Granola — Made-To-Order Recipe Series
This craveable granola is packed with flavor from coconut oil, orange oil, maple syrup and cinnamon; and it actually breaks into chunks rather than crumble! With the Made-To-Order recipe series, you get the added bonus of a recipe blueprint that can be customized for countless flavor variations.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups + 2 tablespoons Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
- ½ cup Steel-Cut Oats
- ½ cup raw Pecan Pieces
- ¼ cup packed Dark Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup melted Unrefined Coconut Oil
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Cloves
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ⅛ teaspoon Orange Oil
- ¼ cup Dried Cranberries
Instructions
- Set oven rack to middle position, and preheat oven to 325 °F. Finely grind 2 tablespoons of old-fashioned oats using a spice grinder or food processor. In a large bowl, whisk together ground oats, remaining 1.5 cups old-fashioned oats, steel-cut oats, and pecans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, coconut oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, cloves, salt, vanilla, and orange oil. With a rubber spatula, fold sugar mixture into oat mixture until evenly distributed.
- Transfer granola to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press granola into an even layer. Continue pressing granola from center out towards edges to create a thin tightly packed layer, less than ½-inch thick. Make sure the edges are as thick and tightly packed as the center. It is worth taking a few extra minutes to do this thoroughly.
- Bake granola until edges are firm, and center gives only slightly when pressed; oats are light golden brown, and nuts are dark; granola smells fragrant and toasty; about 30 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through.
- Transfer baking sheet to a cooling rack; allow granola to cool completely. Break granola into 2-inch chunks, and sprinkle dried cranberries over the top. Store granola in an airtight container for up to a month.
Notes
- Mocha Granola: Add 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder to the sugar mixture. Omit the orange oil, cloves, and cranberries. Substitute coarsely chopped raw almonds for the pecans.
- Tropical Granola: Substitute white sugar for the brown sugar. Use 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger and ¼ teaspoon cardamom instead of the cinnamon and cloves. Substitute coarsely chopped macadamia nuts for the pecans. Substitute diced dried pineapple for the cranberries. Optional: add ¼ cup dried coconut flakes.
- Although oats and nuts are naturally gluten free, they are often processed in facilities that also handle wheat. To ensure that the recipe is gluten free, make sure to check the labels on your ingredients.
- I use a blade coffee grinder to grind the oats. A food processor works as well. Using store-bought oat flour or almond flour eliminates the grinding step altogether.
- Melt coconut oil in the microwave, in 20 second intervals, until fluid. Measure the melted coconut oil; measuring the solid coconut oil will be less accurate. Additional melted oil can be returned to its original container. If you don’t want any coconut flavor, use refined coconut oil, which is neutral.
- If it is particularly humid when you make the granola, it may take up to 10 additional minutes in the oven.
- Read the Customization Advice section above for ideas of how to customize your granola.
- Recipes for more granola flavors coming soon!