Ahh....the power of a good granola
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a "health nut," so to speak. And I fit in quite nicely with all of the other "health nuts" in that I inhale granola like it's going out of style. I like oatmeal in its regular form, cooked hot with milk and dried fruit with a tad of maple syrup or brown sugar, mind you. Yet when oats are transformed into lovely, crunchy nuggets of sweetness, they take on a whole new form....and find themselves diving into my cereal bowl and being drowned with milk in an instant.
I remember when my love affair with granola officially took off....going from nonchalant every-once-in-a-whileness to asking-if-there's-granola-on-the-menu-every-time-I-enter-a-coffeeshop insanity. The morning we were closing on our new house in Columbia, Ken took me to Cool Beans, an old house outfitted with a coffee bar and restaurant on College Street, amidst the USC campus. The surroundings? A bit weird for my taste....but the food, oh my word. (See a short version of their menu here.) And what did I order that cold November morning? Why, bowl of their Wyoming Granola, of course. And thus began my pursuit of how to make such granola within the confines of my own kitchen.
Now, I am fat gram-conscious, so I couldn't follow suit with all of the bistros and restaurants and just add oil or butter to my oats to make them crisp up nicely. That, plus any added almonds or pecans, would make my granola tilt the scales. I tried recipe after recipe....some used sweeteners such as undiluted juice concentrates, others used honey, others still, just water. They all left me with a dull, slighly limp granola bite in my mouth....not the crunchy type I knew and loved. I began to accept the fact that low-fat granola just couldn't have that crunch.
That is, until I found a recipe on the Food Network's site, thought up by chef Kathleen Daelemans. I have tweaked it a bit, adding my own version of sugar, etc. Yet this base recipe turns out an exquisitely crispy granola that is out of this world.
Crunchy Granola
1 1/2 cup brown sugar (I use turbinado/raw sugar for health reasons AND a more molasses-flavor)
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
(optional: 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice)
8 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, or slivered almonds
(1 cup mixed dried fruit of choice...raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried apples)
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and reserve.
Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Place in microwave on high for 5 minutes and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave, add vanilla extract and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, and brown sugar syrup mixture. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Spread the granola onto cookie sheets and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden and crunchy.
When the mixture comes out of the oven, it is still very pliable. You may choose to add in dried fruit as a finishing touch at this time. When granola has cooled completely, store in an airtight container.
I remember when my love affair with granola officially took off....going from nonchalant every-once-in-a-whileness to asking-if-there's-granola-on-the-menu-every-time-I-enter-a-coffeeshop insanity. The morning we were closing on our new house in Columbia, Ken took me to Cool Beans, an old house outfitted with a coffee bar and restaurant on College Street, amidst the USC campus. The surroundings? A bit weird for my taste....but the food, oh my word. (See a short version of their menu here.) And what did I order that cold November morning? Why, bowl of their Wyoming Granola, of course. And thus began my pursuit of how to make such granola within the confines of my own kitchen.
Now, I am fat gram-conscious, so I couldn't follow suit with all of the bistros and restaurants and just add oil or butter to my oats to make them crisp up nicely. That, plus any added almonds or pecans, would make my granola tilt the scales. I tried recipe after recipe....some used sweeteners such as undiluted juice concentrates, others used honey, others still, just water. They all left me with a dull, slighly limp granola bite in my mouth....not the crunchy type I knew and loved. I began to accept the fact that low-fat granola just couldn't have that crunch.
That is, until I found a recipe on the Food Network's site, thought up by chef Kathleen Daelemans. I have tweaked it a bit, adding my own version of sugar, etc. Yet this base recipe turns out an exquisitely crispy granola that is out of this world.
Crunchy Granola
1 1/2 cup brown sugar (I use turbinado/raw sugar for health reasons AND a more molasses-flavor)
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
(optional: 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice)
8 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, or slivered almonds
(1 cup mixed dried fruit of choice...raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried apples)
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and reserve.
Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Place in microwave on high for 5 minutes and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave, add vanilla extract and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, and brown sugar syrup mixture. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Spread the granola onto cookie sheets and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden and crunchy.
When the mixture comes out of the oven, it is still very pliable. You may choose to add in dried fruit as a finishing touch at this time. When granola has cooled completely, store in an airtight container.
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