Counting the Beans and Cooking the Books

I’ve been making homemade granola for over a year now and it blows any storebought version out of the water!

My original recipe is pretty simple and involves fairly haphazard measurements: 8 cups oats, a bag of sliced almonds, a bag of shredded coconut, 3/4 cup canola oil, 1 1/2 cups honey, a generous spoonful of cinnamon, a dash of vanilla, a pinch of salt, and enough dried fruit to make it look nice (usually diced apricots and cranberries).

It’s a family favorite and I love to throw it in a cellophane baggie or a mason jar for instant gifts!

I am continually forcing fruit down Michael’s throat (as evidenced by my “love note” to him, left on the fridge before a recent trip out of town), and a morning bowl of yogurt, granola, and diced fruit has become one of my few triumphant attempts.

(I grew up in a household where fruit for dessert was a no-brainer, but Michael is having none of it, unless you count strawberry sundaes, apple pie, or the gratuitous “three-raspberry-garnish” one finds on creme brulee as “fruit for dessert.”)

Anyhoo, granola made with all that oil, however delicious, seemed to defeat the purpose of eating granola in the first place.  I finally decided to play around with a lower fat alternative, which came out equally tasty and even crunchier and nuttier (thank you, flax seeds!) than the original.

And I am thrilled to report that Michael has had it every day this week with lowfat vanilla yogurt and yes, FRUIT!

I win!

p.s. In addition to trimming your waistline, this will also trim your grocery bill!  I’ve seen fancy bags of granola sell for a whopping $7.99 a pound; my version costs less than half and is so much tastier!

Homemade Honey Almond Granola

• 4 cups oats
• ½ cup flax seeds, ground
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt (optional)
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 ½ cups dried fruit (diced apricots, chopped dates, cranberries, cherries, blueberries, etc)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, ground flax seeds, almonds, coconut, cinnamon, and salt, if using.

In a small saucepan, combine honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and water. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Pour over oat mixture and mix well to combine.

Spread oat mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake oats for 25 minutes, turning mixture over with a spatula after 10 minutes to ensure even browning.

Remove from oven, sprinkle dried fruit over granola, gently turn with a spatula, and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool, and transfer to an airtight container.

This recipe makes a giant heap of granola that not only keeps well, but disappears quickly.  It will keep for several weeks, but I’ve never been able to keep it around long enough to find out for sure…it’s that good.