I grew up in a family that was a little “crunchy” around the edges. We were pretty lefty-liberal. We bought food in bulk through the neighborhood food co-op. (You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to stir a 5 gallon bucket of natural peanut butter that has separated!) We heated with wood. We went to peace protests. People in our Meeting were arrested in political protests. You get the idea… My brother’s nickname in his first high school was “Chewy” because Quaker Chewy Granola bars were a staple of his (and my) lunch.
With all this in mind, it only seems right that I would try my hand at making granola. My mother has been making it for years so I figured I’d start by asking for her recipe. Here’s what she uses:
- Melt 1/2 cup butter in a big roasting pan
- Add 1/2 cup of honey (or combination of honey and maple syrup)
- Stir until these are thoroughly melted and runny
- Add in: 4 cups oats (or 3 cups oats & 1 cup wheat flakes), 1 cup wheat germ, 1/2 cup (or more) cut coconut flakes, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup (or more) of raw cashews, 1/2 cup (or more) of raw whole almonds, 1/2 cup pecan meal (optional but adds flavor)
- Mix until everything is well-coated
- Bake at 300 degrees until well-toasted. This is usually between 45 minutes & an hour. Stir every 15 minutes while baking.
- Let it cool completely before putting into a container.
My first try at it didn’t go too well. I waited too long to make it out of the oven so it was just a hair shy of burnt. Hmm, not very tasty. My second try was much better. I liked it and so did Pete, much to my surprise. However, I felt like it needed more flavor so I went searching on the internet for other ideas. I came across this recipe for Power Granola on Cooking Light’s website and used it, along with Mom’s recipe, as a base. I ended up playing with the nuts, etc. and come to a recipe I like.
Making it is kind of fun. Usually I’m one who follows a recipe strictly but not in this case! I throw in oatmeal, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, raw cashews, slivered almonds, whole almonds, walnuts, wheat germ, and coconut flakes in amounts that look like it might make something tasty. I’m a little more careful with the cinnamon, OJ, honey, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla because I don’t want to make it too wet. Yep, that’s me… living on the wild side… adding in ingredients all willy nilly! LOL
Seems I went a little too far in the other direction… The first time I made this I would have given it one star but this time it gets three. I’m fairly confident that the inverse will be true for Pete; I think he’s going to like the spicy version much better. 