I have been meaning to make granola for a couple of weeks. But I never got around to it. And the readymade granola I was buying was good, so why rock the boat. But I wanted to make my own. And I just discovered that the granola I was buying at the FM contained canola oil. So, this week I was more motivated to make my own...
I looked at a couple different recipes. I have one from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, I have grown us using the recipes and cooking tips and times and temperatures from that little red and white gingham tome. My mother loved her copy as I have said before and bought me one for Christmas one year. Some of the items in the book are a little "home ec"-y, so I only use some of them. But it is a great resource for figuring out how long and how hot to roast a 6 pound capon... I didn't like the BH&G recipe for granola. And I knew that a fellow blogger had a very good granola recipe. So I went there. I liked her recipe more, heavy on the nuts, not so much on the raisins. But I wanted to make some changes. This is the recipe I landed on. I am sure someone else out there in the ether(net) has one pretty similar.
The Table of Promise Granola (Which is so similar to someone else's granola)
3 1/2 cups rolled oats (old fashion oats, not quick cooking)
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup raw macadamia nuts
1/2 cup raw sliced almonds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ground ginger
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon sea salt
**All ingredients should be as raw, organic and unrefined as you can possibly find.
Preheat you oven to 250 degrees. In a saucepan, combine coconut oil, honey, salt and vanilla. Let it cook until everything is combined. In a large bowl, combine all oats, nuts and spices. Mix thoroughly. When the honey/ oil mixture is ready, pour the oil and honey onto the oats/ nuts mixture. Stir until everything is incorporated. Place the mix onto prepared sheet pans. I lined mine with tin foil. Bake in a 250 degree oven for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes, or until the granola is dried out. It will crisp as it cools.
