Easy crunchy, mapley, walnuty granola

Mmmm...granola. I dig it alone. I like it with milk. It's awesome with yogurt.

This afternoon, I wanted yogurt with some fruit and something crunchy. I sliced a large strawberry, and grabbed a box of kashi. To my disappointment, the cereal lumped together, (I had to thunk it on the counter a few times to separate some clusters), and just didn't have a nice crunch anymore. I ate it, but my granola craving lingered on.

I remembered that the newest Bon Appetit magazine had a granola recipe. So heck, why not? I had all the ingredients, so I was off and running.

The assembly process is fairly simple. If there's anything tricky at all, it would be the baking part, or even the decision as to what flavor/additions to add. For the purpose of getting this down, I'm putting in the ingredients that I used. If you like almonds, peanuts, or cashews--add those! Just DO note that if you add fruit, make sure these come at the end to prevent drying out or burning. Anyway...here we go.

::gathering my raw materials::

Ingredients:

note: this is NOT the identical recipe to the bon appetit; I modified it to my taste/portion amount that I wanted. You can find the actual recipe here.

2 cups quick rolled oats
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon powder (more or less, but I love cinnamon powder so I heap it)
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I did 1 tbsp EVOO, and 1 tbsp veg oil)
1/4 cup honey
2 heaping tbsp brown sugar.
1/4 tsp maple flavoring
4 oz chopped walnuts






Directions:

Mix your rolled oats, salt, walnuts, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.


In a small saucepan, add your oils, honey, and brown sugar. Remove from heat once the brown sugar is melted. Pour the liquid into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and begin mixing with a spoon.


If you like clumpy granola (which I do), get in there with your hand and squeeze the granola to form clumps.


Once everything is nice and incorporated, spoon the granola into a baking pan/sheet. Pop into the oven @ 325F. After 8-10 minutes, remove from heat and stir. Place back in the oven and repeat this process about 2-3 times.


You definitely don't want to walk away for too long during this step. I speak from fail granola experience. =)

Finally, after about 20-25 minutes have passed, turn off your oven and remove the pan. If using dried fruit, add now--any sooner, and it will dry out even more, or burn. Allow to cool, and enjoy. Store the rest in an airtight container. Enjoy alone, with milk, yogurt, or fruit. = )