Granola started out as health food. Then people caught on to how much fat and sugar it can sometimes contain and it was vilified, accused of being nothing more than crumbled up cookies in a bowl. I think it belongs somewhere between those two extremes, and I’ve done what I can to move my Maple Nut Granola in the direction of healthy without sacrificing flavor or texture.
Cutting back on the sugar, and choosing a natural sugar such as maple syrup, is an easy way to make granola healthier. I actually prefer it less sweet than the commercial varieties – they’re what gave granola a bad name in the first place.
Cutting back on the fat has consequences I’m not as fond of: it affects the texture, makes it less crispy, like just a pile of toasted oats. But I don’t worry too much about the fat content, first because the extra-virgin coconut oil I use is a natural fat, and also because I enjoy granola in pretty small portions. This recipe serves “about 10” because it yields between 4 and 5 cups, depending on whether or not you add the optional ingredients. If you’re going to eat a bowl of granola, half a cup is plenty. It takes even less to make a yogurt parfait (my favorite is made with pumpkin yogurt). Or mix together half granola and half puffed brown rice cereal (Kashi makes a good one) for a lighter, more cereal-like mixture to top with milk or almond milk, and fresh berries or sliced banana.
Homemade granola is a great thing to have on hand if you’re hosting house guests. Everyone gets up and going at different times, so it can be hard to coordinate a hot breakfast. Instead I’ll set out a pot of French Roast coffee, some fresh-squeezed juice, a jar of this granola, a couple of different flavors of yogurt, some fruit, and good crusty bread for toast. That way everyone can find their way to a delicious and filling breakfast on their own timetable.
Maple Nut Granola is very easy to make. The only challenge is in making sure it browns evenly — as with roasted vegetables, or any dish that involves a baking sheet filled with small pieces that pile up in the center and spread out more thinly at the edges. When you stir it during baking, try to pull in all the browned pieces from the edges, bring them to the center, and push the less-done center pieces out to the edges.
Making this ahead:
- Maple Nut Granola keeps for a weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, unless you’ve added the optional dried cherries or other dried fruit, as the fruit will start to dry out and harden after a day or so. To avoid this, make the granola without the fruit and just add a little fruit to each serving as you go.
You might also like this Golden Peanut Butter Granola.
Maple Nut Granola
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin coconut oil (or substitute organic, expeller-pressed canola oil)
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup unsalted nuts such as almonds, pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup unsalted raw sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 3/8 teaspoon Morton's)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2/3 cup roasted salted pepitas (pumpkin seed kernels) (optional)
- 1/3 cup dried cherries (optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a medium sized baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Step 2 Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. (The easiest way to measure coconut oil, if it needs to be melted for the recipe anyway, is to spoon out more than you think you need, melt it, then pour the melted oil into a liquid measuring cup to measure out what you need. The remainder can be poured right back into the jar it came from, where it will solidify as if it were never melted.)
- Step 3 In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and salt.
- Step 4 Add the maple syrup and vanilla to the melted coconut oil, then pour the coconut oil mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and toss the mixture until it’s thoroughly combined. Spread the mixture in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Step 5 Bake the granola on the center rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Give it a good stir, and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Step 6 Stir in the coconut and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the granola is golden brown. It will continue to cook for a few minutes after it comes out of the oven, from its own residual heat, so take it out before it gets too dark.
- Step 7 Move the baking sheet to a rack to cool completely. Once the granola is completely cool, stir in the pepitas and/or dried cherries. If you plan to store the granola for more than a few days, reserve the cherries and add them to individual servings as you use it.
