Tuesday Treats: Homemade Granola

I didn’t buy the ice cream for me. Really, I didn’t. I’m not the ice cream-eating kind. I’m not a saint, either, I just don’t care much for ice cream. Yogurt, on the other hand, is my thing. Oh, and granola. Especially the chunky with nuts kind so when I found this recipe I knew I just had to try it. I carefully copied it out of a magazine in the doctor’s office (really, I copied it not stole the magazine) but I’ll be darned if I can remember the name of the magazine to give them credit. Sorry. Here’s the recipe though. I doctored it up a bit so I will give you both the original recipe and the GoofingOff version. It is so yummy and full of nuts and honey so it is a healthy treat. Sort of. Told you I wasn’t a saint.

Homemade Granola

4 cups of old fashioned oats

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Prepare baking sheets by spraying with cooking spray (like PAM) or use parchment paper. Set oven @ 375 degrees. Mix oats, nuts, seeds, cinnamon, and salt.

In saucepan, mix sugar, honey, and oil; bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour hot liquid over oats and stir until mixed. Spread granola on baking sheets and bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Goofing Off Granola (I doubled the recipe. Told you I like this stuff)

8 cups old fashioned oats

3 cups almonds (I used dry roasted and cinnamon roasted)

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup peanuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup cane syrup

1/2 cup oil

2 teaspoon vanilla

Follow the steps from the original recipe. The best part about granola is if you don’t like nuts, leave them out. You like them add more. Like raisins? Add them….you get the idea.

This recipe yielded two big jars (not quart jars, big jars), a quart bag, and another couple more jars (one to give to the guy with the syrup). Easy and totally yummy.

Tips: Make your own brown sugar. It is molasses and sugar. A bottle of molasses lasts forever or damned close to it. Just mix a few spoonfuls with sugar until the brown sugar is as dark as you need it.

What’s cane syrup? I didn’t know either until I moved south. Cane syrup is the syrup that comes from sugar cane when it is ground. Cane grinding is big around here in the fall. I have a friend who makes it. If you don’t have any just use more honey. I found it gives the granola a little different flavor, another layer of flavor.

Hope you like it.

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Post by Eileen Patterson, maven of MissEileen.etsy.com, GoofingOff.etsy and artfire and MetalWoodsnWater.