Granola

I’ve been a muesli fan until recently, really, because granola is usually too sugary for me.  But at the same time, muesli could use a good toasting.

Enter homemade granola, where you can control the ingredients!

I had a granola recipe from a friend. It had lots of ingredients that I didn’t have on hand. So I never made it. Another friend said it was easy to make granola, just use ingredients on hand, drizzle on a little maple syrup, and pop it in the oven. At least I think that’s what she said. I didn’t try making granola for a few months after that conversation, so I went with that remembering of it.

And it is delicious done that way! Here is my basic recipe, which I feel is a cross between granola and muesli. No chunky bits like store-bought granola, but the nice toasted flavor.

Home-made Granola

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. On an ungreased cookie tray, dump a layer of oatmeal (I use gluten-free these days). That’s my base, although the first time I did it I had kamut flakes on hand and used those instead.
3. On top of that, dump whatever else you’d like to mix in. I usually add hemp seeds, chia seeds, and either chopped almonds or almond meal left over from making almond milk.
4. You can also add pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or any other kind of seed or nut or dried fruit. Really, whatever you have on hand!
5. I mix that up on the tray, then I drizzle real maple syrup over the top (and I mean drizzle. I make a swirly zig zag line from one end of the pan to the other). Then I spend a little bit of time mixing, to get the maple syrup to coat all the pieces. Since I don’t use a whole lot of syrup, the longer mixing time is important.
6. Pop it in the oven and time it for 10-15 minutes, check it, and pop it back in if it is not toasted enough for your liking.

That’s it!

I left the last batch I made in a bit too long by mistake—meaning, I left the room and didn’t hear the timer—and it actually turned out to be a happy accident, because it got toasted a bit more than it usually does and I like the deeper flavor.

I love happy accidents.

So, one more thing I don’t need to buy anymore. And as usual, the home-made version tastes way better than what you get in the store, plus no artificial ingredients, ever.

If you like more sugary granola, I suppose you could just add more maple syrup. But even my hubby—who likes more sugar than I do—likes this less-sweet version!