Coconut Almond Granola
Granola is one of those great things that's perfect for a snack at any time of the day, and adds a perfect crunch to lots of breakfast dishes. I had a free day yesterday and was browsing my pantry and noticed half a bag of oats left among other things and it hit me....GRANOLA!
I love granola, but often don't find the time to make my own and end up buying granola at the store. Whenever this happens, I end up spending too much on a bag of granola that doesn't last very long, and is far too high in sugar. By making your own you can control what goes in it and it tastes much better!!
I created this recipe with what I had in my pantry, but feel free to use whatever you have too! If you don't happen to have almonds on hand, use sunflower seeds, walnuts, or pecans... the possibilities are endless. Have flax seeds? Throw those in too for added fiber. Dates or other fried fruit? Would also be amazing!! Get creative here and try and use up some leftovers that are hanging around your pantry.
I served mine over some local plain greek yogurt with blueberries, bee pollen, honey, and cinnamon.
COCONUT ALMOND GRANOLA
INGREDIENTS
2 cup rolled gluten-free oats (not quick cooking)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons white or black chia seeds
1 cup crushed almonds
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/3 cup honey (try and use local honey)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, chia seeds, almonds, cinnamon and light brown sugar. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together.
3. Add the honey and grapeseed oil to the mixture and use a wooden spoon to combine evenly. It will be a little bit sticky at first, but continue to mix around until the honey and oil evenly coats all of the oats.
4. In order to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the baking pan, I used my hands to spread 2 tablespoons of coconut oil around the entire pan. Once the pan was greased, I poured the granola onto it and spread evenly to the edges.
5. Put the granola into the preheated oven, and allow to cook for 20 minutes undisturbed. Use a wooden spatula after 20 minutes and move the granola around to ensure it is cooking evenly.
6. After another 20 minutes, you will notice some browning on the edges of the pan, FEAR NOT! This is normal, it is just the sugar from the honey and brown sugar starting to caramelize **you want this to happen**. Just give it another stir and mix all the brown bits to the middle and spread evenly again.
7. Give it another 20 minutes (so an hour total), and remove from the oven. It should have a dark golden brown color around the entire sheet. DON'T STIR THE GRANOLA YET!! As tempting as it may be to touch it at this point, allow it to rest for another 20 minutes. The sugars are going to cool and act as a "glue" for all the other ingredients which is going to yield a chunkier granola.
8. After 20 minutes, feel free to break it up, store it in an airtight container, and eat all that your heart desires. Whether that be over some yogurt with fruit, or just in a bowl with some ice cold milk poured on top.
