When I was in Vancouver my sister-in-law made homemade granola. I like granola just as much as the next person, but I was unprepared for how much I would enjoy homemade granola. I am definitely hooked, so much so that the first thing I did when I got back to Toronto was make my own batch.
I’m using the same recipe as my sister-in-law – Big Cluster Maple Granola from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. [Note: this is the same cookbook that contains my favorite maple bacon biscuits – yum!!!!]
I’m excited about having this around the house, both for snacks and for a quick and filling breakfast. It is also ‘lent friendly‘ as it uses maple syrup instead of sugar and I found natural dried fruit with no added sugar.
Not only is this granola super tasty, but it is also a cheaper and a healthier option to the stuff you can buy at the store. The recipe calls for oats, wheat germ, walnuts (but I used almonds), unsweetened coconut, olive oil, cinnamon, maple syrup, egg white, salt and dried fruit (I used turkish figs, cranberries and apricots). I ended up with about 8 to 10 cups of granola for a cost of less than $10. I encourage you to buy the cookbook or find your own granola recipe, you won’t regret it.
Going into the oven.
Done
Once you perfect your recipe, this would make a great hostess gift or stocking stuffer.
adrienne in_365 