Homemade Granola

The first time I made this, I assembled everything, popped the granola into the oven to bake, put all the ingredients away, and cleaned up everything I had used to make it.  Once it cooled, I stirred in the dried cranberries and had my first taste.  I immediately got everything back out and made another batch!  It’s just that good.  I knew at the first bite that the kids were gonna love it and that one recipe was not going to be enough!  I’ve tried many granolas that are too sugary and are more like a dessert than anything else.  This one is perfect!  It’s much more economical to make your own and it is simple.  I love it over yogurt, but it is equally good with milk poured over it and eaten as a breakfast cereal.  And though this probably won’t be an issue, it will keep for a long time (I’ve heard) stored in a jar with a screw on lid, ziplock bag, or plastic container with lid.  Hmmm, I think I’ll go whip up a batch right now…

Ingredients:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)

1 cup shredded coconut (if you are not a fan of coconut, you may not mind it here, it’s not very noticeable)

1 cup walnuts or whole natural almonds

1/4 cup toasted wheat germ (comes pre-toasted in a bag or jar in the cereal aisle)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (I used sea salt and like to break it down into smaller pieces)

1/2 cup real maple syrup (this was the perfect sweetness for us, but you can add more if you want)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg white

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, cherries, or other dried fruit or combination of fruit to suite your preference

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine the oats, coconut, nuts, and wheat germ in a large bowl.

Since sea salt is very coarse, I prefer to roll it out with a rolling pin to break it down somewhat.  A huge chunk of salt in your granola would not be too tasty, but I really like to use sea salt.  Measure out the 1/4 teaspoon salt and place on a piece of foil or parchment and roll with a rolling pin till it’s finer.

Sprinkle the salt over the oat mixture and sprinkle in the cinnamon.

Drizzle with 2 Tablespoons olive oil and stir to mix well.

Add the maple syrup and mix well.  I used just 1/2 cup, and that was plenty, but you can add up to 2/3 cup.

Separate the egg yolk from the white and discard the yolk (or save for something else).  Use a wire whisk to beat up the white until it is foamy and white.

Drizzle the beaten egg white over the granola mixture and stir well to fully incorporate it.

Pour the granola mixture out onto a foil or parchment lined baking sheet, spreading it out evenly.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, or until granola is lightly browned.  Halfway through, use a spatula to gently turn the granola.  Be careful not to break up the clumps (unless you don’t like clumps)  I love the chunky clumps of granola.  Just turn it to insure that it’s cooking and browning evenly.  Also, you may need to rotate the pan front to back in the oven to brown evenly.

When granola is lightly browned and feels dry to the touch, remove from oven and cool pan with granola on a wire rack.  Cool completely.  Once it’s cool, transfer to a large bowl and stir in the dried fruit, being careful to not break up the clumps too much.

Store in a sealed container at room temperature (but it won’t last long!)