The Great Granola Exchange
Caramelized granola with crunchy nuts and bright bursts of cranberries
On Monday afternoon, Moss and I mailed off our precious baby (first ever batch of homemade granola) to our Great American Granola Exchange recipient!
Our recipient had a few dietary restrictions to keep in mind: the granola couldn’t contain seed oils or refined sugars, and it had to be gluten free.
We rustled through our pantry in search of ingredients to be turned into the perfect final product: caramelized granola with crunchy nuts and bright bursts of cranberries.
Ingredients:
Rolled Oats — 3 cups
Peanuts (roasted & salted) — 1/2 cup
Almonds (slivered) — 1/2 cup
Shaved coconut — 1/2 cup
Dried cranberries — 1/2 cup
Cinnamon — ~1 teaspoon
Cardamom — ~1 teaspoon
Nutmeg (we used freshly grated, but you don’t have to) — ~1/4 teaspoon
Salt — 2 teaspoons
EVOO: 1/2 cup
Maple syrup — 1/2 cup
Honey — 1/4 cup
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 335 degrees Fahrenheit (about 168 Celsius)
Measure and add all dry ingredients to a large bowl, mix together
Add maple syrup, honey, cranberries, salt, and spices to the dry ingredients, mix again
Add olive oil to the granola mixture, mix again
Line a large sheet tray (or two medium) with parchment paper and spread out the granola— it’s okay if it sticks together in some places, you want to create large clusters
Place sheet trays in oven and bake for 25 minutes, taking the granola out at the 10 and 20 minute mark to stir everything around (this part isn’t necessary and I think your granola would be fine without it, but I wanted to ensure everything was evenly coated and cooked; I also wanted to prevent the granola from burning)
Take granola out of the oven and let it cool completely. The granola will look and feel moist still— this is normal, and it will harden as it cools and dries. The granola should have a dark color— both golden and brown— and the cranberries should look ever so slightly burnt
Serve, snack, store, enjoy!
Yum!! This sounds so good