Homemade Granola

[disneyfan1313]

"Rolled" oats is merely a definition of how the oat is processed: in this case it is rolled out into a flat oat. Quaker oatmeal is a rolled oat. "Steelcut" oats are just that: the whole oat is cut with tiny steel knives and they end up in tiny chunks.

Has anyone used agave nectar for sweetening? I'd like to make granola for friends who are borderline diabetic and agave has a low glycemic index. I'd prefer to leave out all that sugar anyway.

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Thanks for the help! I tried subbing Light Corn Syrup for most of the maple syrup in an effort to have it stick together more but it still had a cereal feel.. I also tried adding a bit of chocolate chips but it overpowered the nutty taste just a bit. Oh well, back to the drawing board!

[Poulet frit]

I have to admit, I stole this recipe from good ol' Alton Brown, but it does make WONDERFUL granola:

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup cashews

3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed

[dvs]

does anyone have a nut free recipe for granola? low sugar would be ideal.

thnaks in advance!!

[Desiderio]

Umm I dont know if this can help , isnt a recepie really, I usually make my granola with lots of oatmeal ,sunflower seeds ( are they in the nuts category ) any way you can skip those,i cook the oatmel in the oven with some canola oil and honey or maple syrup,till nice and colored .out of the oven I add cranberries raisins , dried apples ,you can add dates some banana chips ,exotic frut ( just those tend to be very sweet ) any kind of dried fruit you like , you can use different type of cereal whatever you like , I remeber I bought some meusli in Italy was made with amaranto wich I am not sure whats it call in english .

[The Old Foodie]

I have made this granola recipe for years, we like it nutty, but you could leave them out. The quantities are very flexible, you need enough "wet" stuff to make the dry mixture stick together without being soggy.

I'll give it to you as it is:

6 cups rolled oats

2 cups barley or oat bran

2 cups soy flour

2 cups wholemeal flour

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup coconut

(1 cup finely chopped nuts)

Mix these in a big bowl

Mix 1/2-3/4 cup honey and 1/2 - 3/4 cup canola oil and 1 to 1 1/2 cups fruit juice (I like apricot, but apple is good)

Pour the oil mixture onto the dry and rub/mix it all through until it is in clumps.

Bake in a slow oven until toasted.

Then I add more nuts (especially macadamias), pumpkin or sunflower seeds, and extra "crunchy" bran (like the All-Bran type), and of course whatever dried fruit I fancy at the time.

[typo edited out]

Edited July 21, 2006 by The Old Foodie (log)

[dvs]

I have made this granola recipe for years, we like it nutty, but you could leave them out.  The quantities are very flexible, you need enough "wet" stuff to make the dry mixture stick together without being soggy.

I'll give it to you as it is:

6 cups rolled oats

2 cups barley or oat bran

2 cups soy flour

2 cups wholemeal flour

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup coconut

(1 cup finely chopped nuts)

Mix these in a big bowl

Mix 1/2-3/4 cup honey and 1/2 - 3/4 cup canola oil and 1 to 1 1/2 cups fruit juice (I like apricot, but apple is good)

Pour the oil mixture onto the dry and rub/mix it all through until it is in clumps.

Bake in a slow oven until toasted.

Then I add more nuts (especially macadamias), pumpkin or sunflower seeds, and extra "crunchy" bran (like the All-Bran type), and of course whatever dried fruit I fancy at the time.

[typo edited out]

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that looks wonderful! thank you!

edited to ask... when you say you add more stuff after cooking, is that just to complete the "cerealness" of the granola? i'm looking for something that clumps up to give my daughter as "cookies"

Edited July 21, 2006 by dvs (log)

[The Old Foodie]

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that looks wonderful! thank you!

edited to ask... when you say you add more stuff after cooking, is that just to complete the "cerealness" of the granola? i'm looking for something that clumps up to give my daughter as "cookies"

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Yes, that's right, as I have it as breakfast cereal I add those things. If you want it clumpy, leave them out. It might be a better texture for "cookies" if you add some dried fruit to the dry mix - maybe chopped up dried apples or apricots?

[meredithla]

You can also add whole flaxseed to add more elements that are not nuts.

[The Old Foodie]

You can also add whole flaxseed to add more elements that are not nuts.

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I think I might try that myself.

In our household we dont call it "granola" - here is the funny story. Years ago I was just finishing a big batch, and my grown-up daughter had just called in, so naturally was appropriating a bag-full for herself, and we were talking about the ingredients. I said - jokingly - that as it was full of phyto-oestrogens (and I am of a certain age), that it should be especially for me. She decided (jokingly) that I should therefore make my (our?) fortune by hooking into that bandwagon , and making it commercially, in which case it would need a catchy name. A male friend had just called in and heard this, and suddenly piped up and said "You could call it Women's Nuts".

I am sure that the name would have guaranteed its failure, but in our household we have never been able to call it anything else since.

[Gekkani]

You can also add whole flaxseed to add more elements that are not nuts.

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Just beware that whole flaxseeds are a laxative If you grind them you get the omega fatty acids out of them.

[memesuze]

You can also add whole flaxseed to add more elements that are not nuts.

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Just beware that whole flaxseeds are a laxative If you grind them you get the omega fatty acids out of them.

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in other words, whole flax seeds pass right through you, with no nutritional benefit other than said laxative effect - you must grind them to get the omega-3s - and don't grind up more than you will need each day - ground goes rancid quickly

[Bond Girl]

My God daughters loves'em but they came out of a package with questionable ingredients (ie, the ones I cannot pronounce), so I am making home made ones for their visit. First, how do you make them? Second, what do you put in them?

[The Old Foodie]

Do you want granola breakfast cereal to have with milk, or granola bars to eat in the hand?

[Bond Girl]

Breakfast cereal that they like to have with yogurt.

[JanMcBaker]

My God daughters loves'em but they came out of a package with questionable ingredients (ie, the ones I cannot pronounce), so I am making home made ones for their visit.  First, how do you make them? Second, what do you put in them?

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I don't have the catalog at hand, but King Arthur's had a granola recipe in their 'Baker's Catalog' that I've tried and liked. Definitely more than just sweetened oatmeal flakes! There was an assortment of dried fruits, nuts, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, with oil and honey. It was baked at a low temp for a couple hours . I think they were the main ingredients, and the recipe made about 15 cups.

[The Old Foodie]

Here's my recipe, I've made it every month for years (double batch). It is infinitely variable.

You can make a Christmas version by using pistachios and dried cranberries to keep the green and red colour theme..

GRANOLA

3 cups oats

1 cups barley or oat bran

1 cups soy flour

1 cups wholemeal flour

½ cup sesame seeds

½ cup shredded coconut

½ cup chopped nuts

Mix well together:

½ cup honey

½ cup oil

½ - 1 cup juice (apricot, apple)

Mix the honey/oil mix through the the oat mixture, squeezing it well together. Leave as lumpy as desired.

Toast in low oven until brown, stirring occasionally, and crumbling it up if it needs it.

Add:

1 cup toasted nuts (I love macadamias)

1 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds

1 cup crunchy bran (the commercial kind, but it must be crunchy not branny)

[Bond Girl]

Thanks Janet! This is great.

[The Old Foodie]

I hope you get those god-daughters to help you make it.

[Margo]

Fine Cooking had some good recipes in their winter 2006 issue (#75). One is maple-walnut, another honey-almond--both are terrific. They call for powdered milk in the mix, which I like, and I substitute wheat germ for the oat bran or whole wheat flour. I like to add sunflower seeds, too, and try different kinds of dried fruit instead of raisins.

I grew up in the 70s with my mother making granola. Funny what comes around again.

[nakji]

I made some granola this week, using Alton Brown's recipe as a base. I left out the coconut, because I couldn't find any, and replaced it instead with ground walnuts and crushed banana chips, for a banana-bread style flavour. Now once I start making my own yogurt, I'll have some decent breakfast food stocked up. But I've noticed a lot of other recipes on-line require wheat germ or milk powder - what do these ingredients add to the end product? Are they binding agents, or do they add flavour?

[pringle007]

I toss my oatmeal flakes in honey, a few tbsp of canola oil, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and some a bit of orange peel then spread on a cookie sheet and bake about half an hour, turn the flakes, then about another 15. Makes a great cereal. I also do a version with maple syrup, sesame oil, Asian five-spice, and some extra cloves.

Edited October 7, 2009 by pringle007 (log)

[Moopheus]

I've made it from the recipe given in Real American Breakfast (Jamisons), but of course you can add pretty much whatever you want for spices, nuts, etc. I found that using good apple cider for the liquid is better than clear juice. The nice thing is that of course you can adjust the sweetness to taste, use honey, maple syrup, whatever. The commercial stuff is too sweet.

[Marmish]

I've made it from the recipe given in Real American Breakfast (Jamisons), but of course you can add pretty much whatever you want for spices, nuts, etc. I found that using good apple cider for the liquid is better than clear juice. The nice thing is that of course you can adjust the sweetness to taste, use honey, maple syrup, whatever. The commercial stuff is too sweet.

Didn't know there was a granola recipe in there. I'll have to check it out. I usually use Ina Garten or Alton Brown's recipe, loosely. Almonds and dried cherries are my favorite, but I'll make a clean-out-the-pantry batch every so often.

[mangogirl]

I have been making this for my clients for about 25 years...it's the best granola I've ever tasted...

Millie's Famous Granola

6 cups gluten free oats

2 cups shredded coconut

2 cups sliced almonds

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1 cup rice flour

1/4 cup raw butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 cup honey

3/4 cup warm water

1 T. vanilla

Preheat oven to 225 degrees

Mix ingredients well, place in 2 shallow baking pans and press down to form one large "cake".

Bake for about 5 hours very slowly...then when it is feeling crisp on top and starting to brown..break it up into bigs chucnks and let it bake a few more hours. When it cols, it is very crispy and chewy. Keep in an air-tight container.

[Rover]

Mine comes from The Rebar Cookbook from the restaurant in Victoria, Vancouver Island. Over the years, it's made the rounds at my workplace and beyond; it's popular as a snack as well as with yogurt & conventional cereal style.

3 c large flake oats

1 1/2 c barley flakes

1/2 c oat bran

1 c unsweetened coconut

1/2 tsp salt

1 c hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 c pumpkin seeds

1/2 c sunflower seeds

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/4 c water

2/3 c maple syrup or honey or combo.

1 tsp vanilla

1 c dried cranberries

1/2 c dried blueberries

Notes: Other Seed/Nut/Fruit combinations:

almonds, wheatgerm, dried cherries

pecans, flax seeds, dried mango

walnuts, dried apricots and figs

Combine and bake everything except the dried fruit at 250F for about 30-40 minutes. Stir in the dried fruit when cooled. The fragrance is heavenly... this would be what to bake when you're trying to sell your house - forget the cinnamon buns!

Rover