We get so many requests for our house-made granola recipe, I thought it was time to post it again. We make buckets of this yummy treat each week, not only offering it at our breakfast table to guests, but also sending it out to our local San Juan Food Coop, and to previous guests who prefer to order it rather than taking time to make it. The procedure is simple, but it does take a bit of time and attention.
We use a lovely local honey, which imparts a subtle floral flavor to our granola, so your batch may not come out tasting exactly like ours, but it will still be delicious. Add as many nuts as you like, but be sure to adjust the liquid accordingly.
Makes approximately 1.5 gallons.
Granola Recipe
Dry Ingredients
7 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole almonds
2 cups whole pecans
2 cups whole walnuts
2 cups raw cashews
1 cup pepitas (raw, hulled pumpkin seeds)
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds
1 cup whole flaxseeds
½ cup flax seed meal
1 cup millet
¾ cup oat bran
1-1½ cups unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut
2 cups brown sugar
Wet Ingredients
½ cup + 2 TBS coconut oil
½ cup + 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil (use one with a very light flavor)
½ tsp. sea salt
1 cup honey
1 TBS. vanilla extract
1 TBS ground cinnamon
Method
Preheat oven to 300ºF.
Stir all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined.
Gently heat the wet ingredients in a pot over medium heat until the coconut oil is mostly melted. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool a bit and allow the rest of the coconut oil melt. (Note: although the salt and cinnamon are not wet ingredients, we have found that they are much better distributed if first blended into the wet mixture.)
When the oil mixture is cool enough to handle, pour it over the dry ingredients and then mix thoroughly. Make sure all ingredients are evenly coated.
Spread evenly on baking sheets lined with parchment, being sure to not have the granola any thicker that about 3/4 inch.
Bake for 30 minutes until just toasted. Stir well and bake another 15 minutes. It may look a bit wet when you take it out, but the mixture will crisp as it cools so be careful not to over bake. You can always pop it back in the oven if it is indeed still tacky once fully cooled.
When completely cool, crumble into chunks and store in airtight containers. Granola will last approximately 6 weeks if stored properly, but usually it’s gobbled up long before that.
Enjoy, and think of us in Friday Harbor!
Note: Each oven is variable. We have a convection oven, and cook the granola at 300º for 30 minutes, until lightly golden. Then we stir it and cook for another 15 minutes. Yours may need some tweaking of the time and temperature.
