{The Very Best} Crunchy Granola

Hola!! from the very depths of organization project, get-stuff-done land.

Where, oh where, has this week gone?! It has simply flown by for me. But, I've realized that it makes sense to get some of my heavier projects out of the way while I'm still marginally spry, and we'll finish up school when I'm not-so-spry anymore, so this week, and possibly the next few will be about getting the house in shape for Bebe'--which actually means getting the house in shape for my sanity's sake.

 I haven't blogged any recipes for a while, and it seemed like it was about time. I have a weird relationship with food right now--I think I've had heartburn a bit too much, because most of the time I am not feeling the food. And, if by chance I happen to be ravenously hungry and starving, and then I go to eat and about halfway through my plate I feel like I am going to explode, and it doesn't even sound good anymore. This makes food prep really hard these days. My apologies, dear family of mine.

 So, Granola is right about my speed at this time.

 I have made granola off and on (mostly on) for most of our married life. But, Garrett has always refused to eat it because it wasn't crunchy and chunky enough, and my kids never really liked it too much either. So, I'd make a HUGE x5 batch every 4 - 5 months or so, stick it in the freezer, and it would be my breakfast for however long it lasted.

 Earlier this year we decided to focus really hard as a team on eating and living more healthfully as a whole family. We've always eaten pretty healthfully--but realistically not as a team--just more separately, with some of us doing better than others. As a result I've done my best to find recipes and ways of preparing food that we can ALL be happy with, and enjoy together. I found this recipe as a result of that challenge and have tweaked it as I've made it to suit all of our desires.

I am happy to say that when I am making granola, everyone is happy in this house. And everyone eats it, often shrieking (Not Garrett, to be clear. He doesn't shriek.) and burning their fingers as they pick it from the cookie sheet straight out of the oven. Score!

 {The Very Best} Crunchy Granola

In a saucepan combine:
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil (I'm sure another type would work also-the original recipe is with canola, we just love coconut oil for it's healthful properties and delicious flavor.)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (or to taste, I usually just dump it straight it, so it's probably a bit more than that when I make it.)
1 tsp. cinnamon (or to taste, I also dump this in straight from the container.)

Bring to a low simmer over medium heat, whisking together. In another bowl combine:
5 cups regular oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup coconut flakes (I like Bob's Red Mill, Unsweetened)
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups cashews

Mix the sauce and the oat mixture together and spread on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 275-300 degrees for approximately 40 minutes,  CHECKING and STIRRING EVERY 10.

When golden brown and just barely starting to smell toasted, remove from oven.

Let cool and add:
2 cups dries fruit of your choice, if desired.

Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

 Recipe Notes:

I have found this recipe to be EXTREMELY forgiving. Seriously, about every four times I make it I screw it up and do 2/3 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup honey by accident, and it still turns out crispy and clumpy, as my husband would tell you granola should be. I'm aware that brown sugar is probably not the most healthful sweetener, but I am deathly afraid (ok, maybe not quite that afraid!) of losing the crunchy and clumpy, so I haven't experimented with other sweeteners, because I'm pretty sure it's the combination of those two that gives it the clumps--I've made granola with maple syrup and honey mixture for years, and NEVER gotten crunchy clumps. It's only 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar to a total volume of dry goods of 10 cups, so I figure it's really not that much. Provided of course that I don't screw it up and do 2/3 cup by accident instead. :-)

You could definitely bake this at a higher temperature and for a shorter period of time if you wanted it done sooner. For myself, I prefer my granola more dehydrated at a lower temp than baked at a higher--it gives me more room for error if I forget to set my timer... which I usually do at least once. As I've baked and experimented with this recipe, I've lowered the original temp from 350 down to 275... and I've been MUCH happier with how it's turned out. It takes longer, but it doesn't burn when I do forget about it for a while.

I don't usually add the dried fruit because we eat it over Greek yogurt with a mix of berries a lot, and no matter how many times you do the math and add up your carbohydrates and divide by portion sizes, the carbohydrate count for granola/cereal is really difficult, and basically comes down to trial and error. Dried fruit makes it even more difficult because every single raisin or whatever counts towards your carbs. Healthcare professional will tell you I'm crazy for that, but they're wrong.  In diabetes and carb-counting Land, 2 + 2 doesn't always equal 4-most of the time it ends up equaling about 56. and occasionally -15. But, I keep thinking that dried cherries and blueberries would be amazing. If I could manage to get to that section at the end of Costco without already hitting the ceiling on my budget, I might actually manage to get some one of these days.

It will still be wet-ish still when it comes out of the oven... go by the color of it (golden brown) and the slight toasty smell, not the feel. I usually let mine sit out over night if I make it in the evening, or until the evening if I make it in the morning. Added bonus to this little procedure is that the recipe makes just slightly more than fits in my storage container. By the time everyone in our family has walked by a few times and grabbed handfuls, it fits perfectly. :-)

You can, of course, use whatever nuts/seed combinations you like. This blend just happens to be what my family loves. Also, I'd say that this starts out plenty gooey enough, so you have enough syrup to add another cup of dry goods if you want additional nuts, or more oats or flaxseed, which I would probably add if it wasn't 500 miles downstairs in my secondary freezer. If you do use cashews, make sure to get the broken ones and not the whole ones--they are way cheaper.

  ENJOY! 

Breakfast is a sacred time at our house, every day. We all hold it near and dear, and generally speaking do our very best to endure and not resent the things that occasionally screw it up. Hugs and snuggles and quiet voices and books and peace. Simple, easily prepped food because I don't like making dishes or a mess that early in the morning, or fussing over a meal.