AERIE HALL GRANOLA
Watch the video
So many of you have asked for my
recipe. Here it is! I continually change it, and when
I make it now, it includes a secret ingredient from Scotland! (not included
here, of course!) I now cook my Granola in a crock pot and the video above
shows oven roasting. Either way, this is a great recipe. Enjoy!
Aerie Hall Crockpot
Granola
(Not Sugar-Free, Fat-free or Gluten-Free)
Kate Word
½ c. melted butter (1
stick)
1 ½ c. canola oil blended with melted
butter
6 c. dry oats (Old Fashioned or 5
min) 2 c. Fiber One Bran Cereal
½ bag or approx. 8 oz. Flake
Coconut 3 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. Pumpkin Pie
Spice
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp.
Nutmeg 1/8
scant tsp. Cloves
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1
c. Honey
1c. packed Brown Sugar (more if
desired)
1 -5 oz. pkg. Sliced Almonds (more if
desired)
1-5 oz. pkg. Chopped Pecans (more
if desired)
1 c. dry roasted or honey roasted peanuts (Optional)
1 10 oz. bag Cranberries (cranberry
raisins) (Optional)
This is a generous recipe and can be reduced for smaller portions. I fill 24-4 oz. jars for
giving away. When I make this for Aerie Hall, it’s enough for two weeks.
Ingredients can be as varied as you like and can also be roasted in the oven if
you prefer crispy granola. I wanted a softer, chewy granola, so I use the crock
pot. Serve with your favorite Greek yogurt or ice cream.
PROCESS:
Grease the inside of your crock pot
with butter or oil. To the crock pot, mix dry oats, coconut and Fiber One
cereal. Blend butter and oil; set aside. Mix all spices together; add vanilla.
Add to brown sugar and mix with a fork to blend sugar and spices. Blend in
honey. With a wire whisk, gradually add the oil mixture to the sugar-honey
mixture. This is tedious and the oil tends to separate so work quickly to blend.
Pour over the oats and mix thoroughly
(if possible.) Set crock pot on high and cover. Stir every 20-30 minutes. This is very important since this
granola scorches/burns easily. Mixture
may seem dry at first but as the oats warm, the brown sugar mixture melts and
mixes easier. After
the first hour, add almonds, pecans and peanuts and time another 30 minutes.
Add cranberries LAST and time another 20 minutes, maybe on LOW temperature
depending on your crock pot.
(If you are roasting in an oven, this recipe will require 2 large cookie trays. Mix your oats and
Fiber One cereal and place on the cookie sheet. Pour ½ brown sugar/oil mixture
over the oats and blend. Cook at 350° for an hour stirring every 20 minutes.
Add nuts, stirring, roasting, and time another hour at 250° also stirring every
20 minutes. The last 20 minute segment add the coconut and cranberries. They are always LAST since
cooking them makes them hard and crunchy for teeth.)
COOLING:
When cooking is complete, remove from
the crock pot onto cookie sheets to cool. Granola becomes crispier as it
cools. If you desire even crunchier, place trays in the oven at 250-300°
for about ½ hour. Then allow crisping on the trays as the granola cools.
Stirring occasionally as it is cooling helps. You
can also sprinkle additional brown sugar and stir into the warm granola to add
some “caramelized” crunch. Allow
to completely cool before packaging in jars or baggies.
VARIATIONS:
Sometimes, I have flavored the brown
sugar mixture with apricot preserves or added maple syrup if I didn’t have
honey.
Granola balls can be formed with
peanut butter or melted marshmallows. Set aside a portion of granola and melt
marshmallows with small amount of butter. (Directions on marshmallow bag
for microwave-WATCH CAREFULLY) Mix
with granola and form balls with spoon or roll in your hand. These are yummy
snacks.
Just remember the longer you cook/roast
granola, the crispier it gets. If you want cluster bites, add more oil or honey
to your sugar mixture.
(c)2014 Kate Browning Word
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