Simple granola recipe?

[moroccangirl]

Anyone have one? Everything I'm finding has crazy ingredients or seems like tons of sugar/syrup. I want to try to make some because it's so expensive in the store.

[Run Amok]

This is my go- to. I love it! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Vanilla-Scented-Granola-106306

Easy to change up the nuts (or leave them out) and you can mix in dried fruit or whatever you want. The only problem is that it's SO good you will probably sit down and eat the whole batch in a single sitting. I think I've messed around with less oil and sugar but I think it works best as written.

[moroccangirl]

Thanks!

[moroccangirl]

Girl! You weren't lying about that recipe. I made it tonite and it is so good. I made the recipe as is and added dried cranberries at DH's request. I think next time I'll split the recipe and add cranberries to his half and chocolate chips and other stuff to my half. It is so good, did I already say that?

[Run Amok]

IKR?! Granola is one of those things that's sooooooo much better from scratch. I like this recipe because it doesn't have a bunch of weird stuff in it!

[triciaflower]

I watched Ina Garten's show the other day and she did a very simple granola with roasted hazelnuts. It looked so good.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-hazelnut-granola-recipe/index.html

[moroccangirl]

RA - yes. Plus you can control the sweetness and ingredients yourself.

triciaflower - That looks good too!


On the epicurious one I saw that a lot of people used coconut oil instead of
Vegetable oil. The only coconut oil I remember seeing was solid. How do you measure that? Like if it calls for one cup of oil do you ise one cup of the solid? Or is there a liquid coconut oil?

[Run Amok]

Nope, it's solid. It weighs/measures the same. So, you can just scoop it into a measuring cup and it will be the same. Coconut oil is the new "in" thing. I'm kind of "meh" on it, but it's a good alternative to shortening for vegan pastries (still not as good as butter!!!)

[moroccangirl]

Thanks. A lot of the reviewers used it for the flavor. Some said they used butter instead of oil. DH would not touch it if I used butter, he hated the taste of it. Crazy man.

[Run Amok]

Oh, I wouldn't use butter in granola, the smoke point is too low. =) Yes, it does have a bit of a flavor. Not enough that I'd go out of my way for it. Regular vegetable oil works fine in this recipe, IMO. I think the flavor of coconut oil is pretty mild, myself. But, YMMV, of course.

[moroccangirl]

Yeah, I think it was fine just as it was.

[witchypoo]

Oh, I wouldn't use butter in granola, the smoke point is too low. =) Yes, it does have a bit of a flavor. Not enough that I'd go out of my way for it. Regular vegetable oil works fine in this recipe, IMO. I think the flavor of coconut oil is pretty mild, myself. But, YMMV, of course.

1.  i use corn oil.

[Natasha]

Yum. This was easy and gratifying, thanks for posting it:) Made the house smell good too. And a good way to use up the little bits of dried fruit and nuts I always seem to have in the pantry.

[GreenMan]

Coconut oil is solid or liquid depending on the temperature of your kitchen. I was confused when a friend showed me how to cook with it in its liquid form, but when I went to the heavily air-conditioned store it was all solid. Nowadays I can measure the seasons by whether my coconut oil has congealed or not. 

As for recipes, I love this one. I bake it for 10 minutes, stir, 10 minutes, stir, 10 minutes, done. One big advantage: NO OIL. Not as calorie-laden as most kinds. It calls for cinnamon, but I like to vary the flavorings from time to time.

[omega lambda]

Thanks guys!  I'm a recent convert to granola as well and yes, it's expensive in the stores and very often too laden with a bunch of stuff I don't want.  I'm going to try making my own today.

[Eco Ellen]

Thanks RA - I'm going to use this.  I will use cashews instead of almonds because of allergy, though.

[Run Amok]

Thanks RA - I'm going to use this.  I will use cashews instead of almonds because of allergy, though.

You can use whatever combo of nuts/fruit you want. Or, none at all. I've made it with almonds, cashews, and hazlenuts... or skipped the nuts. I think hazlenuts are my fav though. You mentioned leaving out the sugar in another post. I've messed around with the proportions a bit and, honestly, this one is best "as-is". Granola gets a lot of its texture and toasty goodness from the combo of sugar oil. You can use whatever oats you have on hand. I've made it with instant an with the really thick kind and it works with both. Just keep an eye on it and stir it periodically so it doesn't burn.

[Eco Ellen]

Thanks, RA.  It looks great.  The no sugar things was for somebody with diabetes.  That's not me. 

[badger]

This is my go- to. I love it! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Vanilla-Scented-Granola-106306

Eating some now. Yum!

[Eco Ellen]

This has quickly become an absolute necessity in my house.