I was trying to figure out, does the granola I make taste so good because I make it myself? Or is it really just that good?
I just wanted to make something healthy for myself to eat for breakfast. A friend had mentioned she made her own. She explained that her homemade variety had much less sugar than the commercial brands. That appealed to me and I figured if she could make her own, I could do the same. I bought a few ingredients and then looked for a recipe that fit the things I’d purchased. (I’m a little backwards that way sometimes.) I found one that worked, modified it to suit my own tastes and it turned out good! It was kind of pretty to look at too! I ate it for breakfast for a few days and decided it really was that good. Way better than the store-bought kind.
Heather tried it when she and Brad were here for the weekend and she loved it. I decided to make some for her to take back home. And then I realized my own batch was gone, so Sunday night I ended up making my third batch of homemade granola that week. Mark called home from work and asked what I was doing. When I explained about the granola he asked, “You’re not taking it all to work, are you?”
“Um, yeah. I was planning on it. Why?”
“I liked it. It’s good to snack on. Can you leave some at home?”
So that’s why it had disappeared so quickly! I told Mark I’d leave some home for him. And before I could take my own container to work the next morning, Kacey poured herself a bowl and ate it before leaving for her own job. Who would have thought that my family of junk-food lovers would get so excited over my “healthy” food?
I’ve since replenished my supply of ingredients. Now Mark wants to know if I can make it into bars for easier snacking. Clearly I’ll be making more and doing so often!
Bake and stir and bake some more…
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans (or cashews or slivered almonds or a mixture of whatever nuts you like)
- 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raisins (or golden raisins or dried cranberries or a combination any of these)
Directions
Mix in the raisins after the granola has cooled.
Pour in a bowl. Pour in some milk and enjoy!
And you always claiming your not that good a cook
When I think about it, I don’t believe I’m not that good a cook. I’m a decent cook. I just don’t do it nearly often enough!
Ooooh. Makes me want to take up baking again. I really like the coconut/brown sugar/maple syrup combination. Of course the raisins take it over the top. I can see why it doesn’t last very long around the house. I am not one to to improve on perfection but would you consider adding yogurt as a base instead of milk?
I would definitely eat it with yogurt! I’ve just been enjoying it with soy milk (go figure!) so much that I hadn’t yet considered any variations.
This looks delicious!! I’ll definitely be trying it, but I need to wait til winter. Our weather is STILL above 100 degrees everyday! I couldn’t possibly have my oven on for that long. But this winter….. mmmm! I bet it makes your house smell good too!
I guess it does counteract the air conditioning just a bit, but the oven is only set at 250, so the heat is not overwhelming. Yes, it does make the house smell good. Probably not as good as when you make your cupcakes!
The snicker doodle cupcakes were awesome smelling! So much cinnamon!
I didn’t notice the 250 degrees. I may just have to try sooner! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Terri
That looks super good, I bet it was yummy.
Thought I would stop by and say hi it’s been awhile, have a great week!
Wolf
Hey Wolf! Hi! Yes, it has been a while. Good to “see” you and thanks for stopping by!
This looks really good. I agree that some commercial granola has a lot of sugar. It is so much smarter and delicious to do it yourself. Thanks for sharing the recipe…I can’t wait to try the recipe out!
This probably isn’t exactly low in sugar … brown sugar, maple syrup and sweetened coconut. Still, it doesn’t seem quite as sweet as the commercial varieties. Hope you enjoy it!
That is true… but it still feels better when you know what went in.
What a treat! I will have to try making this sometime. Sounds like your family is very happy about it too.
Yummmmmerz!!
Looks great – I don’t eat the bought stuff because it always seems so hard – sometimes I fear for my teeth!
Home made stuff is often so much better than stuff that is made to last a few months on a shelf, both in taste and nutrition. Just resist the urge to add choc chips and other bad stuff
I’ll bet that smells divine!
MJ
Looks tasty — no wonder it’s a hit!
Oooh, yum. Looks like more than just your family will be eating this stuff. This reader’s family will be trying it too.
Well, first I think it’s funny how everyone else was scarfing down YOUR granola almost faster than you could make it. And how you look for recipes after you’ve bought the necessary ingredients!
This looks and sounds really good. I don’t buy granola because it’s too sweet for my taste, but I’m going to try this one. Like SR300, though, my oven is in summer hibernation.
I have to admit, I have a HUGE weakness when it comes to granola. I may have to try this. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe, Terri!
Hugs,
Kathy
You get the Susie Homemaker award from your family. Good for you. It does sound delicious, and I would definitely add cranberries.
This sounds wonderful, and fortunately I have all the ingredients to make my own batch. Maybe I should keep a secret from my men folk though.
That looks good and the recipe sounds good and relatively easy to make too. I’ll have to print this out, save it to my little cookbook (the one our church group put out last year) that has a 3-ring binder and I can easily add recipes to it too that way! Thanks for the cooking tip!
If you don’t stop showing close ups of food, I’m going to have to stop visiting.
Perhaps you could send samples to all you readers instead.
Or … compromise… maybe I could preface every food post with a caution so you know when it’s not safe to keep reading!
Oh I was hoping you would put the recipe in there. I”m going to try that!!!!! It looks amazing and I’m always up for a homemade healthier version of store-bought stuff.