Maple Coconut Granola
Here’s a thing about me: generally speaking, I’m wildly uncreative. I realize I’ve covered this topic in the past, but it’s worth repeating again this holiday season. Time and time again, I find myself attempting (and failing) to find my inner artist/graphic designer/visionary, through whatever medium (most recently it was candle making). Most of what I make ends up being a mess.
Take holiday gifting. I read enough blogs that I’m often awash in jealously, seeing their delicious treats packed adorable home-made containers, adorned a sweet note in the blogger’s funky-cool (and totally legible) handwriting. I’m *desperate* to give my friends something I’ve baked – with love – in packaging that’s sweet and simple, and doesn’t look like I’ve lost all my fine motor skills.
This year, I got smart and repeated my method from a few years – copy copy copy! (this time, just with a delicious crunchy addictive Smitten Kitchen granola)
Granola: The recipe is below, and I tripled it to make a total of 7 large mason jars’ worth of granola. It’s a super easy recipe without a ton of ingredients, so making large quantities wasn’t difficult. If I hadn’t run out of jars, I would’ve kept going.
An aside about this granola – it’s really incredibly tasty. I made it earlier in the year and then spend the next few days just shoveling it in my face. It helped (or didn’t help?) that it’s not a greasy, or super sweet granola – which only encouraged the burrowing-my-face effect. Although you can obviously use whatever dried fruit you like best, I looove the tang of the dried cherries (although they’re a bit expensive, so I used about 2/3 of what she called for).
The tags: They’re free, and can be found at the amazing website of this fantastically talented blogger. I *love* that they say “Happy Holidays” and not “Merry Christmas” – Christmas isn’t my holiday, and I super appreciate the cheery inclusiveness of these cards.
Because I didn’t want my sloppy handwriting to mess up what “I” had created (i.e. copied), I printed out the signature labels and stuck them on the back.
Smitten Kitchen’s Big Cluster Maple Granola
from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman
- 3 cups (240 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup (50 grams) unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut
- 1 cup (100 grams) walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) toasted wheat germ
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 cup (120 ml; or increase to a cup if a sweeter granola is preferred) maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg white
- 1 1/2 cups (215 grams) dried cherries or another dried fruit, diced if large pieces
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Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients but the egg white and dried fruit in a large bowl, tossing to coat evenly. Whisk the egg white in a small bowl until frothy. Stir into the granola mixture, distributing it throughout. Spread it in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
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Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. About halfway through the baking time, use a large spatula to turn over sections of the granola carefully, breaking them up as little as possible. Rotate the pan if granola is baking unevenly. When it is evenly browned and feels dry to the touch, transfer the pan from the oven to the cooling rack. Cool completely. Once it’s completely cool, break up granola into whatever size clusters delight you. Sprinkle in dried fruit.
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The granola keeps at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 weeks. It keeps even longer in the freezer, if you’re the stockpiling type.
December 16, 2013
Posted in gifts, healthy, hiking snacks, holidays, quick and easy
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