I don’t know why I waited so long to try my hand at granola. I guess I always thought it was pretty complicated and at times I’m not as patient as I should be in the kitchen, hence why I tend to burn bacon. So it’s weird that my kitchen patience isn’t tested by breadmaking or complicated desserts. Maybe it’s because I adore fresh bread and desserts and up till now haven’t had any truly note-worthy granola? But that’s all in the past thanks to my friend Aaron of Eat This Chef in Louisville. He told me making good granola is easy. You just have to use good ingredients.
So I pulled together some ingredients we love and voila! Our granola was born. It’s the perfect combo of sweet and salty. This granola is perfect. I really don’t have other words that do it justice. It’s so much better than we expected and we already have to buy more supplies for another batch of granola. There are no huge granola clusters and while slightly time consuming to bake, it was incredibly easy. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to turn out so well. Truly, it may be a new breakfast staple in our house.
Discover Granola
3 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup raw shelled pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup raw pecans, left mine whole but you’re welcome to chop them up
1 1/2 teaspoons Korean flake sea salt
1/4 teaspoon saigon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup good quality EVOO
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients: oats, coconut, pumpkin seeds and pecans. In a medium bowl, whisk togther rest of ingredients. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well. Spread evenly on 2 baking sheets.
Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes or so. Stirring keeps the granola from clumping, if you want granola clusters definitely stir less. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store in sealed container.