One of my philosophies about food: I eat what I like, not necessarily what’s healthy, just what tastes good . But the fact that I studied ecology in college was a test for my philosophy. For example, while other departments chewed Cheetos and Doritos, my department swapped out yogurt clusters and granola. So, being a polite non-conformist, I graciously but hesitantly accepted any granola offered to me during class by my classmates.
Lately, I’ve been craving something nutty, spicy and quick to make in the morning. So, I ventured into the twisted world of granola and discovered homemade granola . I came across this recipe, adapted by Nigella Lawson and Molly Wiesenburg, which I once again adapted to my taste. I’m a granola conformist, and guess what? It tastes good .
Note: You can replace the corn syrup with golden syrup (on the sugar shelf), but if you do, reduce the brown sugar to ¾ cup. Also, for the applesauce, I used 2 natural apple puree packets that you can put in a child’s lunchbox. That’s the perfect amount for this recipe! One more thing: if you want to add dried fruit to the granola, you can definitely do that, just wait until the granola is out of the oven and then add the dried fruit (I used dried cranberries the day I took these photos. I also love golden raisins!)
Dried ingredients:
5 cups of rolled oats.
2-3 cups chopped almonds or pecan halves (or a mixture thereof)
1 cup of peeled raw sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup corn syrup
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Make sure the oven racks are in the top and bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Mix well. In a small bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.
Spread the mixture evenly between baking trays with 2 edges. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until evenly golden brown. Set a timer for every 10 minutes while the granola is baking to flip the trays and stir the granola (I set 2 timers, one for 35-40 minutes and one for 10 minute intervals to keep track of time! ) Whenever the granola turns golden, remove the trays from the oven and stir the granola well so the granola doesn’t cool down into one big hard sheet. The granola will seem soft when it comes out of the oven, but when it cools, it will be crispy.
Place the cooled granola in a large plastic Ziploc bag or other airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat!