Fruits and Nuts

Back in February I had the treat of tasting my friend Daisy's homemade granola. And I was lucky enough to get her recipe. I've been wanting to make granola ever since (especially after I lugged home a 9-pound box of oats from Costco), but first I had to use up all of the store-bought stuff in my cereal drawer.

My cereal drawer now has room, so Sunday was granola day (helped by the fact that the next Tuesdays With Dorie challenge recipe has granola is the main ingredient). Unfortunately I've managed to misplace Daisy's recipe. So I did a little research and devised a basic "test" recipe:

Beginner Granola

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups regular rolled oats
½ cup wheat germ
½ cup oat bran
1 cup finely chopped nuts (mixture of pecans, walnuts, and almonds)
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup or combined (I used half and half)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (I used almond)
2 ½ T warm water
2/3 cup dried fruit (can use dried cherries, cranberries, currants, dark or golden raisins, flaked coconut - I used mostly dried sour cherries with a few dark and golden raisins)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 245 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment, or spray baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray (or use a non-stick cookie sheet)

2. In a medium bowl, mix oats, wheat germ, oat bran, nuts, and salt.

3. In a small saucepan, bring syrup, honey, oil, extract, and water to a simmer over medium heat. Then drizzle liquid over oat mixture and stir to combine.

4. Spread the mixture onto the baking sheet, squeezing lightly to help form clumps.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Stir in fruit, then bake for 20 minutes more.

6. Store in airtight container for up to 1 month.

The Verdict:
We love this granola! It's not super sweet, nor is it extremely clumpy - I like granola exactly this way. The maple and almond flavors and the cherries are great together.

Add 2-3 T. brown sugar if you prefer a sweeter granola.

If you want clumpier granola, you should probably increase the quantity of the wet ingredients.

I made some of the granola without fruit to use in the next TWD recipe, which is Granola Grabbers. I baked them yesterday because I will be out of town starting on Friday. With any luck I will write the post and have it on delay until posting day, Tuesday, August 19.

Oh, and the honey was from a monastery in Connecticut, motto: "Where the Glory Bees are Sweeter"!