20 October 2008

Update: Spicy, Nutty, Seedy, Agave-Sweetened Granola

From Island Beach State Park in October, Granola, Pie


Update: I mistakenly typed an extra teaspoon of ginger. Caught by my pal Tanya! Correct version below.

Celine wasn't kidding when she said it was yummy stuff. My version is pretty loosely based on her White Chocolate Raspberry Granola. I added spices to mine, though, along with different nuts, more/different seeds, and different add-ins at the end. Oh, and I tripled her recipe because I was making a bunch as a housewarming gift (hint: give them a cool container with the granola; I used Lock and Lock. It's awesome!).

From Island Beach State Park in October, Granola, Pie


I didn't quite realize how much I actually made until I mixed all the dry ingredients together. Tripling the recipe yields A LOT of granola. Good thing it's mighty tasty!

My mountain of granola:

From Island Beach State Park in October, Granola, Pie


I think it's probably more aptly named something like chai spice, but you can decide for yourself. And, don't make the mistake I made by baking it all in one rimmed cookie sheet. Use two. It will go a lot faster if you do.

One final warning: once you try this, you will never buy granola again. The recipe is so simple and flexible, you'll want to try all kinds of combinations of add-ins.

Here's the recipe as I made it.

Spicy, Nutty, Seedy, Agave-Sweetened Granola (based on Celine's White Chocolate Raspberry Granola)

Yields a whopping 120 oz. of tasty, spicy granola.

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup barley flour
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (as finely shredded as possible)
3/4 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup chopped pecans
7 teaspoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup flax meal
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or pepitas (I used pepitas)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/3 cup oil (I used grapeseed)
1 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla

add-ins for the post-baking mix:
3/4 cup apple-juice-sweetened cranberries
3/4 cup dried cherries (I used unsweetened dark sweet cherries from Trader Joe's.)
1 cup unsweetened carob chips

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In your largest bowl or a super-large ziplock bag, mix together the top 15 ingredients (all the ingredients up until the oil). Make sure everything is combined very well and that there aren't any hidden flour pockets. They will hide from you.
3. In a much smaller bowl, blend together the three wet ingredients until well incorporated.
4. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix really well. This could take a while, so just be patient and put on your favorite music to mix by. If you find that things look a little dry, add a tablespoon more oil and mix it all again.
5. Spread your mix into your prepped cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, then take the sheets out, stir up the granola, then switch the positions of the sheets (top goes on a lower rack) in the oven, and bake for another 15 minutes. Stir once more, then bake until nicely browned--light brown, not dark brown. It should take up to 15 more minutes maximum.
6. While you're baking the final time, mix together the final three ingredients in the biggest bowl you have. When the granola is done baking, slide it off the pans on top of the add-ins in the bowl and stir well.
7. Spread the mixture out in the pans again and let the pans cool on top of wire racks for at least two hours before transferring your granola to airtight containers.
8. Enjoy a small bowlful with some vanilla rice milk right away!

From Island Beach State Park in October, Granola, Pie

15 comments:

Unknown said...

woohoo! vive le granola.

Anonymous said...

OMG! That granola looks so enticing I wanted to jump in my screen and take a bath in it. Awesome, simply awesome. The ingredients are clean and pack a nutritional whollop! Great job,Deb! I love your blog and am so glad you came to visit mine. Come and visit the website - I have great videos of food based on the format of my book. www.101FoodsThatCouldSaveYourLife.com. Have a great day!

Deb Schiff said...

Thanks, Dr. Dave! Love your site too!

Hmmm. A granola bath? Makes me itchy just thinking about it. Breakfast everyday, however, sounds like just the ticket!

Thanks for visiting!

koala brains said...

This granola recipe looks delicious! I want to make it but can't use barley flour since it contains gluten. Do you think I can replace it with more rice flour? Thanks!

Deb Schiff said...

Hey Koala,
Definitely! You also could use coconut flour. Just remember to sift it first.
Thanks for stopping by!

koala brains said...

Hi, Deb - I made your granola today and we love it!! Thanks for the recipe.

Deb Schiff said...

Hey KB. Glad to hear you made it. The corn meal probably made it nice and crunchy! I'm going to try making it with crispy brown rice cereal at some point for some extra crunch too. Mmmm. Just thinking about it makes me hungry!

koala brains said...

It was actually corn flour so it doesn't have the texture as the meal. How funny, I thought about the crispy brown rice, too. I think next time I'm going to replace the oats with the rice. I think I'm going to have to have a bowl right now! :)

Deb Schiff said...

I actually mixed the granola with fruit-sweetened corn flakes this morning for breakfast. :)

Thanks for the follow-up. Good to know.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting recipe, Deb. I like all the various seeds and spices. I'm curious about the addition of the flours... do you add them for the nutrition/fiber, or do they provide a different texture than more traditional granola?

Deb Schiff said...

Thanks, Cheryl. Made some today, as a matter of fact. I really like the barley flour and sometimes use it to the exclusion of all others. The texture it lends, along with the flavor is why I use it. The nutritional value is just a nice bonus.

koala brains said...

Deb, check out this link. I was contacted by Erewhon to post the granola recipe I made which I adapted from yours: http://www.erewhonglutenfree.com/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/1465

Deb Schiff said...

That's just the most awesome thing ever, KB! Thanks for giving me credit. That's very kind.

BTW, I made your recipe last week, with a few alterations. I love, love, love using the crunchy rice cereal in the granola. It's awesome!

Janet said...

I love this recipe. I don't follow it exactly, but it always turns out great with whatever I have on hand. I use a half cup honey or maple syrup and still comes out plenty sweet for me. I Also like to use coconut oil.

Deb Schiff said...

Thanks, Janet! I'm glad you like it. These days, I mix half maple syrup/half agave nectar. I usually use olive oil because I like it. Honestly, I've had a jar of coconut oil in my cabinet for way too long. I just don't think to use it. Thanks for the reminder!