Granola - how I make it

When I posted about the granola I made at Christmas some people expressed an interest to know how I made it so I thought I would share that today as I made up a batch today.

There are no precise weights and measures for how I make mine, the more ingredients you use the bigger the batch.  This was a smaller batch because It was just for me.

As well as the items below, oats, coconut oil, cinnamon and maple syrup, you will also need a selection of nuts and seeds and either raisins sultans or dried cranberries, or a mixture of all three, if that's what you like.

 I always use these organic oats from Aldi, they are nice and big and not powdery like some others can be.

For this batch I had a mixture of nuts left over from when I'd made it at Christmas,  walnuts, pecans and hazelnuts, and I also added some almonds and pumpkin seeds and a handful of mixed seeds too. 

 You can use whatever nuts and seeds that you prefer.

I line the baking tray with foil, (because it's easier to transfer to a container once cooled), and arrange the oats nuts and seeds as shown.*

 I then add 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil, (adjust the amount of coconut oil you use to how large a batch you are making, I would suggest you put less rather than more at this stage because you can always add a bit more)

Sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon and drizzle maple syrup all over.  You can add a pinch of salt if you wish to, (sometimes I do, sometimes I forget, I don't think there is any difference) 

I set my oven at 180°C and leave it in there until the coconut oil has melted, then I take it out and mix everything together.  At this point you will be able to see if you need to add more coconut oil, you don't want the ingredients too dry, but neither do you want them swimming oil.  

I turned my oven down to 165°C and put it back in to cook for about 20-25 minutes.  Of course your's may take longer or cook quicker, depending on your oven.

You will easily see when it is ready as it will looks lightly toasted and sound crunchy when you stir it.

Once it's cooled for a while add your sultanas/raisins/cranberries, (or all three) and mix those in.   

 leave it to completely cool before jarring it up.  That's it, it's so easy to make up a batch while your'e cooking something.

If you wanted to make the gingerbread granola which I did at Christmas just add the following.

  zest of 1 orange plus 1 tablespoon of the juice.   

2 tablespoons of black treacle 

2 balls stem ginger

1 tablespoon of ground ginger

 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

I added all the above to my Christmas batch except for the stem ginger and cloves as that doesn't appeal to everyone.  It turned out great and everyone was happy to receive a jar again this year.

I can guarantee that once you try home made granola you will never want shop bought again!

Let me know if you try it

*I like to arrange the ingredients like this, because I'm slightly ocd and like to see everything in little piles, you can totally just chuck everything on that tray if that's the way you prefer to work, 🤣

I'll also copy this page to the recipies tab at the top of the page for future reference 

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