Crunchy Granola
- Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
For Single recipe
(8-9 cups)
Sheet Pan:
- Standard 18 x 13 Half Sheet Pan
Dry Ingredients:
- 6 cups rolled oats (do not use quick oats)
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamon
- Dash salt
- 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ½ cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds
- ½ cup pecan halves, broken into small pieces
- ½ cup walnut halves, broken into small pieces
- ½ cup sliced or whole almonds
Moist Ingredients:
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup safflower oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Ingredients To Add After Baking:
- 1 cup dried raisins, or other dried fruit that you like (example: dried cherries or cranberries)
Ingredients
For Half recipe
(4-5 cups)
Baking Sheet:
Dry Ingredients:
- 3 cups rolled oats (do not use quick oats)
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamon
- Dash salt
- ½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ¼ cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup pecan halves, broken into small pieces
- ¼ cup walnut halves, broken into small pieces
- ¼ cup sliced or whole almonds
Moist Ingredients:
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup safflower oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Ingredients To Add After Baking:
- ½ cup dried raisins, or other dried fruit that you like (example: dried cherries or cranberries)
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cover the bottom of the sheet pan with an oversized piece of parchment paper so that it hangs over the short ends of the sheet pan by about 3-inches on each side.
- In a large bowl toss together oats and spices.
- Mix in coconut and nuts.
- In a small bowl whisk together honey, oil and vanilla
- Add honey mixture to dry ingredients.
- Toss together using a spatula or a large spoon.
- To avoid breaking up the oats avoid over mixing.
- Do not worry about getting everything completely coated with the honey mixture. The baking and tossing process will distribute the honey mixture evenly over the oat mixture.
- Spread the mixture over the bottom of the prepared sheet pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes on 350°.
- After 15 minutes toss gently with a spatula. PRO TIP: Take hold of the parchment paper on the long end and roll the mixture over onto itself and then spread out with spatula.
- Bake for another 15 minutes on 350°.
- Toss again.
- Turn oven down to 275°.
- Bake for another 30 minutes; tossing/mixing after 15 minutes.
- Mixture should brown evenly. The browner it gets without burning, the crunchier the granola will be.
- Remove the pan from the oven and mix in dried fruit of your choice.
- Cool completely on a rack.
- Once the granola reaches room temperature transfer to a sealed container. Keep the container in the refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.
Adapted from Mark Bittman. "The Minimalist: Crunchy Granola". The New York Times, January 9, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com.
Comments
Pick and choose your granola ingredients! Try making it with different nut varieties. Try different dried fruits. Be creative with your ingredients and make a granola that you will enjoy eating.If you want sweeter granola try adding an extra ¼ cup honey. If you want less sweet granola decrease the amount of honey.
I use flaked, unsweetened coconut because I like the size consistency. The powder-like shredded coconut is too fine and causes the granola to be less crunchy.
Sliced or whole almonds? Your choice!
Crunchy granola makes a yummy and healthy gift idea for the holiday season. Pour some granola into a container with a lid. Add a pretty ribbon or bow and you've got a very nice and thoughtful gift!