I have a lot of cookbooks, but this is the one I use every single week. It is my go-to source for granola and pancakes, salad dressings, soups, fancy meals and simple family fare. They offer great options and variations on their recipes, which means I can make granola even when I don't have a specific ingredient; I can just swap one sweetener for another or use different nuts to get a different flavor. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It's even on Kindle.
A road map for The Ultimate Granola with my own variations
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
(They recommend toasting oats in the oven before mixing with other ingredients. I skip this step.)
2) Mix one item from each of the following two lists in a small saucepan set over medium heat:
Sweetener: 2/3 cups of any of the following
Honey
Maple syrup
Cane syrup
Agave nectar
(I use mostly honey and a little maple syrup; you can also use thawed apple, grape or cranberry juice concentrate, but I haven't tried that)
Oil: 2/3 cups of any of the following
Walnut oil
Almond oil
Canola oil
Safflower oil
Grapeseed oil
The moment the sweetener/oil mixture starts to steam, take the pan off the heat. Stir in:
1 T vanilla extract
As the liquid mixture cools, mix all of the following in a large bowl:
6 cups rolled oats (not quick cook or steel-cut)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 t ground cinnamon
1 t salt
Also add one item from each of the following two lists:
1/2 cup nuts, seeds or coconut
Finely chopped walnut pieces
Finely chopped pecan pieces
Chopped unsalted cashews
Sliced or slivered almonds
Unsalted shelled sunflower seeds
Shredded unsweeted coconut
(I actually use sliced almonds AND coconut)
1/2 cup fortifier
Powdered dry milk
Powdered fat-free dry milk
Powdered fat-free dry whey
(In my latest batch I used 1/2 powdered milk and 1/2 malted milk powder)
Once the dry ingredients are well stirred, add the sort of cooled sweetener/oil mixture.
Grease two large baking sheets, divide oat mixture between the two baking sheets, spreading it to the corners. Place the trays in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and bake for 10 minutes, stirring once.
Reverse the trays and continue cooking until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes more, tossing and stirring once or twice.
Remove from oven. At this point you may add 1/2 cup dried fruit to each baking sheet.
(I cook this at 300 degrees and for a longer time, watching carefully that it does not burn on the edges. I have been known to get distracted and let the granola burn (not a favorite taste for my family!) so I keep the temp lower to avoid that. My family also really dislikes chewy granola, so I make sure I stir it well and cook it long enough for the entire batch to get crunchy.)
What are you waiting for? Go, buy The Ultimate Cookbook. Click the image above or this link to get to amazon.com!
