The MOM 100 Blog
Crunchy Chewy Granola
by Katie Workman • November 09, 2012 Makes 6 to 7 cups
Granola is so customizable that once you start playing around with it, making granola can become almost as addictive as the granola itself. Although you will not actually be making the granola on a weekday morning, unless you plan to get up extra early, it will become a fantastic breakfast staple in your home.
You’ve probably read all about how most store-bought granolas have so much fat and sugar in them that you’d be better off eating a slab of French toast drizzled with syrup atop a plate of eggs Benedict for breakfast. And let’s face it, that’s why those granolas taste so decadent. You will notice that this recipe also has a bit of fat and sweetening in it, because otherwise the granola would in fact not taste so great (and it does taste great), but it is a much more tolerable amount than what you will find in most of the stuff you can buy. The granola keeps well, so feel free to double or triple the recipe.
For breakfast with milk, delicious, but if you are a granola person, relegating granola to breakfast simply will not do. You will start to look for opportunities to work granola into different corners of the day. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Use granola as a topping for yogurt, plain or flavored, and maybe some fresh fruit, too, layered up all parfaitlike; on ice cream; on oatmeal for some nice contrasting texture (see
page 16 for an oatmeal recipe); in a little cup, as a dip for
a banana—dip, bite, repeat; as a topping for a fruit crisp—sprinkle it on, dot it with tiny pieces of butter, and bake.
1⁄4 cup honey
1⁄4 cup pure maple syrup
2 large egg whites
1⁄3 cup vegetable oil, plus oil for the baking sheet (optional)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt
1⁄2 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)
4 cups old-fashioned oats (not quick-cooking)
1 cup chopped unsalted nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, or almonds (optional)
2 cups mixed chopped dried fruit, such as apricots or prunes, and/or dried cherries, blueberries, cranberries, and raisins
Nonstick cooking spray (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 275°F.
- Place the honey, maple syrup, egg whites, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest, if using, in a large bowl and mix until well blended. Set 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture aside in a medium-size bowl. Add the oats and nuts, if using, to the large bowl and mix with a spoon or your hands until everything is well combined and coated.
- Add the dried fruit to the reserved 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture and stir to combine. Set the dried fruit mixture aside.
- Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, or coat it lightly with oil, or line it with parchment paper. Spread the oat mixture out on the prepared baking sheet in a thin, even layer. Bake the oat mixture for 30 minutes.
- Add the dried fruit mixture to the oat mixture and stir well with a spoon mixture or spatula to combine. Spread the granola out again in an even layer. Bake the granola until the oats are golden brown and crunchy, 40 to 45 minutes, stirring it once more halfway through the baking time but leave some clumps! Let the granola cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack.
Cooking Tip
The granola bakes first without the dried fruit because the fruit doesn’t need as much time to get just the right amount of done. Trial and error confirmed that cooking the fruit for the whole 1 ¼ hours made it too tough and slightly burned tasting, while about 45 minutes was just enough to make it chewy and incorporated into the mix.
Make Ahead
You betcha; this granola keeps for three weeks in a cool place, well sealed.
What the Kids Can Do
Measure and mix and spread everything out on the baking sheet. With supervision regarding the hot baking sheet, they can gently stir the granola during baking.
THERE ARE 18 COMMENTS ON THIS POST:
@ 16:32 PM
Charity says ....
how much granola does this yield?
@ 17:41 PM
Katie Workman says ....
6 to 7 cups!
@ 11:38 AM
Healthy Granola says ....
Good read. Maybe that’s the best thing about granola, it’s customizable. Thanks for sharing.
@ 12:51 PM
Natalie says ....
I feel like I’ve been searching for the perfect granola recipe for almost a year… this is it!! The texture is perfect and it’s not that expensive to make!! Next time I’m going to add flax seed and during the fall maybe throw in some pumpkin seeds. YUM!!
@ 13:44 PM
Katie Workman says ....
so glad it hit the spot! and it is infinitely flexible (flax-ible? oh, I’m so funny.)
@ 20:26 PM
Mary says ....
I adore this cookbook and I am NOT a huge cookbook person. My kids and I have had a blast trying different recipes. This granola and the cumin on the roasted cauliflower (who knew?) are my favorite finds!! Yum!
@ 15:51 PM
Katie Workman says ....
hooray! Love to hear that. Thank you.
@ 17:00 PM
alyssa @ cogs and cupcakes says ....
This made granola of the perfect texture! Mine was actually done after 25 minutes though, but since I didn’t add any fruit it worked out wonderfully!
@ 12:38 PM
Katie Workman says ....
So glad! Every time someone reminds me of this recipe, I realize that I need to make it for my family.
@ 18:28 PM
Tanda says ....
We just made this today and it is awesome! So glad I received your book for Christmas!
@ 14:08 PM
Katie Workman says ....
So glad you liked it!
@ 21:03 PM
Cindy says ....
This is a great recipe! Thank you. Have you tried to make granola bars with this recipe? Any suggestions on what adjustments to make for granola bars?
Thanks!
@ 16:42 PM
Cindy says ....
This is a great recipe! Thank you. Have you ever tried to make granola bars with this recipe? Do you have suggestions on how to make that work?
@ 09:13 AM
Katie Workman says ....
Funny you should ask – it’s one of the recipes I am working on Stay tuned…..
@ 00:37 AM
Cindy says ....
Great! Can’t wait!
@ 01:39 AM
easy snack recipes says ....
Wonderful granola recipe. The chewiness was just perfect. My little nephews loved this.
@ 10:25 AM
Katie Workman says ....
so glad to hear!
@ 10:56 AM
Jackie Hammond says ....
This sounds very yummy and healthy. I love all the things in it. I would probably use all the varieties of nuts. I would make it my own by using the fruits and nuts I and my husband like.