I gotta have me my Oats N O’s! (and granola recipe)

This granola recipe might be one of my favorite things ever – and that’s saying a lot since I just discovered this generic version of cheerios at the local giant:

If you’ve seen the movie Step Brothers – you’ll understand why this is amazing. Between this and the “lots of room for activities” quote in my first blog post – I’m officially at two Step Brothers references. This is probably cause for concern. Please send funds for more intellectual movie watching. Although I’ll probably just use them to buy Semi-Pro, and then you’ll have to deal with Jackie Moon references.

Where was I? Oh yeah, granola! I made this granola to give out as holiday gifts, and now am officially addicted. It’s mostly oat based, and tastes nothing like the granola you buy in the store – in a good way.

The recipe is from Kale and Chocolate, and can be found by clicking here. My favorite things about this recipe are that it’s mostly oats so it’s not super heavy like most granola recipes, it’s flexible (use whatever seeds/nuts/dried fruit) you have on hand, and it uses coconut oil. I don’t even like coconut, but coconut oil is quickly becoming a staple around here.

First you mix together the dry ingredients – 6 cups of oats, and around 2 cups of nuts/seeds. I used sliced almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds for this batch. Walnuts are also great, and if you’re feeling feisty, break out the chia seeds. These can be in any combo as long as it add up more or less to two cups. It’s a great excuse to go crazy in the bulk bin aisle at your local grocery store. Just don’t forget to pick up some Oats N O’s cereal while you’re there.

 

Add in the cinnamon, salt, sugar (the recipe calls for coconut sugar, which I don’t have, but might need to check out soon). For this batch, I used turbinado/raw sugar.

 

Add in the cinnamon, and any other spices you think might work – I went with nutmeg (I know, really going out on a limb there.) Mainly because I just got this fancy overpriced nutmeg grinder for Christmas. It’s from Williams Sonoma, where you can find items you didn’t even know you needed. Like a grinder JUST for nutmeg. 

 

Then the wet ingredients go in – maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract. I mixed them together first before adding – well as much as I could since the coconut oil is solid.

 

Spread the mixture out in two pans and stick them in the oven at 325 degrees. The recipe calls for 35 minutes which was a little too long for the oven in our house. Granola burns quickly – and it’s a bit awkward to give burnt granola as a christmas gift – so just save that batch for yourself. (More for you!)

I recommend setting the time for 10-15 minutes and stirring/checking on it at that point. If you’re using two pans at once which gets tricky, you may need to just pull one out sooner than the other. Mine was done around 15-20 minutes.

 

Once the granola cools (I just leave it in the pan on the counter – on a hot pad of course, Steve), mix in the dried chopped fruit. This is totally optional, and you can put in as little or as much as you want. My favorites so far are dried cherries – so so so good – and dried cranberries. I have apricots pictured below, but they tasted weird to me. Another perk of the bulk bin – you don’t have to invest in dried apricots when you’re not sure if you like them or not. Plus it’s better to have fresh dried fruit (does that even make sense?), so buying in smaller amounts helps keep them from drying out too much.

Then you just put the granola in a ziploc bag or container of your choice. We have a coffee storage container that never gets used, so it’s found a new purpose in life.

 

And voila, granola! In like 90 steps. You could have made it 20 times over by the time I finish this post. I shall call it my “Oats n Os Granola” thesis paper. Maybe it’ll get me a graduate degree. Or a doctorate of granola.

If you’re still even reading, the logical next step is to add your granola to your oats n o’s (cheerios are also acceptable, but not as cool), and pour on some almond milk. Or mix some into yogurt. Either makes for a good breakfast or snack – not the most filling, but some mornings you just need something lighter.

Who knew granola was such a hot topic? My next post will be on how to assemble a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in 500 words, with multiple Will Ferrell references, so run while you can stay tuned!