almond-maple granola clusters

I really love making and eating granola. I am a bit of a snacker, and I don't feel guilty when I eat granola—especially if it's homemade, hence the many posts of new granola recipes. I was looking for one that had the texture of those Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, cause they are so great for an on-the-go snack, and I found this one from one of my favorite sites, Serious Eats. I like that it makes so much, and can keep for a long time, cause who doesn't love a time-saver? Also, the recipe is originally gluten-free, but I made this using wheat flour, and less salt than originally called for.

Almond-Maple Granola Clusters, adapted from Serious Eats

yield: makes about 7 cups of granola, active time 15 minutes, total time about one hour

Ingredients:
6 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (use the real stuff)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 °F;. Line an 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with a slipat or parchment paper. Set pan aside. In large bowl, toss together oats, almond flour, wheat flour, and salt. Pour canola oil evenly over the mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to coat mixture evenly with oil.

Combine maple syrup and dark brown sugar in a medium pot. Warm mixture over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about six minutes. Gently stir the mixture frequently. Remove pot from the heat. Add vanilla extract. Stir to combine.

Pour sugar-mixture over oat-mixture. Stir with a wood spoon to combine. At first, the granola will be thick and sticky. Continue stirring, breaking up an lumps of sugar/oats with the back of the wooden spoon, until the sugar-maple is evenly distributed.

Press mixture very firmly into prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and aromatic, about 45 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Immediately score granola into bars. (The granola might break into smaller pieces when scored. This is fine.) Allow granola to cool. "Snap" bars into bite-size nuggets. Store granola in a covered container for up to two weeks.

**Note from Serious Eats author: The recipe makes a generous amount of granola. If you don't have an 18 by 13-inch baking pan, divide the granola between two 13 by 9-inch pans. Squeezing all the granola into one 13 by 9-inch pan causes the granola to bake unevenly and the finished granola isn't crisp.

granola pie

My oldest sister had been telling me for a while that I needed to try this recipe for Granola Pie that 2.0 made for their family before. For some reason, I slept on it trying it. I guess the title Granola Pie doesn't quite indicate just how amazing this pie is. It's like Pecan Pie and Toll-House Pie had a gooey-mouthwatering pie baby. A pie baby that I want to adopt, then consume on the regular. It's an amazing comfort food dessert. Warm, rich, chocolatey, scrumptious. So, the next time you want people to have to pause after taking a bite, just to function, make this pie. Then work out a lot afterwards.

Adapted from Pillsbury

Ingredients:
1 Pie crust
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 Nature Valley® Oats 'n Honey crunchy granola bars (2 pouches from 8.9-oz. box), crushed (3/4 cup)*
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

*To easily crush granola bars, do not unwrap. Use rolling pin to crush bars.

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie plate.

In large microwavable bowl, microwave butter on high 50 to 60 seconds or until melted. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup until blended. Beat in salt, vanilla and eggs. Stir crushed granola bars, oats and chocolate chips into brown sugar mixture. Pour into crust-lined pan.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until filling is set and crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled with whipped cream. (I added cinnamon to my whipped cream.) Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.

**disclaimer, all my photos are taken with my phone, until I get a nicer camera, my pictures will be not that awesome. 

olive oil granola with dried apricots and pistachios

(photo by Julia Bender)

Remember how I'm obsessed with granola? I see a new variation, and I can't help but try it. This was my latest discovery, and I sure do love it. I found this recipe from the New York Times, via thekitchn (have you noticed I like that blog? Cause I'm siting it in almost every post? Can I work for them, please?) It's so delicious. It's got a bit of a savory vibe, working with a little bit of sweet. It's like a sophisticated granola. The ingredients are a little on the expensive side, so in the future, I'd like to try swapping out different nuts and seeds to make a less expensive version. But try this at least once, you'll love it! I know I did. Lots.

Olive Oil Granola With Dried Apricots and Pistachios

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raw pistachios, hulled
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled
1 cup coconut chips
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
Fresh ricotta, for serving (optional)
Fresh berries, for serving (optional).

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats,
pistachios, pumpkin seeds, coconut chips, maple syrup, olive oil,
brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Spread mixture on a rimmed
baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every
10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.

2. Transfer granola to a large bowl and add apricots, tossing to
combine. Serve with ricotta and fruit, if desired.

Yield: About 9 cups.

slow cooker granola

Slow cooker granola sounds totally weird, right? Well, as you know, I've been looking for mulitple ways to use my crock pot/slow cooker and have looked up a lot of ideas on the interwebs and in books. I keep finding great recipes in this one that my parents got me a few Christmases ago (before they realized that I didn't have a functioning slow cooker.) This is the same book I got the apple butter recipe from. And we know how much I liked (loved) that. This is a great granola recipe, and the thing I love about granola is that it's so flexible. You can really change things up depending on what you have on hand or are just in the mood for. I was regretfully out of coconut (the horror!) and had some toasted macadamia nuts on hand so I changed things up a little from the original recipe, but you can really be loosey-goosey with these things.

Maple-Almond Granola
5 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds (I added 1/2 cup of toasted macadamia nuts, as well)
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries (I used this amount of a mixed bag of dried fruit)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (it's near impossible to find unsweetened so just use what you can find)
1/2 cup chopped dates (I substituted raisins)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2/3 cup pure maple syrup (this doesn't leave an overwhelming maple flavor. Just enough to sweeten)
1/4 cup canola oil (I did a little less)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

1. Combine all the ingredients in a lightly buttered slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
2. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is crisp and dry.
3. Spread the granola on a baking sheet to cool completely (I totally skipped this step). Store in airtight jars. It will taste best if used within 2 weeks.

more granola bars

 so, it maaaaay seem that i am obsessed with granola. well... that's only because it's true. it's delicious and filling and i love oats and it's usually in the healthy vein of things. also, as i've said before, i want to avoid preservatives in my snacks, etc. so here is another recipe i tried, and this one is gluten free. this recipe was found on phoo-d via food gawker.

so i made some changes based on what i had on hand and really, whatever i felt like putting in. here is the original recipe.

and for my altered version:

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup coconut
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
      (****because i changed things a bit, i think this could use less honey and less brown sugar****)
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chopped dried fruit (i used a mixed bag)


pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil (or silpat). mix together the oats, wheat germ, seeds, and nuts and coconut on the baking sheet. place the sheet in the oven and toast the dry ingredients for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally and keeping a close watch to make sure they do not burn. as soon as the ingredients are toasted, remove the pan from the oven.

while the dry ingredients are toasting, line a 11x13 inch rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper and spray it lightly with cooking oil (this is an important step!)

place a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add in the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt. bring the mixture to a strong boil for two minutes stirring constantly. remove from heat.

place the toasted ingredients in a large bowl, and stir in the dried fruit. pour the hot liquids into the bowl and stir  until all of the ingredients are moist and well combined.

using a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape the mixture into the prepared baking sheet, pressing down to evenly spread out the mixture. fold over the greased waxed paper or add another greased sheet on top and press down hard all over the granola. set the baking sheet aside and let the bars cool for 2-3 hours until they are hardened.

once the bars are hard, peel off the waxed paper and turn the granola out onto a cutting board. cut the granola into bars by pressing straight down with a long knife (don't saw or they will crumble). the bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature individually wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a week.

 

i really loved this recipe and i think you should try it!

**UPDATE: I made this again and instead of whole flax seeds, I used ground flax and I liked it so much better!

granola with coconut and dried apricots

i'm always looking for nutritious snacks and with no preservatives that don't taste like stale cardboard. luckily, i found this granola recipe on smittenkitchen.com but made a few adjustments to make it less of a granola bar and more loose granola i could eat as cereal or just munch on.


2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed
3/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cup dried apricots

preheat your oven to 350°F. butter a 9×13-inch pan.

toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ and flax seed. reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

while the mixture is still warm, stir in the honey, vanilla, coconut and almond extracts and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit. pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in (wet fingers and/or a silicon spatula work great for this) until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible.

bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown.

store these in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or two.

(with milk and bananas - dreamy!)

granola bars

cooking in a new kitchen the first time is always a learning experience. for example, i have to learn where exactly i put all my stuff, i learned that i didn't have raisins like i thought i did, and that both my oven and stove-top cook extra hot/fast (note to self, bake everything at 25° less than called for—ALWAYS). consequently, my granola bars came out crunchy when i was going for the softer kind. still very yummy just more crunchy than i was going for.

this recipe came from my oldest sister and are always a hit on road trips or just for a good healthy-ish treat. and since i'm trying to eat as little processed goods as possible (darn you cheetos and oreos for being so delicious)– these are an easy snack to make.


1/3 c. oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. honey
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 c. oats
2 c. rice krispies
1 c. raisins (or chocolate chips if you don't have said raisins or just plain don't like them)

in large bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and egg. add
flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. mix well. stir in oats,
cereal, and raisins. grease 9x13 inch pan. press mixture into pan. for
chewy bars bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. for crunchier bars, bake 25
minutes. slice into 16 bars.

granola

my oldest sister, kristin told me about this granola the other day and it's so delish and easy to make.


1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

mix together and then add:

3 cups oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sliced almonds

Mix together and pour onto greased cookie sheet (i used a silpat and i think it helps it to not burn.) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes stirring often. Add handful of raisins while cooling (i put them in the last few minutes so they'd plump up a bit.)