No. 25East Coast · Breakfast / Snack

Homemade Granola

Name: Homemade Granola
Yield: About 4 cups
Cuisine: East Coast
Ingredients: 2 cups (180 g) old-fashioned rolled oats; ½ cup roughly chopped almonds, pecans or other nuts; ¼ cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds; 2 tbsp hemp hearts; 2 tbsp chia seeds; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp fine salt; ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup or honey; 3 tbsp (40 ml) neutral oil or melted coconut oil; ½ tsp vanilla extract; Optional: ⅓ cup dried fruit, stirred in after baking

I refuse to pay a fortune for granola I can make better at home. Mine is properly toasted, with real clusters instead of a bag of dusty oats. Make one tray and breakfast is yogurt, fruit and a generous handful.

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Homemade granola with almonds, pumpkin seeds and chia — Shot on my phone.No. 25

Makes: About 4 cups
Total: 1 hr 15 min (with cooling)
Hands-on: 10 min
Season: Year-round

Method

Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
Mix. Stir the oats, nuts, seeds, hemp hearts, chia, cinnamon and salt in a big bowl. Whisk the syrup, oil and vanilla, pour it over and stir until everything is coated.
Press it down. Spread it on the tray in an even layer, about ½ inch thick (it won't fill the whole tray), and press it down firmly with a spatula. This is how you get clusters.
Bake, and don't stir. Bake 25–35 minutes, rotating the pan once, until golden all over. Watch the last 10 minutes closely.
Leave it alone. Let it cool completely on the tray without touching it, then break it into chunks. Stir in the dried fruit if using and store airtight.

From my kitchen

The ratio: about 2 parts oats to 1 part nuts and seeds. Use whatever you like; hemp hearts and chia are always in mine.
Clusters need patience. Press firmly, don't stir, and let it cool completely before you break it up. Warm granola is loose granola.
Dried fruit goes in last. Baked dried fruit turns into little rocks.

To drink

Easy Coffee, obviously.

A step further A matcha or chai latte, if you're making a morning of it.

Zero proof Cold milk poured straight over it.

Richly yours, H

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