News You Can Use #2

I have a great recipe to try if you and your family love granola.  This is adapted from a Cook's Illustrated recipe.  It is much cheaper to make your own, and there are endless variations you can try.  I pack it almost every day for the kids' lunches - they either snack on it alone or mix it into yogurt.  The beauty of this version is its chunkiness.  Unlike the store bought kind, this granola has large and small chunks.  The secret is pressing it into the baking sheet before it goes into the oven.

Here you go:

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix up 1/3 cup real maple syrup (spray the measuring cup with cooking spray to make the syrup come out easily), 1/3 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 or 3 teaspoons of vanilla (depending on how strong flavored it is), and 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, or just plain cinnamon.  Experiment and see what you prefer.  Mix it with a spoon until well-blended.

To that mixture add 5 cups of old-fashioned oats (not the quick kind and not steel cut) and 2 cups of some kind of nut.  I prefer chopped almonds or chopped pecans.  But feel free to experiment with whatever nut you prefer.

Mix it all up, and spread it out on a baking sheet.  I use a half-sheet pan and line it with parchment paper to make cleanup easier.  After you've spread it out evenly, press it down onto the pan using the back of a spatula or some other flat instrument.  This will ensure the chunks form.

Pop the pan into the oven for about 40 - 45 minutes, or until you can smell the nuts toasting nicely.  While it is cooking, your house will smell terrific!

But you aren't done yet!  When the time is up, remove the pan from the oven.  Now is the time to spread over the top the dried fruit of your choice.  I prefer golden raisins or dried cranberries.  I've also experimented with dried cherries and dried blueberries.  I was a bit disappointed with the dried blueberries - they were hugely expensive and didn't add enough fruity goodness to the finished granola.  Dried cherries were fine, but next time I'll use a sweeter version.  The ones I used were too sour.

The reason you put them in/on the granola after cooking is they will dry out or even burn in the oven.  But sprinkling them over the still warm granola once it is out of the oven softens up the dried fruit without drying it out.

Once the granola has cooled, you can break it up into chunks.  The nice thing is you get to decide how big or small you want the chunks!  After I've done that, I put it into airtight containers and into my pantry.  It keeps for more than a week, although I wouldn't know, since it only lasts about a week around here.

It's that good.