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