Breakfast for Erin and I lately has been…

Breakfast for Erin and I lately has been granola with yogurt. I get really bored of routine but this one is too hard to not fall into. In order to break up this repetitive breakfast I have been making different granola options every week. First I tried to emulate one of our favorite name brand mixes and then I started venturing out to my own combinations.

Granola recipes basically break down like this: a few ingredients are mixed up with some syrup, spread out on a baking sheet and baked until brown, and then tossed with some dried fruit. These three recipes have identical technique with different ingredients. They’re all based on starting with two cups of granola. If you want to make more at once these recipes should scale really well.

First there are the baked ingredients. This is anything that can stand up to a few hundred degrees in the oven. This includes oats and nuts and seeds. I tried including raisins in this mix, it never worked. Dried fruits get acrid in the oven and leave a gross taste in your granola. Here are my three recipes and their three groups of baked ingredients.

The Baked Ingredients
The Mexican Mix Hazelnut and Pear Popcorn and Ginger
2c oats
1/2c puffed amaranth
1/4c pumpkin seeds
1/4c coconut flakes
1/4c peanuts
3T cacao nibs
2T wheat germ		 2c oats
3/4c chopped hazelnuts		 2c oats
1c popped popcorn
1/3c chopped cashews
1/4c coconut flakes

Notes about baked ingredients: Always use rolled oats, never instant or quick-cooking oats. You can make your own puffed amaranth by popping regular amaranth seeds in a dry tall-sided pot over medium high heat. I suggest only popping a teaspoon or two at a time. Two tablespoons of amaranth seeds should give you enough puffed amaranth seeds for my recipe. (See this youtube video for more guidance). I used red popcorn because I wanted smaller kernels. I popped about 2 tablespoons of popcorn kernels to get my 1 cup of popped popcorn.

The baked ingredients get mixed up in a large bowl. Then you make the syrup.

The Syrup Ingredients
The Mexican Mix Hazelnut and Pear Popcorn and Ginger
1/4c honey
3T coconut oil
2T brown sugar
1t vanilla
1/2t cinnamon
large pinch kosher salt		 2T maple syrup
2T brown sugar
3T vegetable or canola oil
1-1/2t vanilla
large pinch kosher salt		 3T maple syrup
3T coconut oil
2T brown sugar
mike’s hot honey
1/2t vanilla
1/2t ground ginger
large pinch kosher salt

Mike’s Hot Honey makes a great addition to the ginger granola if you have it. I squeezed in about a teaspoon.

For the syrup I warm the oil and the sugars in a small pan or skillet with a heavy pinch of salt. I whisk it until it is smooth. Then I take it off of the heat and add any remaining spices and vanilla. I do this to make sure I don’t scorch the vanilla or the spices.

Pour your syrup over your oat mixture and mix well. I use my hands to make sure it is evenly spread on to all of the ingredients. Pour the granola on to rimmed baking sheet that is lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Pat it out into a thin layer.

Put the granola into a preheated 300‌° oven. Every 10-15 minutes check it and move the granola around with a spatula, this will ensure even browning. If you prefer chunky granola you can skip this step and let it bake into a single sheet. Once the granola is evenly browned, remove it to a cooling rack.

The Dried Fruit
The Mexican Mix Hazelnut and Pear Popcorn and Ginger
1/4c red raisins 3/4c raisins
3/4c diced dried pears		 3/4c chopped candied ginger
1/2c dried blueberries, cranberries, cherries

Once the granola is cool enough to touch, but still warm, toss it with your dried fruit. Once it is completely cool store it in air-tight containers. I would suggest dating them, but I never do because we go through this stuff too quickly to worry.

Eat this with a little yogurt, ground flax seed and bananas.
I believe my next few combination attempts will have to involve peanut butter and/or chocolate.