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wesleysgirlI willingly admit that this was a totally made-up recipe, loosely based on Alton Brown's homemade granola recipe (courtesy of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
justhuman) and then tweaked to my heart's content. It's not the only granola I'm going to make, though, so if the end result is less than perfect it's my own fault. I promise not to blame Alton. Or JH.
Tropical Granola
Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped honey-roasted almonds
1 cup roasted cashew halves
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried sweetened pineapple
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, cashews and coconut.
I think this is the place where I admit that I was completely convinced I had sliced almonds in the refrigerator, only to discover when I went looking for them that what I actually had was pecans. I don't really love pecans and I can't remember why I bought this specific package of them, although the bag was opened so apparently I used them in something... oh! Now I remember, it was that recipe for crock pot sweet potatoes. And I didn't like them in that either, because they cooked so long in the crock pot that they were all soft and mealy and weird.
I do like pecan pie, probably because the main ingredient seems to be brown sugar!
Anyway, I did have a small jar of honey roasted almonds in the cupboard, so I decided I'd just use those. But they were whole almonds, so I had to roughly chop them, which turned out to be a messy and imperfect process. (They were these, in case anyone wants to know!)
In a medium sized bowl, combine brown sugar, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract, coconut extract, and salt.
(I then put the bowl into the microwave and heated it briefly so that the brown sugar would sort of melt into the liquid ingredients:)
I'm sure you all now feel grateful and educated that you know what these ingredients look like when they're stirred together. *Rolls eyes*
Pour over oat mixture in large bowl and toss until all dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Spread onto 2 shallow baking sheets -
Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until browned.
Let cool, then toss with cranberries and pineapple.
I thought the pineapple pieces were too big, so I cut them into smaller bits and tossed them with about a 1/2 tsp of confectioner's sugar to coat the cut surfaces so they wouldn't be so sticky.
The smell while it was baking, even before the first 15 minutes is up, is amazing. I want to eat it right now.
I baked it for the full hour and fifteen minutes because I really wanted it to be crunchy, but I think an hour would have been fine. The coconut browned beautifully and so did the nuts - though I think almonds that hadn't already been coated with honey and roasted would have been better for this recipe, honestly. Some of them seem just a little bit "too" done. Either way, the end result is amazing. It's very crunchy, though not in a tooth-cracking way - tender-crunchy - and it has a sweet-salty thing that works for me even if it might actually be a bit too salty.
(When I suggested that it might be too salty to my husband, he scoffed. He never thinks anything is too salty.)
While looking for granola recipes, I was able to find many that sounded really good. Here are a few of them:
Peanut Butter Granola
Easy Homemade Granola (Amateur Gourmet)
Cherry, Almond and Cinnamon Granola (Barefoot Contessa)
Chunky Date, Coconut and Almond Granola (Epicurious)
The more you read granola recipes, the more you realize that they're all incredibly similar. Oats, plus nuts/dried fruit, tossed with a mixture of sweetener/fat. The percentage of nuts and fruit to oats is pretty flexible, and the sweetener/fat can be whatever you prefer - honey, maple syrup, brown sugar - oil, butter, peanut butter. I love that it's so versatile, so you can make granola to suit your personal tastes.
One of the reasons I find the flexibility of granola's recipe so appealing is that I am, I suppose, a somewhat fussy eater. I've had too many experiences with slightly (or more than slightly!) rancid walnuts to find them an acceptable addition, and I don't really like pecans, and I think hazelnuts and macadamias have a weird texture. Since nuts are such a common ingredient in granola, many packaged granolas include some of these, so the thought of being able to make my own granola with ONLY the additions that I prefer is wonderful.
Before I made this batch, the idea of homemade granola seemed intimidating. Now that I've given it a try, I can report that it was super-easy. Even the stir-every-15-minutes aspect was easy, given another simultaneous project (mine was cleaning the kitchen). I'd have to do some calculations to find out how cost effective it is, but I'm under the impression that homemade granola is a LOT less costly than the packaged type.
If you like granola, do you have a favorite way to eat it? I like it sprinkled on top of yogurt, or with a container of yogurt blobbed onto the top of it.
justhuman) and then tweaked to my heart's content. It's not the only granola I'm going to make, though, so if the end result is less than perfect it's my own fault. I promise not to blame Alton. Or JH.Tropical Granola
Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped honey-roasted almonds
1 cup roasted cashew halves
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried sweetened pineapple
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, cashews and coconut.
I think this is the place where I admit that I was completely convinced I had sliced almonds in the refrigerator, only to discover when I went looking for them that what I actually had was pecans. I don't really love pecans and I can't remember why I bought this specific package of them, although the bag was opened so apparently I used them in something... oh! Now I remember, it was that recipe for crock pot sweet potatoes. And I didn't like them in that either, because they cooked so long in the crock pot that they were all soft and mealy and weird.
I do like pecan pie, probably because the main ingredient seems to be brown sugar!
Anyway, I did have a small jar of honey roasted almonds in the cupboard, so I decided I'd just use those. But they were whole almonds, so I had to roughly chop them, which turned out to be a messy and imperfect process. (They were these, in case anyone wants to know!)
In a medium sized bowl, combine brown sugar, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract, coconut extract, and salt.
(I then put the bowl into the microwave and heated it briefly so that the brown sugar would sort of melt into the liquid ingredients:)
I'm sure you all now feel grateful and educated that you know what these ingredients look like when they're stirred together. *Rolls eyes*
Pour over oat mixture in large bowl and toss until all dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Spread onto 2 shallow baking sheets -
Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until browned.
Let cool, then toss with cranberries and pineapple.
I thought the pineapple pieces were too big, so I cut them into smaller bits and tossed them with about a 1/2 tsp of confectioner's sugar to coat the cut surfaces so they wouldn't be so sticky.
The smell while it was baking, even before the first 15 minutes is up, is amazing. I want to eat it right now.
I baked it for the full hour and fifteen minutes because I really wanted it to be crunchy, but I think an hour would have been fine. The coconut browned beautifully and so did the nuts - though I think almonds that hadn't already been coated with honey and roasted would have been better for this recipe, honestly. Some of them seem just a little bit "too" done. Either way, the end result is amazing. It's very crunchy, though not in a tooth-cracking way - tender-crunchy - and it has a sweet-salty thing that works for me even if it might actually be a bit too salty.
(When I suggested that it might be too salty to my husband, he scoffed. He never thinks anything is too salty.)
While looking for granola recipes, I was able to find many that sounded really good. Here are a few of them:
Peanut Butter Granola
Easy Homemade Granola (Amateur Gourmet)
Cherry, Almond and Cinnamon Granola (Barefoot Contessa)
Chunky Date, Coconut and Almond Granola (Epicurious)
The more you read granola recipes, the more you realize that they're all incredibly similar. Oats, plus nuts/dried fruit, tossed with a mixture of sweetener/fat. The percentage of nuts and fruit to oats is pretty flexible, and the sweetener/fat can be whatever you prefer - honey, maple syrup, brown sugar - oil, butter, peanut butter. I love that it's so versatile, so you can make granola to suit your personal tastes.
One of the reasons I find the flexibility of granola's recipe so appealing is that I am, I suppose, a somewhat fussy eater. I've had too many experiences with slightly (or more than slightly!) rancid walnuts to find them an acceptable addition, and I don't really like pecans, and I think hazelnuts and macadamias have a weird texture. Since nuts are such a common ingredient in granola, many packaged granolas include some of these, so the thought of being able to make my own granola with ONLY the additions that I prefer is wonderful.
Before I made this batch, the idea of homemade granola seemed intimidating. Now that I've given it a try, I can report that it was super-easy. Even the stir-every-15-minutes aspect was easy, given another simultaneous project (mine was cleaning the kitchen). I'd have to do some calculations to find out how cost effective it is, but I'm under the impression that homemade granola is a LOT less costly than the packaged type.
If you like granola, do you have a favorite way to eat it? I like it sprinkled on top of yogurt, or with a container of yogurt blobbed onto the top of it.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-02-27 06:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-27 06:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-27 06:30 pm (UTC)http://www.pinkofperfection.com/2008/05/homemade-muesli/
OT
Date: 2011-02-27 06:55 pm (UTC)Re: OT
Date: 2011-02-27 09:31 pm (UTC)Re: OT
Date: 2011-02-27 09:41 pm (UTC)Re: OT
Date: 2011-02-27 11:28 pm (UTC)But only if you are bored and really feel like it. Because I can always just snag the full of cake one!
Re: OT
Date: 2011-02-28 04:06 pm (UTC)Re: OT
Date: 2011-02-28 04:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-28 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-28 01:02 am (UTC)Now I want granola too. At some point I need to make posts about pumpkin/squash based recipes that I've tried.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-28 01:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-28 01:22 am (UTC)