The only recipe you will ever need for Homemade Granola is a RATIO!
Granola
6 parts dry to 1 part wet
Your “parts” can be anything you want it to be:
1 cup, 1/2 cup, Tupperware bowl, mason jar, yogurt container, a glass, etc.
Memorize this Ratio – then go to your kitchen and preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
Mix the Dry Ingredients: Dry can be anything you choose, as new grains are becoming available there are LOTS of options. We will stick with the traditional OATS. Part of your dry ingredients must be ROLLED OATS, the rest is up to you.
The rest of the dry can be nuts, seeds, and/or other rolled, flaked or puffed grains.
For a good balance of texture and flavor aim for at least 4 dry ingredients. For example:
3 parts rolled oats
1 part nuts
1 part seeds
1 part something else.
ADD: your seasonings Salt, Cinnamon, Vanilla extract any other spices you like.
*** If you want Grain-Free Granola - Omit the Oats, and opt for some type of GF Flour - So you ratio may look something like this:
4 parts Nuts; 2 parts Binders or Flours
Whisk the Wet Ingredients: The wet ingredients bring everything together in perfect harmony! They coat your nuts and grain in sugar and fat to help them brown nicely and clump together. Remember 1 part is wet.
If you do not like your granola too sweet a good mixture is the following:
2/3 part oil (warmed coconut oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, etc or any mixture you like)
1/3 part liquid sweetener (Honey, Sugar, brown rice syrup)
OPTIONAL: add an egg white- it helps to hold the granola together and gives it a glistening look.
Whisk all of your wet ingredients together then stir into your bowl of dry ingredients and make sure everything is coated evenly.
TASTE: Check your seasoning and spices, do you need to add more spice, how is your sugar is it sweet enough for you or do you need to add more? If so sprinkle on some regular sugar or brown sugar… how is the salt flavor – it should not overwhelm but it should bring out the other flavors.
BAKE: LOW & SLOW, Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the granola mixture out evenly. You don’t want the layer to be too thick so get another pan if need be.
Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Bake until golden brown, the granola will crisp up after it cools.
ADD FRUIT: Add any dried fruit you want at the end, otherwise if you bake it, the fruit will dry out even more and become hard. Stir your dried fruit into your hot granola as soon as it comes out of the oven. Cherries, cranberries, apricots, goji berries, raisins
LET COOL: Let the whole thing cool on the baking sheet before enjoying or store in a jar inside of your pantry!