Crunchy Granola
What a pleasure, to start your day with a tummy–filling bowl of delicious whole–grain granola! And it’s easy to make your own. Just stir together everything but the dried fruit, and bake till crunchy. Add your favorite fruits once it’s cool.
Read our blog about this granola, with additional photos, at Bakers’ Banter.
7 cups (1 1/2 pounds) rolled oats, uncooked
1 cup (4 ounces) flaked unsweetened coconut (optional, but good)
1 cup (4 ounces) stabilized wheat germ
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sliced almonds
1 cup (4 ounces) diced pecans or walnuts
1 cup sunflower seeds, raw or toasted
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (11 ounces) pure maple syrup*
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) vanilla extract
5 cups (about 20 ounces) mixed dried fruit** (raisins, cranberries, cherries, diced pineapple, diced apricots, chopped dates, or the mixture of your choice)
*Pure maple syrup (as opposed to maple-flavored cane sugar syrup) makes a MUCH tastier granola. If you use "fake" syrup, be advised you’ll have to use a lot more to get the same degree of sweetness; probably an additional 1/2 cup.
**Our Fruitcake Fruits, 20 ounces of tasty dried apricots, raisins, pineapple, dates, and cranberries, is the perfect size for this recipe.
In a very large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds. Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour over the dry mixture in the bowl, stirring and tossing till everything is very well combined; a spoonula or large stirring spoon work well here.
Spread granola on a couple of large lightly greased baking sheets; a half-sheet pan is ideal. Bake in a preheated 250°F oven for about 90 minutes, stirring the mixture with a heatproof spatula, spoonula, or turner every 15 minutes or so. You want to bring the granola at the edge in towards the middle, so it all browns evenly. And reverse the baking sheets in the oven (top to bottom, bottom to top) each time you stir.
When the granola is a light–to–medium golden brown, remove it from the oven and cool completely on the pans. Transfer the granola to a large bowl, and mix in the dried fruit. Store in a tightly closed container at room temperature for several weeks; freeze for extended storage. Or portion into pretty patterned plastic bags for gift-giving.
Yield: about 18 cups, about 4 1/4 pounds granola.
Reviews
09/02/2010
07/25/2010
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS recipe! It's so healthy and nutritional but very tasty that children enjoy it too. I choose different fruits for and make up various combinations and even add chocolate chips for fun.
05/23/2010
This is a phenomenal recipe. My husband and boys love it for a midnight snack or breakfast. I add 1/2 cup of flax seeds and cut the fruit to 2 1/2 cups. Perfect every time. Thanks KAF.
05/04/2010
I love this recipe. I used only dried blueberries and left out the coconut. I have given it as gifts and it is so EASY! Top staple in my kitchen..packable and can toss it on yogurt, cottage cheese and ICE CREAM!
04/25/2010
Just made my second batch--wonderful! Used 2 1/2 cups of dried fruit each time to cut down on calories and cost.
04/24/2010
Very yummy. My kids and husband love it. I omitted the coconut and sunflower seeds (I didn't have any on hands) and used olive oil and it turned out perfect. The cooking time was just right for me. Will make again.
04/18/2010
This granola is a staple for us. I ran across the recipe in the KA Whole Grains cookbook several years ago. With the low oven temp, I bake 2 hours, stirring & rotating baking sheets once after first hour. Works perfectly. We freeze it in 1-2 cup containers and can eat it pretty much directly from the freezer. I vary the dried fruit depending on what I have on hand at the time. Always delicious! The real maple is definitely worth the investment.
04/10/2010
I made the Crunchy Granola this morning . It is so much better than any one you would buy in the store. We have been having a lot of earthquakes here in San Diego Ca. I am putting a bag of Granola in the families cars So if they can not get home they will have some thing to eat and also Water. I think you could use not so much dried fruit. I will sure make it again.
04/10/2010
Very delicious! I needed to bake at 325 for only one hour, stirring every 15 minutes, however, to get it to a deep golden brown.
04/09/2010
Okay, here is the nutritional information if you make this with canola oil, 1 cup each raisins, apples, pineapple, apricots, and craisins. I think 24 servings is approximately 3/4 cup. I used the calculator at Sparkpeople.com Nutrition Facts 24 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 337.7 Total Fat 15.3 g Saturated Fat 3.6 g Polyunsaturated Fat 4.8 g Monounsaturated Fat 5.8 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 74.8 mg Potassium 199.2 mg Total Carbohydrate 48.4 g Dietary Fiber 5.6 g Sugars 27.3 g Protein 4.8 g Vitamin A 4.0 % Vitamin B-12 0.0 % Vitamin B-6 3.4 % Vitamin C 0.6 % Vitamin D 0.0 % Vitamin E 19.6 % Calcium 2.9 % Copper 9.3 % Folate 3.6 % Iron 12.3 % Magnesium 3.9 % Manganese 18.3 % Niacin 3.3 % Pantothenic Acid 4.7 % Phosphorus 8.1 % Riboflavin 3.0 % Selenium 6.6 % Thiamin 8.5 % Zinc 3.6 %
Bookmark/share
this recipe