Friday, June 11, 2010

Hot Weather Granola



My autopilot breakfast, year round, is eggs and toast. In the winter, my other autopilot breakfast is hot cereal; that changes to granola in hot weather.

A week or so ago, my desire for a cozy, warm breakfast finally disappeared. What I wanted was crunchy, not too sweet, with lots of cold milk and fresh berries. The only downer about making granola is the hot oven for a half hour, so that's why I make a big batch. Oh, those smart ladies of yesteryear with their summer kitchens!

I've been using the same granola recipe for years now, developed using the loose guidelines in More with Less. I could be tempted to try other recipes, so tell me your granola secrets and methods.

Margo's Granola

Grease 2 very large baking pans with sides; I usually use my roasting pan and a 12x14.

Into this, dump (14 cups total):
7-9 cups rolled or quick oats 1 c. coconut
1 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. sesame seeds
1 c. wheat germ
nuts - I use whatever I have, but hazelnuts are fabulous

Mix separately:
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. blackstrap molasses
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Pour wet stuff over dry, mixing well until evenly coated. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes; stir. Bake an additional 15 minutes (I never bake longer than this!) and allow to cool undisturbed for chunks.

4 comments:

Amy said...

My recipe is very similar except for the peanut butter. That, however, sounds like a most delightful addition. So good that I might just have to whip up a batch of this today.

Beth said...

We're big granola lovers here...I honestly can't keep enough made! 9c worth of oats will last us about...30 minutes. No really, it lasts just a few days, though, if they eat it every day for breakfast!

Our recipe is fairly similar - no nut butter though. We use sliced almonds (cheap at Costco!), and more spices: ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg. Also, in addition to the oats we use oat bran and wheat germ.

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

Mmmm, I love homemade granola and I love making it because it's so easy yet so domestically satisfying. Sometimes I make ours with peanut butter, sometimes not. Always cinnamon, always honey (never tried molasses, good source of iron...), and brown sugar. I like pecans in granola and coconut, too.

Jennifer Jo said...

This looks delicious. I'm inspired.