a success story

Amidst all of the chocolate, butter, and cream, I hope you find the time to bake yourself a batch of granola.

I’ve been in the process of overcoming a lot of my fears, these past few days and weeks.  Public speaking.  Grocery shopping during rush hour.  Eating things with jalapenos. 

So—I decided—why not bake granola? 

But with a past history of burnt-to-the-crisp “granola” and smoky ovens too, I wasn’t really sure what to expect this time around. 

With a fresh new bag of coconut flakes and a determined attitude, I got right to work.  Granola is supposed to be easy, after all.  I can do this! 

All of the ingredients were tossed into a big bowl, stirred together, and spread out onto a rimmed cookie sheet.  So far so good.

Thirty minutes later:

The house smelled like heaven.  Heaven!  The sweet smells of toasted coconut, mixing and mingling with roasted pistachios.  Heaven.  And best of all, my oven wasn’t smoking, the granola wasn’t charred, and everything went as planned.

Although I have to warn you against taking that first, delicious bite of warm granola straight from the oven.  It’s hard, I know.  But trust me, you don’t want to give in to the temptation until it’s had at least 5 minutes or so to cool! 

You do, after all, want to be able to taste that snack which you have planned for later in the afternoon.

Homemade granola makes for the perfect party gift.  Simply tie a ribbon around a clean, emptied peanut butter jar, top with a bow, include the recipe on the tag, and bring along with you to your next holiday gathering. 

Or you could just keep it tucked away in your pantry and not tell anyone.  Nobody’s judging. 😉

Olive Oil Granola—as seen in “In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite,” with some minor tweaking.

This is by far is my favorite granola recipe that I have ever tasted.  The original recipe (<—seen here) called for dried apricots, pumpkin seeds and coconut chips.  I improvised, based on what I had on hand.  I also cut the original recipe in half, which still gave me a full 4 cups worth of granola.

The granola is super crunchy, sweet, and addictingly salty (think kettle corn.)  It’s delicious eaten by the handful, sprinkled over greek yogurt, or served with warm milk.  ENJOY! 😀

• 1-1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 c. raw pistachios, hulled
• 1/2 c. walnuts
• 1/2 c. sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4-1/3 c. pure maple syrup
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats through ginger.  Spread mixture on a large rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.
3. Transfer granola to a large bowl and add the cranberries, tossing to combine.  Let cool completely and place in airtight container to store.

Question: What are your favorite granola mix-ins?

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