Granola: A Personal History

I love granola. It is my favourite thing to eat in the morning and has been since I left Toronto for Berkeley back in August 2002. Before the fall of 2002, my breakfast of choice was Shreddies. I ate them plain (I never have liked milk on cereal, or by itself as a drink) with my fingers and continued doing this whenever I came home on breaks from Berkeley. I don't do this with any other cereal but for some reason I just don't feel Shreddies need a spoon.

The only cereal I eat without a spoon

I tried lots of different varieties of granola over the years until the summer of 2010 when I visited E.'s cottage and tried some of her mom, A.'s, homemade granola. Until this point, I don't think it had ever occurred to me to make my own. A.'s granola was really good but it required a fair amount of effort because it had a lot of ingredients. Nonetheless, I diligently bought all of these ingredients in early September 2010 - just after I'd moved to Montreal - and made my very first batch on Labour Day. This granola had oats, lots of nuts, but then pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and called for honey and maple syrup. I can't remember if there was anything else but it was a lot. I liked this granola quite a bit but I could never figure out how to make it cluster together so I'd have those perfect clusters of granola that are so delicious and satisfying to eat. Anyway, I made this granola consistently until June 2011 and I enjoyed it. Then I left Montreal for two months and took a break from granola making (back to Shreddies) and when I returned in September 2011 I realized I just didn't have the energy or time or really desire (because if I'd wanted it badly enough I could have found the time and mustered the energy) to make my own granola anymore. So I switched to Nature's Path granola and went on my my merry way.

Except! I kind of got sick of Nature's Path quickly and even though I ate it for about two years, I never really liked it that much. I then went through a few months period where I tried out a bunch of different granola brands but just couldn't find out that stuck. It was unsatisfying. Then last October, D. and I visited L. in DC. She offered me some of her home made granola and it was so good - so much better than what I had been eating the previous two years - and convinced me I needed to give making my own another go. L. sent me her recipe but I never actually made it because before I had the opportunity, I received my copy of The Smitten Kitchen cookbook which I had ordered. My new cookbook arrived soon after we got back from DC and in it was a recipe for granola that looked so good and so simple I promptly made it and have not looked back since. (In general I really recommend this cookbook and the whole Smitten Kitchen website.)

An excellent cookbook

I have adapted the recipe to my own tastes as SK only used walnuts but I like lots of other nuts in it too. SK's recipe also called for toasted wheat germ; even after googling it, I still don't really know what wheat germ is and decided my granola could do without. Finally, SK's recipe includes dried fruit which is to be put in at the end. I've never been a fan of dried fruit (except dried mango which does not go well in granola) and I definitely didn't want to include it in my granola.

Here is my version of the granola. If you desire a smaller batch, you can halve my ingredients.
Ingredients & Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a big bowl, mix:
6 cups of old fashioned oats
2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
4 cups of nuts (I use a variety of walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews but the sky's the limit)
4-5 tablespoons of olive oil
sprinkle some cinnamon (as much as you like)
1 cup of maple syrup
2 egg whites (beat them until frothy and then pour them on the mixture last and mix them in well with the rest of the granola.)

Her's what it should look like

Spread mixture over tin foil covered baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes and then open the oven and turn the pans. But do not touch the granola itself. Bake for another 20 minutes. Take out of oven and quickly put a spatula underneath the granola to loosen it from the pan but to maintain the clusters. Let cool for 15-20 minutes (or longer) and then place in storage containers. Then enjoy, preferably with yogurt :)

Just out of the oven.

What I like so much about this granola compared to A.'s granola is that this one has less ingredients and just feels so much simpler to make. It really takes no time to mix it up (it's the baking which takes a while but even that isn't so bad) and is just so delicious. D., my parents, my sister-in-law all love it and I bet you will too. This one is also good because it actually bakes into clusters. For the longest time my granola was never making clusters but L. taught me not to mix up the granola during the halfway point of baking (most recipes tell you to do that and so I was doing it) and also to stick a spatula underneath as soon as the granola comes out of the oven. Using these tips has yielded cluster full granola for me :) If you're considering whether to make homemade granola or not, try this recipe (or try the original one from which it's derived if you're into wheat germ and dried fruit) and be ready to never want to make another granola recipe again :)

Here's what mine looks like at the end.