These days lots of us spend our free time skating the canal, cross-country skiing in Gatineau Park, or snowshoeing at the cottage. All of the above takes the right kind of fuel so today I'm sharing my homemade granola recipe! I based it on this one by The Roasted Root (who's amazing by the way, go follow her) and I've been tweaking it for the past year and a half. And now I think it's just about right.
I love this stuff because it's crunchy, satisfying, and is great for breakfast or as a super easy snack you can take on the go. Stir it up with some yogurt, enjoy it in a bowl of almond milk, of drizzle it with honey, whatever you like. And, since it's a nut-based recipe it happens to be both paelo and gluten-free (if that's your thing), but mostly it's just plain delicious.
And best of all: it's EASY. The prep is super simple (just 10 minutes) and it's way easy to change things up and put your own spin on it. My recipe contains a total of 4 cups of nuts so feel free to swap in some other types. Have a random assortment in your cupboard? Who cares! As long as your odds and ends total about 4 cups, you're good.
Same goes for the dried fruit. My recipe calls for a total of one cup, and since one of my favourite fruit combos is cranberry and apple, that's what I've suggested below. But I've also tried combinations of dried peaches, pears, apricots, strawberries... you name it. Chuck in whatever you've got and it'll taste good. Let's get to it!
amy's paleo & gluten-free granola
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Yield: 8 cups/2 litres of granola
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup raw hazelnuts
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (a.k.a. pepitas)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried apple slices
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons walnut/grapeseed/hazelnut oil
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher/sea salt
Preheat your oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (*don't skip the parchment!! It prevents the nuts from sticking to your pan).
Pour the nuts and pumpkin seeds into a blender or food processor, and pulse a few times to chop. You want chunky bits as opposed to a fine meal, so don't over-do it.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg white and the water til it bubbles and becomes a bit foamy (like a whiskey sour but I digress).
Add the grapeseed/walnut/hazelnut oil, the honey, the vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to the egg white/water mixture and whisk it together thoroughly.
Pour the chopped nut mixture into the mixing bowl, along with your dried fruit and the shredded coconut. Stir everything well to make sure it is all coated. I suggest using a big wooden spoon so you can really mix it well.
Spread the granola mixture evenly on the parchment-lined baking sheet, using your wooden spoon to gently press it into a uniform layer.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until it's golden-brown and crispy. I also like to stir once after 10 minutes to prevent burning. Every oven is differnt and nuts can overcook in a jiffy, so do keep a close eye on it.
Remove your granola from the oven and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Resist the urge to stir it because this is when the clustering happens!
Use a pancake flipper or a spatula to get under the granola and release the large clusters.
Once cool, store the granola in glass jars. I like using a few different sizes: small ones for breakfast and snacks, and big ones for the rest of my stash.
Now dig in!