Granola to the Rescue

My husband, Phil, is asking for homemade granola.  Now that we are newly emtpy-nesters, we have very little sweets in the house, except for a few dark chocolate bars and a box of graham crackers.

But he can’t fool me with his request.  I know what he really would like is homemade chocolate chip cookies (his weakness), but he thinks homemade granola with chocolate chips is a great substitute for chocolate chip cookies, possibly because it makes him feel “healthier” when he overeats it.  Which he always does.

I make granola rather than granola bars because I can use less sugar.  The only way you can get granola to really stick together to create a bar is to put quite a bit of honey or agave (not a favorite of mine) in the recipe.  I prefer to make all of my sweets with the least amount of sugar or honey I can get away with without sacrificing taste. This granola recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of honey, while most bar recipes (and many granola recipes for that matter) will call for more like 1/2 cup or 1 cup of honey.  Brown it well and you will find it a great substitute for a chocolate chip cookie!  Try to limit it to 1/4-1/2 cup serving.  Phil, are you listening?

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Homemade Granola

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine Breakfasts

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw rolled oats not instant or quick cook
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries you can use dried cranberries, raisins, dried cherries, dried blueberries or a mix of any or all of these
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 2 tablespoons raw honey or manuka honey
• 1 tablespoon real maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Place walnuts and almonds in a baggie and pound with a mallet so they are in chunks.  You can also use a food processor to do this.

3. Place nuts, oats, cranberries, chocolate chips and flaxseed in a large bowl and stir to combine.

4. Add honey and maple syrup. 

5. Stir to combine.  Use your hands also to really cover all the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until everything is well combined.

6. Add cinnamon and salt and stir to combine.

7. Pour granola into a jelly roll pan and spread around evenly.

8. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until nicely browned.  Stir a couple of times during cooking to evenly brown. 

9. Let cool 10 minutes.  Store in airtight container.