Homemade oat and honey granola
I have no idea why I have been forking over between $5 and $7 for organic, too-sweet, too-many ingredient bags and boxes of granola for so many years—granola that tastes, in a word, meh. I guess I didn’t realize how easy it is to make the perfect blend of just exactly what my family’s palate desires in a granola, which is oats, honey, flax seeds and some kind of ground nuts. We don’t like the dried fruit, big nuts scene, or the giant globs of crunchy, sugar-crusted grains that too closely resemble dried turds for my taste.
Maybe it just seemed like such a fussy DIY thing to do when I have so many other things that I have to try to squeeze into so few hours at home. Maybe it was just laziness? Well, I don’t think I’ll be buying pre-made granola ever again. My homemade is the best tasting topping for yogurt I have ever eaten. Ever.
Oat and Honey Granola
5 cups rolled oats
1 cup almond or walnut or pecan meal
1 cup lightly ground flax seed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
Preheat oven to 275º
Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix wet ingredients together and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well to coat all of the oats. Pour into two greased 13 x 9 glass baking dishes. Bake until golden, for about an hour and a half, stirring the oats every 20 minutes or so.
Chris asked if it was okay for him to eat some in the mornings, he knew I was so excited about the flavor and thought maybe it was all just for me. Yes. I get like that sometimes. Usually with things nobody else likes anyway, like my pickled turnips. But sometimes it’s more serious, like when I have a bar of Dagoba chocolate with chili flakes. Yeah, that’s a back-off everybody situation. I’ve been known to slap hands reaching towards my Dagoba chocolate.
But I’ll share the granola because there’s nothing that makes me happier than hearing the contented chewing sounds and yummy groans coming from my people when they’re eating something I have made with these two hands.
Lila has asked for “yogurt cereal” just about every day since I made it last week, and I’m probably eating too much of it. That lightly sweet, toasted nutty flavor with the chewy crunch, well, you’re just going to have to take my word for it that it’s the best thing for breakfast and makes one hell of an afternoon snack. Or even better, try it for yourself.
"In summer we live out of doors, and have only impulses and feelings, which are all for action, and must wait commonly for the stillness and longer nights of autumn and winter before any thought will subside; we are sensible that behind the rustling leaves, and the stacks of grain, and the bare clusters of the grape, there is the field of a wholly new life, which no man has lived; that even this earth was made for more mysterious and nobler inhabitants than men and women. In the hues of October sunsets, we see the portals to other mansions than those which we occupy."
~Henry David Thoreau
March 19th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Oh, so true, Kelly… granola never tasted all that exciting until I started making my own. Somehow I find the homemade version is lighter, crisper, and (well, DUH) so much more flavorful. So glad everyone is in favor of keeping that in rotation in your household!
March 19th, 2008 at 6:39 am
This is a great .. simple and nutritious recipe .. you truly KNOW what is in this as compared to bought cereals .. thanks !
Joy
March 19th, 2008 at 6:57 am
Will definitely try this. Haven’t had homemade for ages and really don’t care for that boxed stuff. And every recipe I’ve tried of yours has been just great!! Thanks, mddddf!
March 19th, 2008 at 8:41 am
I will jot this down and make it over the Easter weekend while my daughters are home. It sounds delicious — thanks for sharing your recipe!
March 19th, 2008 at 10:42 am
We’ve been making our own for years now. Yogurt and granola imo is way better than any candy I can think of.
We do it on large cookie sheets though and skip the step of greasing the pan. It cooks faster on the darker cookie sheets too.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I’ve been completely bummed that I didn’t bring ANY of my recipes with me (hey, it’s only a year…). I have a great granola recipe in those files and used it regularly. I will be happy to give this a try!
March 19th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I haven’t made granola in ages. This weekend! your recipe!
March 19th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I’ve been off the granola train since last summer. This looks like a great recipe!
Can’t wait to try it.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Oh that sounds so yummy. Thanks for the recipe. I’ve got a big bottle of honey I picked up in St. Croix, just perfect for this mixture.
Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
March 20th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
This looks - and sounds - delicious. I used to make granola like this but didn’t grind almonds. I toasted them instead. I like the idea of using almond meal instead - that would keep my son from fishing out the almonds.
I hope you had a good day - it sounded as if it would be … Happy long weekend.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:33 pm
[…] Oat and Honey Granola - yum! […]
March 21st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
My sweetie finally perfected his granola recipe a few weeks ago. It’s so much better than store-bought, I agree. I will have to check how his recipe compares to yours and let him know about it. He leaves the flax seeds out for me, though, because I think they look too much like little bugs floating around in the milk. Fine in bread, just not in milk.
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:23 am
Thanks for this! I have been trying to get myself to eat oatmeal, and why effort? This looks so much more appetizing than what I can buy in the health food store, which always looks so, well, crunchy. I went to Kent State, btw. About a billion years ago. Graduated. BA in English. It has served me well. Glad to find you! Kathryn
March 24th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Wow… this recipe looks easy. And here I thought that pricey organic boxed stuff was my only option!
March 25th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Yum! That looks really good! I must try to make that for my family some day soon..
April 9th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Looks yum and good for you! Will definitely be trying this one. Thanks!