During this past Friday’s rainstorm, Eliza and I made homemade granola. Store-bought granola annoys me because it is usually expensive, cloyingly sweet, the raisins are too hard, and it isn’t that healthy. The following recipe, which I have been making for over a decade, is full of ground flaxseed, wheat germ, nuts, and is just a tad sweet thanks to a bit of molasses. It tastes great on its own, with milk, on ice cream, and of course over yogurt. My favorite way to eat granola, thanks to a recommendation from Design Sponge, is with plain Greek yogurt, a little bit of honey, and sections of pink grapefruit. I know, the combination sounds bizarre, but trust me, it is crazy delicious.
While Eliza napped, I got the ingredients together, including chopping the nuts.
I did all of the measuring and Eliza did the mixing. Like any good cook, she needs her essentials close by, in her case, that includes two sippy cups and her Froggie.
Even before the granola was finished baking she couldn’t resist a taste!
Toasty, nutty, and delicious. Yum!
Homemade Granola
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup toasted wheat germ
¼ cup ground flax seed
1 ts. ground cinnamon
1 ts. ground ginger
½ cup unsalted pumpkin seeds
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup chopped pecans
4 TB molasses
⅓ cup canola oil
⅓ cup water
Heat oven to 300 degrees and place rack in center.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, wheat germ, ground flax seed, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and pecans. In a small bowl, combine molasses, oil, and water, and pour over the oat mixture; stir until well coated. Spread evenly in a baking pan.
Bake, stirring every 15-20 minutes for even cooking, until dry and lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Let granola cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.