Crunchy Spice Granola
"The best source that I know of for most of the ingredients in this recipe is Whole Foods Market, but you should be able to find them in other health food stores or better supermarkets. You can be fairly flexible about the amount of nuts and dried fruits, but remember, they provide most of the good flavor; the more fruits and nuts you include, the better it tastes, the more rolled oat, the cheaper it is to make. This recipe makes a real big batch, but it can be halved if desired. It keeps well. This can be a very expensive recipe, but I still think it is worth it !!! A little goes a long way!"
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 22
- Yields:
-
6 quarts
ingredients
- 1 cup honey, the stronger and richer,the better (buckwheat, or other dark colored raw honey preferred)
- 1⁄2 cup applesauce
- 1⁄2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine (can be replaced by an additional ½ cup applesauce to reduce fat)
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt (optional)
- 8 cups old fashioned oats (the coarser the better)
- 1 cup toasted wheat germ
- 1 cup wheat bran (optional)
- 2 cups sliced almonds
- 2 cups pecan pieces
- 2 cups walnut pieces or 2 cups other nuts, of choice may be added or substituted
- 3 cups unsweetened dried shredded coconut, divided (preferably strips, not flakes)
-
mixed dried fruit 5 to 6 cups divided my choice is
- 1 -2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 -2 cup dried sour cherries
- 1 cup raisins or 1 cup dried currant
- 1 cup dried apricot, cut into 3/8 inch chunks
- 1 cup dried pineapple, cut into 3/8 inch chunks
- 1 cup dried dates or 1 cup dried banana chips (or both)
directions
- Anything else that might look good to you.
- Additional quantities of any of the above.
- Combine first nine ingredients, honey through salt, in a medium saucepan.
- Simmer over low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Taste, and adjust spices if desired; if your spices are old, you might have to add a little more.
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees F.
- Combine next six ingredients, oats through walnuts, plus half of the dried coconut and half of mixed dried fruit in a very large oven-proof bowl.
- Toss thoroughly with warm honey mixture.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring ever 15 minutes.
- Add remaining coconut and dried fruit, and bake another 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, test for dryness (mixture should be fairly dry; bake a little longer if it isn’t.), allow to cool completely, and seal in plastic bags.
- Will keep for weeks at room temperature, months refrigerated (bring to room temperature before serving), and God only knows how long frozen.
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Reviews
-
Made this tonight and it is TASTY! I subbed applesauce for the butter, as suggested, and used dried apricots and dried cranberries. I made one more (accidental) alteration, because I can't read my own handwriting. I accidentally misread the amounts for cinnamon and cardamom. This is a perfect fall recipe, and it makes the house smell terrific.
Tweaks
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Made this tonight and it is TASTY! I subbed applesauce for the butter, as suggested, and used dried apricots and dried cranberries. I made one more (accidental) alteration, because I can't read my own handwriting. I accidentally misread the amounts for cinnamon and cardamom. This is a perfect fall recipe, and it makes the house smell terrific.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Toby Jermain
Houston, TX
I WAS retired oilfield trash since 1999, who has lived in Houston TX for the last 25 years, though I'm originally from California. I'm Texan by choice, not by chance! I am now working in Algeria 6 months a year, so I guess that gives new meaning to the term SEMI-retired. I grew up in restaurants and worked in them for 13 years while getting through high school and college, working as everything from dishwasher to chef, including just about everything in between. At odd intervals I also waited tables and tended bar, which gave me lots of incentive to stay in school and get my engineering degree.
During the 33 years since, I have only cooked for pleasure, and it HAS given me a great deal of pleasure. It's been my passion. I love to cook, actually more than I love to eat. I read cookbooks like most people read novels.
My wife and I both enjoy cooking, though she isn't quite as adventurous as I am. I keep pushing her in that direction, and she's slowly getting there.
We rarely go out to eat, because there are very few restaurants that can serve food as good as we can make at home. When we do go out, it's normally because we are having an emergency junk-food attack.
My pet food peeves are (I won't get into other areas): are people who post recipes that they have obviously NEVER fixed; obvious because the recipe can't be made because of bad instructions, or that are obvious because it tastes horrible. I also detest people who don't indicate that a recipe is untried, even when it is a good recipe. Caveat emptor!
