Cherry and Hazelnut Granola with Clusters

There’s not really a unique story about this granola other than the fact that homemade granola is one of my biggest weaknesses.

My sister discovered this recipe via The Vintage Mixer not too long ago and made it when she came home from Michigan over the holidays.

Homemade granola is actually super simple to make and well-worth the time, especially over the boxed kind. All you have to do is mix up the ingredients, bake it on a cookie sheet for 40-45 minutes, let it cool, and then break into large clusters or chunks of granola.

It makes for a quick breakfast in the morning served atop plain greek yogurt or simply by itself for a snack.

Enjoy!

syrup in granola — Mix coconut oil, maple syrup, molasses and brown sugar in a pot over medium heat. Stir in vanilla after removing from heat.

granola mixture — Mix together oats, pumpkin seeds, coconut, hazelnuts, cinnamon and salt.

granola before baking — Fold egg whites into the oat mixture and pour out onto the baking sheet.

Cherry and Hazelnut Granola with Clusters

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 5 cups

Adapted from: The Vintage Mixer

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups thick rolled oats
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
1 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp. molasses
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg white
1 cup dried cherries, blueberries or other dried fruit

Instructions

In a pot over medium heat, mix together coconut oil, maple syrup, molasses and brown sugar. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix together oats, pumpkin seeds, coconut, hazelnuts, cinnamon and salt. Pour the hot oil syrup mixture over the oats. Then, using a whisk, whip the egg white until its frothy. Fold the egg white into the oat mixture.
Line a large baking tray with foil then pour out the oats onto the baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden. Don’t stir this during baking or the clusters will break up.
Let cool completely, then add in cherries/dried fruit and store in a large jar.

Notes

The secret to making clusters in your granola is folding in an egg white before cooking, then not stirring the oats during baking. Also, do not toss the granola or break it up until after it has completely cooled.

Pecan-Orange Granola with Dried Cranberries

If you are a fan of all things crunchy, you must make this pecan-orange granola with dried cranberries soon! It beats any granola from a box, including Bear Naked granola, my favorite… until now.

My mom forwarded me this granola recipe from the latest Cooks Illustrated magazine. When I stopped by her house for a quick lunch this past week, I was pleasantly surprised to see and smell the wonderful aroma of freshly baked granola.

It’s an extremely easy recipe to make. Simply combine all of the ingredients except the dried fruit, and bake for 40-45 minutes. Next, let the granola cool and harden for 1 hour before breaking into crunchy clumps of desired size and tossing with the dried cranberries.

As far as taste goes, I could probably eat all nine cups of this granola…it is that good! The combination of maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and orange zest make for a warm and comforting snack that is seriously addicting.

Sprinkle granola over Greek yogurt, serve it in milk like you would cereal, or munch on it plain as a mid-morning or afternoon snack. Enjoy!

Bake granola for 40-45 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Let cool for 1 hour.

Break granola into pieces and toss with dried fruit.

Pecan-Orange Granola with Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup packed (2 1/3 ounces) light brown sugar
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest
2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups (10 ounces) pecans, coarsely chopped
2 cups dried cranberries

Directions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. Whisk in oil. Fold in oats and nuts until thoroughly coated.
3. Transfer oat mixture to prepared baking sheet and spread across sheet into thin, even layer (about 3/8-inch thick). Using stiff metal spatula, compress oat mixture until very compact. Bake until lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating pan once halfway through baking.
4. Remove granola from oven and cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour. Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size. Stir in dried fruit. (Granola can be stored in airtight container fro up to 2 weeks.)

Yield: about 9 cups
Cooks Illustrated, March & April 2012

Pumpkin Butter Granola

I don’t know about you, but October is probably one of my favorite months of the year. October is the month in Texas where we finally start getting cooler weather, it is the month that starts the festivities of the holiday season (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, then New Years), and it is the month where I can enjoy making festive, aromatic, fall treats like pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and today, pumpkin granola.

I found this extremely easy and tasty granola recipe from Peanut Butter Fingers (PB Fingers). If you have not heard of this blog, you must take a look….it is one of my favorite food/health blogs on the Internet. If you like granola, you might want to check out PB Finger’s other flavors such as nutella, peanut butter, cinnamon, and almond butter granola under her snack recipes section.

Like I said, this granola was super easy to make and only involves 5 ingredients, most of which you will have at home. The recipe says to bake the granola for only 15 minutes, but I would suggest upping the time to 20-30 minutes for a crunchier granola….this granola was chewy (but still delicious). I like to sprinkle pumpkin butter granola on vanilla or Greek yogurt, oatmeal, swiss oatmeal, or just eat it plain.

By the way, Pumpkin Butter is not “fatty” like it sounds. Like jam, it has 0 grams of fat and only 35 calories per serving. I LOVE Pumpkin Butter!

Pumpkin Butter Granola
Ingredients
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp pumpkin butter
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp canola oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until oats are no longer dry
3. Spread out granola on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking sprya
4. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through
5. Allow to cool until granola is crunchy

Yield: four 1/4 cup servings
Peanut Butter Fingers