Homemade Granola

“I make my own homemade granola”

It sounds impressive, doesn’t it! I’m going to let you in on a little secret it’s SUPER easy! Whether you like to cook or not, this is a recipe anyone can master. I’ll keep the rest of this intro short. Trust me, you’re going to want to get right to the making part of this process and might find yourself eating it right off the pan as it cools. Hey, we’ve all been there… no judgment. I may or may not be doing that right now.

I’ve had a DIY recipe bug for a long time, but this one hit me hard. Mostly because the mister is an absolute breakfast fanatic. I can take it or leave it…  usually opting to leave it entirely and do a decaf Bulletproof coffee for breakfast, but not my other half. He LOVES breakfast. Like, think of something you really truly love. A child, a pet. A favorite mug that embodies coziness. Then double it. He LOVES breakfast. So, I do my best to keep the house stocked with breakfast foods… mainly granola. We discovered the Aunt Maples granola at Whole Foods and it became a staple on the weekly shopping list. Until I realized that it was something like $18 a POUND! Do you know how easy it is to devour a pound of granola?

Like I said before, granola is actually super easy to make at home! So, instead of spending a ridiculous amount on granola each week I make it myself. The Internet has everything so of course, I figured someone cracked the code and posted a DIY copycat recipe for the Aunt Maples. Well, I found a few people who claim they had the recipe and I used a few of those and a few conventional recipes to make my own. It’s not 100% exactly like Aunt Maples, but it’s pretty dang close. And, based on all the sugar I cut out of the recipe I’m pretty sure we’re glad it’s not the authentic recipe… something that tastes THAT good can’t be low on the sugar scale.

So, since the first time I did the DIY on this recipe, it’s been added to the weekly make at home list along with almond butter and one of the various InstantPot soups, stews or curries that I’ve been obsessed with making. Stay tuned for those recipes soon! We also usually have some variation of a muffin lying around… I kinda have a muffin problem. Lately, I’m loving these Raisin Bran muffins.

Homemade Granola (Inspired by Aunt Maples)

–Wet Ingredients–
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp molasses
2  tbsp honey
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 heaping tbsp almond butter (DIY recipe here)
2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp oil (I use grapeseed or olive oil)
–Dry Ingredients–
2 2/3 c. old-fashioned oats
2/3 c hazelnuts
1/2 c. coarsely chopped almonds
1/2 c. walnuts
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. toasted coconut flakes

–Directions–
PREHEAT oven to 325º (or 300º for convection bake)

MIX wet ingredients in small saucepan over medium-low heat until creamy. Make sure you keep stirring to break up the almond butter. One trick is to do the oil first in your 1 tbsp measuring spoon to coat it, then the other sticky ingredients will slide right out! In the meantime, mix the dry ingredients in a medium to large sized bowl.

POUR wet ingredients over dry ingredients, mixing well.

SPREAD the granola out on a parchment lined baking sheet.

COOK in the oven for 20 minutes (20 minutes on Convection Bake) or until granola starts to turn a very light golden brown. Turn oven off and let continue to cook. If you have a powerful oven, open the oven door a bit to vent and allow granola to cool. If it looks like it is getting too brown, pull it out and let it continue to dry completely.

BREAK up the clumps once the granola mixture is cooled and store in an airtight container in a cool dry place up to one month. You can also freeze granola just as you would cookies or other treats — wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and/or in a resealable freezer bag.

–Variations–

There are plenty of additions and personalizations on this recipe.  I will usually use this as a pantry clean opportunity and throw in whatever odds and ends I have in my pantry- trail mix, raisins, dried cranberries, etc.

You can make “Tropical Granola” and sub out the grapeseed oil for coconut oil and use dried mango, papaya coconut, and cashews. You can use salted or roasted almonds for a smoky flavor.

I had some dried cranberries and cashews that I needed to use up so I just chopped up the nuts and added it into the recipe and it turned out great! You could also add 1/2 cups flax seeds if you wanted to.

Mix up the ratio on the nuts- add or less than what the recipe calls for. Personalize it based on what you like. If I was making it just for me I would add more raisins-  I love them!

I cut down the sugar from other recipes and this is still plenty sweet enough. Most recipes called for 1/4 c. brown sugar and some called for 1 tbsp more each honey and molasses but I cut all that out and use only what’s in the recipe above and it’s just fine.