Thursday, March 27, 2014

the art of granola


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I am getting a bit of a reputation: I am the girl who makes granola. I LOVE making it, so naturally when it is done, I post a picture on facebook. And then all my friends want the recipe. And that’s exciting and all, but the problem is…I don’t really have a recipe. I have a recipe for dark chocolate sea salt granola, but these days I just throw oats in a bowl with whatever else we have on hand and hope for the best. Last week, we had cinnamon walnut granola. This week was chocolate chip pecan! The possibilities are endless. I told my friends, who were begging for the recipe for chocolate chip pecan granola, that granola making is more art than science for me. So I suppose, then, that it is my job to teach you all the art and inspire you to create your own amazing varieties of granola! It really is simple and fun!

Here is the basic mixture for any granola recipe I make. Just five ingredients!

Basic Granola Mixture:
4 cups oats
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
salt to taste
cinnamon to taste

Combine all of these ingredients in a bowl. YOU CANNOT MESS THIS UP! You can melt the coconut oil if you want, but I refuse, because that would be more work, and the little chunks of coconut oil create wonderful little granola clusters! Feel free to add more honey, less honey, more salt, less salt, lots of cinnamon, no cinnamon…this is your granola and, I repeat, you cannot mess it up! Be sure to taste it along the way as you make adjustments, too. That is half the fun!

Beyond this basic mixture, the possibilities are ENDLESS! Fruit? Nuts? Chocolate? Vanilla or other extracts? Experiment with what you have! I must say, the pecan chocolate chip is my favorite so far. It is simply the above granola base, some cocoa powder (2-3 tablespoons), some chocolate chips (1/4-1/2 cup, to taste), and chopped pecans (about 1/2 cup). I love some chocolate in my granola, but it can’t be too rich to eat with yogurt or fruit! So this little bit of chocolate, along with the pecans that roast perfectly as the granola bakes, is ideal for me. If you’re going for super simple, just add lots of cinnamon (to taste, of course!) to the basic granola mixture above and throw in some nuts of your choice, and you have a wonderful cinnamon honey nut granola that tastes like a warm oatmeal cookie!

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  2. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Stir them. Be creative. Taste them. Do not fear.
  3. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Pour granola masterpiece onto parchment paper and spread evenly.
  5. Bake for 60 minutes at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes. If desired, drizzle additional honey or melting ingredients (such as chocolate chips!) on top of the granola before returning it to the oven—this helps create additional yummy clusters!
  6. Let cool.
  7. Enjoy!

Be brave. Be creative. And let me know what delicious combinations you discover!