Granola

It was not difficult to decide what recipe to make for my first post. A while ago I started making yogurt.  There is nothing better than smooth, creamy, homemade yogurt served with a generous helping of crunchy and sweet granola. I would buy bags of natural granola at the grocery store, and let me tell you, I found that my granola addiction was getting to be a bit expensive. Also, I did not find any granola with dark chocolate (which I think goes extremely well with yogurt, but that should probably the subject of another entry). Making granola is as easy as stirring ingredients together. You can make it with any nuts and dried fruits that you may have around your kitchen. Granola does not need to have three types of nuts and four types of dried fruit to be good. Experiment with the flavors that appeal to you most.  You could also reduce the amount of honey and oil used if you are watching your sugar and fat intake. I like my granola crunchy and sweet and I find these amounts of honey and oil yield the best results for the amount of oats. I make this at least once a month, share with friends, and there is never enough to go around. In fact, I won’t even have to say that this keeps well for about a month because it will be devoured long before that. And when people ask me what I was doing during the “blizzard” of 2010, I will be able to say I was making a big batch of granola. If you are in the DC region you know what I mean.

Granola 2010

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups dry roasted macadamia nuts (or slivered almonds)
¼ cup sesame seeds
1 cup dried cherries
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine oats, macadamia nuts, sesame seeds, cherries, and salt together in a large bowl.
3. In a microwavable container, pour the canola oil, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar and heat for 45 seconds.  Add the oil mixture to the oat mixture and stir until all the oats and nuts are coated with the liquids. Pour in a rimmed cookie sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, stirring 2-3 times during baking.
5. Remove the granola from the oven and allow to completely cool on the cookie sheet.  Once the granola is completely cooled, add the chocolate chips. Store the granola in an airtight container. Makes about eight cups.