Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Homemade Vanilla Granola


Over the weekend I went to a class on how to make yogurt. Now that I have two jars of yogurt, granola experiments are in order. I like my granola with chunks and clumps of goodness. Unfortunately this did not turn out as clumpy has I prefer but it still tastes great and it's far too easy to make.

Since this was my first shot at granola, I made a small batch. I tend to start off with small batches when I'm winging a recipe. That way if it's HORRID I haven't really wasted much. To clarify, this is NOT HORRID :)

If anyone has tips on how to make granola more chunky, I'd love to hear them!

Vanilla, Cherry, Almond Granola

Dry
1 Cup rolled oats
1/4-1/2 Cup of almonds (and a few pistachios)
2 Tablespoons of sesame seeds
1/4 Cup coconut (shredded)

Wet
3 Tablespoons Oil (I used safflower)
1/4 Cup Sweetener ( I used 1/2 agave and 1/2 maple)
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract

Other
1/2 Cup dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix all wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until everything is moist. If the mixture seems dry you can add a splash of water.
Press the mixture onto a cookie sheet with a lip and bake for about 30 minutes. Be sure to check the mixture about once every 10 minutes and give it a stir so everything browns evenly.

Add any fruit you'd like after the granola has baked.

7 comments:

fleur said...

I like the idea of vanilla granola

Catherine Weber said...

My secret for "clumpy" granola so far has been stirring during baking, but not stirring after you take it out of the oven, and then breaking the big slab of granola up into chunks after it is cool.

My master recipe for granola is 2 cups oats, 1 cup puffed wholegrain cereal, 1/2 + 1/3 cup nuts/seeds, 1/3 cup margarine, and 1/2 cup liquid sweetener. (I stir in dried fruit at the end so it doesn't get crispy in the oven.)

veggievixen said...

sweet! i've been wanting to make my own granola for some time. all the stuff you buy at the store has a billion grams of sugar.

drea said...

To make a more chunky granola you make a batter that you fold in with the granola and then bake it all together. Usually it is eggs, butter, sugar, and a little flour. But that can easily be made vegan if you want!

Unknown said...

Did you find mine to be clumpy? Not sure if it is. But I just used maple syrup/evoo joins it all together (i cannot for the life of me think of the right word). Anyway... that is all.

Anonymous said...

This granola sounds terrific. We live in Austin too.

www.twoveganboys.wordpress.com

Wheeler's Crew said...

This looks so good!! Granola...yum...