Homemade Granola – Our Very Favorite Recipe

I didn’t start out as a fan of granola. Not even the thought of homemade granola did anything for me.  There’s something about the flavor of the sort that comes in a box that never sat well with me, and after that wayward Summer we spent with the cousins when the aunt decided that orange juice was a suitable wetting agent for cereal, namely granola, the fate of the oaten pariah was sealed for me. Proof that even a kichen maven can get it wrong every once in a while.

I guess time softened the memory because I made a batch a few years back when my oatmeal-for-breakfast experiment didn’t go over so well, and I was staring at a Costco sized cylinder of the stuff that needed to be disposed of.  Somewhat morally opposed to tossing perfectly good (in a manner of speaking) food (years of Catholic education and Lenten sermonizing will do that to a person), I was contemplating oatmeal cookies (also not a fan … so sue me) when there on the Food Network I saw Alton Brown making granola and it looked good.  Really good. In hindsight I realized it may have had something to do with being unknowingly pregnant at the time with the last of my little miracles, I was in the kitchen lickety split to make my first batch.

I’ve been making it now for years (my original printout of the recipe, marked up and splattered is dated 5 Jan 2005 … how time flies) and I haven’t followed the original recipe for some time, tweaking to suit tastes and/or supply on hand.  Also, I do not ever, nor wiIl I ever, add raisins.  There are few fruits and veggies I dislike but grapes are one of them and their dehydrated brethren are even worse.  I do, however, have a soft spot for the fermented variety.  Go figure.  In any case we’ve settled on dried cherries or cranberries as the chewy tart element to balance out the crunchy, sweet, and surprisingly tasty salt components.

I still can’t eat the stuff wet.  But for my folks, I make yogurt parfaits which they can eat obscene amounts of.  I use Icelandic vanilla yogurt because it has the best flavor and doesn’t have that disconcertingly gelatinous mouth-feel that I find in most mass-produced yogurts, even Greek-style.  And one final note on yogurt from my over-the-shoulder editor, Aiden says it tastes best with lemon yogurt.  He’s a wild man.

Here you go, homemade granola.

Put the oats and nuts into a large heat-proof (that part’s for later) bowl. I’ve coarsely hammered the nuts so that a mouthful of the granola has a bit of everything but not so small that you can’t tell what you’re eating. 

Please note – with this recipe – I’m sort of lacidasical about how carefully I measure.  This granola is not a clumpy version so the more the merrier.  If I want a slightly less sweet granola, I sometimes use the large cut unsweetened coconut flakes; it’s a nice change of pace.  I use what I’ve got on hand.  And other than that one ill-fated garlic granola, it’s all been good.  I kid.  I kid.  Just seeing if you’re paying attention.

Add the brown sugar (that thing in the center of the bowl below that looks like a spray can lid … to me anyway), the maple syrup and the canola oil.   A note about maple syrup:  Only use real and Grade B has the best flavor.  That stuff in the little lady bottle or simply called syrup is corn syrup, artificial flavor, and petroleum-based artificial color.  Not that I’m being judgy but that stuff is an offense to all things called food.

Stir everything together and pour onto the baking sheet, spreading in an even layer.

Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every fifteen … or thirty… or 45 minutes.  Or be smart and set the timer to remind you.  No harm done but you’ll get a more even toasting if you stir with some frequency and regularity.

When it’s toasty delicious and your house smells terrific, take it out of the oven and put into the cleaned bowl to cool.

Once cooled, add the mix-ins if you’re using them and stir to incorporate.  It’s now ready to eat.

A scoop of vanilla yogurt, a nice bunch of berries, and a handful of this homemade granola.  Delicious.  I almost didn’t post this recipe because it’s just so easy.   Ah, but the devil’s in the details and it’s sometimes the easiest recipes that flummox future preparers because the tweaks and substitutions are what get you every time.  So, here you go, my version of homemade granola. Have at it, and mazel tov!