Farm Girl Granola

I'm reposting this granola recipe from my other website Everyday Art. It's a great recipe, and worthy of sharing twice! :)

I've been making homemade granola for as long as I can remember, and I've tried a lot of different recipes, but this is the recipe that I've stuck with lately.  

I don't even know where I got it--it's just this random recipe in my recipe box called "Farm Girl Granola" and we all love it.

 

It's the perfect amount of sweetness, crunch and wholesome goodness. My second-second favorite recipe is a dry-roast granola that has much much less oil, but honestly, there's just something yummy about roasting everything in some good-quality oil. I used to always make the dry-roast variety, but lately it's been farm-girl all the way. :) 

I also really like this recipe because so far it has with-stood all my massive amounts of tweaking. I never really make it the same way twice, and somehow it always turns out yummy.

Without further ado, here is your favorite granola recipe:

Farm Girl Granola

8 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

2 c. chopped nuts and seeds (almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.)

1 c. flaked or shaved coconut

3/4 c. oil

3/4 to 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. honey/molasses combination, depending on your own taste preferences

1 Tbsp. vanilla

Optional additions to add to the last 8-10 minutes of roasting:

dried fruit

wheat germ

roasted sunflower seeds

spices--cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, etc.

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix the oats, nuts and seeds, and the coconut together in a large bowl.
3. Mix the oil, sugar, honey/molasses, and vanilla together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.
4. Mix the oat mixture with the oil/sugar mixture. Spread onto two large jelly-roll pans or rimmed cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 8-10 minutes. You may need to rotate the pans around if they are browing unevenly, or if you are lucky enough to have a convection oven, then just stir and don't bother rotating the pans.
6. Add any of the additional add-ins you wish during the last few minutes of roasting.

Hope you enjoy your granola! It really is a wonderful recipe and you really can't screw it up (as long as you don't burn it in the oven!). It's wonderful using any of the listed combinations above, but my favorite is slivered almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds along with dried cranberries. I've thought about adding some orange peel for the holidays.... 

 

Honey Snack Mix

Here's a good sugar-free snack recipe we recently tried and enjoyed.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

6 cups Crispix cereal
5 cups mini pretzels
1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey.

Mix first 3 ingredients in a large bowl.
Melt honey and butter in a sauce pan until smooth, do not let it boil. Pour over cereal mixture then spread onto two 13"x9" greased pans.
Bake for 15 min. stirring every 5 min. Watch carefully so it doesn't
burn.
Cool on wire rack, store in an airtight container.

Note: We enjoyed dried cranberries in this also. I got this recipe from my Aunt Fran and it's great! Thanks Fran--I know you gave it to me forever ago, and I just now tried it, but we really enjoyed it.

New Favorite Granola Recipe

I love this recipe. It is fast, easy, delicious and healthy! Most home-made granola recipes require oil and lots of baking time in the oven, but this one is prepared right on the stove top

Dry-Roasted Granola
1 c. raw rolled oats
1/3 c. chopped nuts

1/3 c. sesame seeds
1/3 c. sunflower seeds
1/3 c. shredded coconut
1/3 c. wheat germ (if already toasted, wait a few minutes to add it to the roasting mixture)

1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. (heaping) salt

1. In a large skillet (original recipe said cast-iron works best; I used a non-stick with great results) place the oats and nuts. Turn teh heat to medium-low, and stir them constantly for 5 minutes as they begin to roast.
2. Add the following 4 ingredients (plus or minus whatever you prefer in your granola) and keep roasting them for 8-10 more mintues, stirring the whole time.
3. Sprinkle the brown sugar and salt into the mixture. Cook for 2-5 more mintues, still stirring. Remove from heat, cool, and store in an airtight container.

The brown sugar melts a bit, coating the granola. This recipe is a perfect mix of sweet and slightly salty and truly great. The first time I made this, I added some honey because I wanted my granola to be a bit chunkier, but I wasn't pleased with the results.

Two Healthy Granola Recipes

No, granola isn't a dessert, but it is useful in a lot of desserts. A number of the dessert recipes here call for granola, so I thought it'd be a good idea to offer some healthy granola recipes. Here are two of my favorite.

Granola 1:
3 c. rolled oats
1 c. wheat germ
1-2 c. dried fruit
1/2 c. coconut
2 oz. sesame seeds
1/2 c. nuts
1/2 c. hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 c. olive or vegetable oil
1/2 c. honey or molasses
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Directions:
1. Throughly mix all ingredients except the fruits and nuts.

2. Spread evenly on a rimmed cookie sheet and toast for 1 hour in a 350 degree oven, stirring every 15 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and add fruit and nuts. Stir periodically while it sets up.

4. Store in an airtight container.


Granola 2:
1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. coconut
1/2 c. hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 c. raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 c. wheat germ
3/4 c. whole, raw almonds
1/4 c. whole flax seeds
4 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. maple syrup or molasses
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. dried cranberries

Directions:
1. Mix together the oats through flax seeds on a rimmed cookie sheet and toast for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, stirring every 15 minutes.

2. While the oat mixture is toasting, melt the PB, honey, and maple syrup/molasses in a pot. ONce the mixture is nicely melted, bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.

3. Remove the oat mxture from teh oven and leave the oven on. In a large bowl, mix oat mixture wiht the PBmixture and stir to coat. Stir in cranberries and then spread the granola mixture onto the same cookie sheet so that it isn't completely touching.

4. Put back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes (less for gooier granola, more for crunchier). Remove from the oven and cool.

*Note: You can add any seed or nut you want, this is just my favorite combination. Dark chocloate chunks are sometimes fun to add also.