Come together: Granola how-to

Written By Susan Grelock-Yusem

Every month or so my partner David and I bake two overloaded baking pans of homemade granola. When we’re done, they usually fill up seven or eight quart-sized Mason jars. Our granola is more fruit and nut than oats, by design. When I dreamt up the recipe, my intention was to incorporate every nut, seed, and dried fruit we eat. I looked in our pantry at all these nutitious, unique foods and wanted to make sure we were eating (at least a little of) these great foods, ongoing. When was the last time you ate a pumpkin seed? A brazil nut? A dried apricot?

We make plenty to eat for breakfast and always give some to friends and family. My partner David often takes a jar with him when he goes out and he enjoys it dry, like trail mix. We’ve been doing this for at least five years now and it’s become less like cooking and more like a practice. Like a good practice, it is an old, reassuring friend that reappears regularly to bring rhythm to our lives. We can count on it, and we learn a little something every time we make it. (That is to say: no two batches are alike, but they all have the same DNA.) Sometimes we eat it more regularly than at other times, but, regardless, we continue to make it. The recipe has a very interesting origin story, which I’ll tell in detail at a later time. For now, for the number of friends who have asked, I am sharing the basic recipe here.

Note, there are certainly simpler and less time-consuming granola recipes out there! This recipe involves slowly building the granola through many stages of incorporating ingredients. For the impatient among us it might prove to be more tedious than enjoyable to make. There is plenty of stirring involved. Add syrup. Stir. Add coconut oil. Stir. Add almonds. Stir…you get the idea. My apologies in advance to the more linear cooks among you: This recipe is more narrative and technique than specific formula. It is certianly on the “art” side of the science-art cooking spectrum.

Stir it up

What happens when you take every seed, nut, and dried fruit you love and slowly bring them together? Your own magic granola.

Ingredients

  • 8 cups rolled oats (regular or thick, but not instant)

  • 1 cup liquid sweetener (a mix of molasses, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, agave)

  • Coconut oil

  • Cinnamon

  • Vanilla

  • Sea salt

  • Dried fruits of choice, 3/4 cup each (cherries, raisins, currants, apples, pears, chopped dates, chopped apricots, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, cranberries)

  • Coconut, 2-6 Tbs (unsweetened shredded, and large flake adds richness + beauty!)

  • Nuts, 3/4 cup each (cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans)

  • Seeds, 1/2-3/4 cup each (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame)

  • Candied ginger (any form, but it’s best if cut into smaller pieces - or buy the version that’s tiny cubes)

Directions

  • Turn oven on to 350ºF.

  • Evenly distribute oats on two large baking sheets (with sides) or metal roasting pans.

  • Place sheets in the oven until warmed, 5-7 minutes.

  • Remove from the oven and dot the oats with coconut oil. I use about 2 tablespoons per sheet. More oil will lead to a crisper, richer granola.

  • Return pans to oven for 5 more minutes.

  • Remove pans from oven. Stir well. Pour the syrup evenly over the oats. Sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, to taste. Stir to incorporate.

  • Return to oven for 5-7 minutes.

  • Remove pan from oven. Turn oven down to 300ºF. 

  • Now you will begin building your granola. Add a few ingredients, stir, and toast for 5-8 minutes after each addition. And then repeat with the next layer.

  • This is done in order of denser ingredient to more delicate, starting with the dense nuts (ie almonds and cashews) and ending with the most delicate dried fruit (ie dried strawberries and peaches—which is barely toasted). We also drop the oven temperature as we progress, to assure that the granola is well crisped without getting browned or too toasted. Here are the stages in which we add ingredients—please use it as a guide and build to suit your own add-ins.

    • Almonds, cashews

    • Pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts (Turn down oven to 275ºF)

    • Sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds

    • Coconut, candied ginger (Turn down oven to 250ºF)

    • Raisins, cranberries, apricots, blueberries

    • Peaches, apples, pears,

    • Strawberries (Turn oven OFF)

  • Remove from oven and let granola cool completely on the trays.

  • Store in well-sealed jars.

Serving suggestion

This granola was made for sharing. Try giving away one jar from every batch and see what happens.

Susan Grelock-Yusem
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A Thousand Tiny Stitches