Granola or Toasted Oats

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

I try to add whole grains to our diet as much as possible: bulgar, quinoa (love it!), brown rice, barley--these grains are so versatile. Breakfast grains like oatmeal or steel cut oats are great. Uncle Gene's steel cut oatmeal cooked over the camp stove on our camping trips when we were kids got me hooked on this creamy porridge for breakfast!

I love granolas but they are often expensive, high fat, and filled with a variety of tastes that I don't always like. So I decided to pursue a simple, home made version.

This actually is more like toasted oats than granola because I prefer the loose texture of this granola vs. clumps. A little oil is required to successfully coat the ingredients as is a bit of sugar to help with browning. I tried this without oil or sugar and I ended up with baked but not browned oats.

3 cups rolled oats, not instant or quick
1/2 c slivered almonds
1/2 t almond extract or 1 t vanilla (depending on your taste)
2 T brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 c maple syrup or honey
2 T oil
2 T water
1/4 c apple juice or tart cherry concentrate

Dried fruits: raisins, cherries, cranberries, apricots, at least 1/2 cup, more if you like the fruits (I do).

Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the liquid ingredients and heat for 1 min. in the microwave; this helps thin the syrup or honey so it will coat the oats. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 275 degrees F for 30 min. stirring frequently. The oats will be a crispy brown. The kitchen smells heavenly while this is baking. Puppy Dashel loves this granola and strolls past the oven the entire time it is baking.

Pour into a mixing bowl while still warm and add in dried fruit. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

I make my own yogurt and this granola is excellent with yogurt.