does not float to the top of the sugar/honey mixture. Count this towards 5 minutes of arm exercises for the day.
Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated. You have to use your hands. Don't be a wimp. But do wash your hands before and after.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared (WITH PARCHMENT PAPER!) baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave it kind of clumpy so you have those nice clumps that make granola so awesome.
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| Tyler's Dehydrated Apple Rings |
Bake for 10 minutes, and remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Swear a little bit louder, because the parchment paper slides around and makes this lifting and flipping rather difficult--like trying to open your mascara tube after you put lotion on your face. If you have a helper, have them hold down the parchment while you flip. If you have a partner that was busy playing the new Deus Ex game while you were baking like a maniac for no apparent reason, and would have begrudgingly helped you had you asked, and you'd rather just swear and flip like me, well, good for you for being independent and not asking for help to a problem you could solve yourself.
After the first flip, sprinkle the whole almonds over the granola before returning it to the oven. If you're using an almond/hazelnut combination, take the granola back out after 5 minutes, lift and flip granola, and sprinkle the hazelnuts. If not using hazelnuts, just lift and flip after 5 minutes.
Bake for 10 more minutes (Jesus H, how many more times do I have to endure the lift and flip!?), and then remove from the oven (whew, no more lift and flip). Let it cool completely. Sprinkle the raisins and cherries over the granola, and your dried apples if using (that was my addition--Tyler got himself a food dehydrator and dehydrated some apples sprinkled with cinnamon, and I diced the rings and put them in--why not? It's my fucking granola and I'll do what I want) and use your hands to transfer it to an airtight container. It keeps for up to a week, but I guarantee you'll eat it all long before then.
As I said, it's your fucking granola, do what you want. I added apples, omitted hazelnuts, added more almonds, and pumpkin pie spice. It was awesome. Just follow the basic oats to liquid/sweet ratio and you'll be fine!
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