Granola

Granola

When you think of Granola, the first thought that comes to mind is of a health nut tree hugging sandal wearing hippy. They smell funny and get on my nerves. But I rarely cook for myself, I cook for the customer.

Okay, so this in not one of my signature recipes and the truth is that I’ve only cooked 3 batches so far but the way I make mine, it doesn’t taste like shit. Most all of the ingredients can be substituted. Please do keep in mind that you do want to use dried fruit since you don’t want a lot of moisture. This is not the most healthy way to make the stuff but if you looking for a guide to healthy living, go read another book, I’ll go eat bacon.

Mise En Place

  • A large mixing bowl
  • A wooden Spoon
  • A 9×13 sheet tray, greased

Ingredients

  • About 3 cups of old fashioned oats ( not that instant shit)
  • About 2 cups of other goodies ( nuts, dried fruit)
  • About a quarter cup of butter (melted)
  • About the same amount of honey
  • About a 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  • Cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to taste.

Method of Preparation

  • Preheat your oven to around 200 to 250. This is another ” Slow N low”” recipe
  • You mix the dry stuff together and lay it out on a WELL GREASED SHEET TRAY.
  • Melt the butter and mix with the honey
  • Drizzle on the oats and fruit.
  • Now, when you do this it’s going to look dry and not look like everything is getting covered and you will want to add more butter and honey but since you’re reading this all the way through BEFORE you make it, you will understand that you need to pull it out of the oven to stir and it a few times to make sure that it does get evenly coated
  • It’s not supposed to be wet, you’re not making cookies ( I’ll post that recipe soon)
  • You need to cook it for about 45 minutes till its lightly golden brown. You don’t want it to come out crunchy from the oven cause then it will be rock hard when it cools. You want it to be slightly sticky. Let it cool and mix it a few more times to make sure everything is blended
  • Now you can add fresh fruit, yogurt and whatever else hippies eat and impress the hell out of your extreme outdoor friends.

Notes

  • The cool thing is that you can add whatever you want to make your own version. The key is the binder ( butter and honey, plus the brown sugar) and cooking it at a low temp. Some people love nuts, some people hate em, most of my readers are. Same with dried fruit. I’m not the biggest fan of raisins so I use dried cranberries or raspberries ( they add a bit of tang to it). As far as the salt, add that at the last second. This will cut through if it’s too sweet and lets it pop. You won’t need too much ( about a tablespoon at the very most) and this will help your granola stand out….in a good way.

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