Homemade Granola
This recipe was submitted by Co-op Owner, Ujjaini Sahasrabudhe!
Ingredients
Base:
8 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
3 cups mixed nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, chopped almonds, cashews pieces, chopped peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and flax seeds, etc.)
1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (or to more to taste)
1 heaping tablespoon of nutmeg, all spice, ground clove, and crushed cardamom—combined
1 heaping teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Syrup:
1/2 cup neutral oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (you can also use honey)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Tips & Notes
After the granola is cooked, some people like to add in 1 cup raisins, dates, or other chopped, dried fruits such as cherries, pear, or apples.
The recipe is very forgiving—you will want to play around with the nut mixture, spices and sweeteners to settle on what you like. As long as you keep the ratio the same, its hard to go wrong with what you add.
Directions
1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two pans with silicone mats or parchment and set aside.
2. Place the rolled oats, grated coconut, and the mixed nuts in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Add the spices to the mix and continue to stir the dry mix gently.
3. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the oil, sugar, and maple syrup until well blended and runny, stirring occasionally. This should take a few minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Pour the sweet mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir with a spatula to coat the oats and nuts evenly. Try to move quickly while making sure that all of the granola is well coated in the syrup. Divide the mixture between the two, lined pans, patting with the back of a spatula to make thin, even layers.
5. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes, based on oven heat. Stir the trays and rotate the baking sheets every ten minutes to make sure everything gets even heat. You know its done when the rolled oats starts to brown.
6. Cool slightly before stirring in the dried fruits (if adding). Don’t store until everything is completely cool.
