I started eating granola for breakfast last spring when I got bored with oatmeal, buying it in boxes from Wegman’s, but it was kind of pricey, so I thought I’d see if I could make it myself. I combined pieces of some different recipes I found online and tweaked it until it came out just the way I wanted it. I’ve been cooking up a batch every couple of weeks since the summer, and I’ve found that it’s a great food to bring to work to eat in my office since it’s semi-healthy and requires no microwaving (and since I’m incapable of getting up early enough to eat before I leave)… so I thought I’d share it with the rest of the internet here. I didn’t include any dried fruit in my recipe because I eat it with applesauce instead of yogurt since I’m lactose intolerant. (I originally got the applesauce idea from my Junior Girl Scout leader on a camp out.)
“Wildflowerfever’s Sunrise Granola”
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
½ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup wheat germ (optional… doesn’t make much difference)
¼ cup dark brown sugar
cinnamon
¼ cup vegetable/canola oil
½ cup honeyMaterials:
mixing bowl
large spoon
small bowl
small spoon
cookie sheet
parchment baking paper
plastic container1. Combine oats, almonds, coconut, wheat germ, and brown sugar in mixing bowl. Mix well. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon.
2. Preheat oven to 300°F.
3. In small bowl, combine oil and honey. Mix thoroughly!!! (I use the ¼ cup to measure the oil, then use it twice to measure the honey so it slides out more easily.)
4. Pour the oil/honey mixture over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix until the liquid coats everything more or less evenly.
5. Spread parchment paper over a cookie sheet and spread granola evenly over the parchment paper. Bake at 300°F for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool for about an hour, then peel granola off paper in chunks. Store in a plastic container and mix with applesauce to eat.
Notes: It’s important to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately first. I tried it without doing that and the consistency was very, well… inconsistent. Also, the parchment paper is very important; otherwise, it’s next to impossible to get the granola off the pan after it cools. Honey is seriously sticky! And finally, it’s not really necessary to stir it every 10-15 minutes like some recipes recommend. It’s all spread out thinly enough on the cookie sheet that it cooks evenly without being stirred. (I take this back. Stirring helps.)
