Homemade Nut & Granola Recipe

This week’s is Nutty Granola.. Leslie has a great blog that I enjoy reading each week, check her out if you have not already. I have been trying to eat a more nutritious breakfast lately, so I was very pleased to see that she picked this recipe.

This granola is easy and delicious, really, what more can you ask for? It is chock full of nuts and you can add any dried fruits that you desire. I am a homemade granola novice. However, after seeing how easy and tasty this was I will definitely be making more.

Follow up:

I enjoy nuts (te he) so I was on board with the cup and a half of chopped nuts in this recipe (walnuts, almonds, and pecans). I also like dried fruits, especially in granola, so I did include the optional 1/2 cup of raisins and I also added a 1/2 cup of dried cranberries. Next time I will play around with the fruits some more, I think dried cherries and/or apricots would work. You could also add some dark mini chocolate chips if you are making this more of a treat. The tart cherries would be great opposite the sweetness of the maple syrup, which was both the sweetener and binder here. I don’t know if it is a common ingredient in homemade granola, but it worked so well in this recipe that I would recommend it. The maple syrup provides a rich but subtle sweetness which you can taste in the toasted oats.

I used Shady Maple Farms organic Grade B maple syrup. He grew up in Vermont and he recently told us that Grade B maple syrup is actually better than Grade A, and it is a little cheaper. I trust his judgment on many things, including maple syrup, so that is what I have been buying ever since.

Total cooking time for the granola is 30 minutes and the aroma of cinnamon and toasty nuts filled my apartment after about 15 minutes, which reminded me to give it a good stir as Ellie suggests.

Here is my bowl o’ oats before going into the oven.

And after. Who knew a cup of granola could be so pretty?