Random Neural Firings

I Made Homemade Granola

July13

Yesterday, my best friend Terri came over and we made homemade granola. It’s soooo yummy that I think I’ll make it every weekend and quit buying the boxed kind. We tried two different recipes, and preferred this one from the KitchenSink Recipes.

I was going to take pics and show you step-by-step but we really didn’t deviate from the recipe much and her pics are gorgeous, so just do what she tells you and you won’t get hurt.

We made a couple of batches. The first batch burned a bit, so Terri thought we should stir it more often than the recipe suggests. We stirred it every 5 minutes instead of every 10 and it turned out PERFECT. I mean, like seriously yummy.

Granola is really easy to make. It does take a lot of ingredients, but all you do is measure them all and dump them in a bowl, stir it, and spread out on a lined, rimmed cookie sheet. Bake it for 20 minutes (stirring every 5) and you’re done. Super simple. Buy the ingredients in bulk to save money. Besides you’re going to want to make another batch and another and another . . .

I did research granola recipes (I know, shocking that I would research something!) and found that there probably is some magic formula for amount of dry ingredients (nuts, granola) vs. wet ingredients, but I couldn’t really crack the code. USA Today explains the basics well and gives you endless variations. They use wheat germ to create a sort of paste to create clumps in your granola. I didn’t have wheat germ so I went with the KitchenSink recipe. I also tried Giada’s recipe. Hers is also delicious but moister and sweeter. I prefer my granola a bit on the dry side.

The only other thing we did differently from the recipe was add more nuts. It calls for either pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. We used both. It calls for coconut flakes, which Terri and I both hate so we omitted that. I found a yummy dried mixed berry blend at Publix and used that for my fruit.

My husband and I eat ours with a dollop of plain yogurt on top. And lately, since they’re in season, we cut up a peach or nectarine and throw that in there, too. Makes a good breakfast OR dessert! Also makes a great gift. Package it up in a nice, BPA-free storage container, tie a bow around it and voila! Instant hostess gift. The granola keeps for a week or two, but in my experience, it won’t last that long.