Monday, January 18, 2010

Granola

Granola


I feel like every granola recipe has a cheesy alliterative modifier preceding it. "Groovy granola" or "great granola" or "gratuitous granola," etc. Yet I think this is just granola. And it still needs some work.

Like the broccoli-lentil salad, this is a recipe I made a lot during my ascetic life outside of academia. It's cheap and relatively nutritious. Remaking this recipe now, I think I skimped on sugar and nuts. Although the molasses and walnuts taste great after being toasted, the granola didn't form enough chunks. Any thoughts about how to improve this granola, besides using more molasses? Perhaps different cooking time or temp?

Update 2/6: Granola epiphany--a better way to make granola.

Granola

Ingredients
3 1/4 c rolled oats
3/4 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
½ c crushed walnuts
1/8 c sesame seeds
1/8 c flax seeds
*
1/3 c canola oil
1/3 c molasses
1 tsp vanilla
*
2/3 c raisins

Instructions
Preheat oven to 325*. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. When golden brown, remove from oven, allow to cool, and toss with raisins. Store in a dry and sealed container.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hmm, I've never heard of adding flour to granola. Have you ever made it without?

I think your best bet for more chunks is more sweetener, be it molasses or honey, and less stirring.

You could also try adding fruit juice. That's what Reid does.

Julia said...

I actually added the flour a few years ago because I thought it might help bind it together. But I think I'm going to try less stirring and fruit juice, with and without flour. An experiment!