Monday, July 14

Almond Coconut Granola


I wanted to make granola last weekend for a couple different reasons (one, for eating, and two, for use as an ingredient in a different recipe). I couldn't find my old recipe, which originally came from who-knows-where, so I looked online for a new one. I printed out three, but went with this one because it appeared to be the simplest and fastest. True! It was really fast to throw together, the ingredients were in my pantry (well, I only had sweetened coconut), it baked for a short period of time, and tasted great in a bowl with milk. It's a winner in my book.
Here it is from Gourmet, Feb 99 (Epicurious) :

Almond Coconut Granola
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1/3 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons honey
1 cup mixed dried fruits such as raisins, cherries, and apricots

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a large bowl stir together oats, almonds, coconut, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, and salt. In a small saucepan melt butter with honey over low heat, stirring. Pour butter mixture over oat mixture and stir until combined well.

In a large jelly-roll pan spread granola evenly and bake in middle of oven, stirring halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool granola in pan on a rack and stir in dried fruits. Granola may be kept in an airtight container at cool room temperature 2 weeks.

Next up: The banana muffins that included this granola.