Mum’s Granola
My mum’s granola is full of oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit, and is bound together with a cinnamon vanilla honey. It is slow roasted in the oven for an hour, which results in clusters of granola all stuck together… the best! Try it on top of your favourite yoghurt, pancakes or just on it’s own. It’s lighter on your wallet as it yields about 1kg of granola, for a fraction of the store bought price. You can get as creative as you like and add whatever mix ins you desire to make it your own flavour sensation. Originally inspired by Teresa Cutter.
Yields ~1 kg of granola
Ingredients
4 cups rolled oats
A generous handful of your choice of nuts, roughly chopped (we did almonds, pecans & walnuts)
A generous handful of seeds of your choice (we did pumpkin & sunflower)
Cut dried fruit of choice ( we did coconut shards, dried apricots, cranberries & dates)
3 tbsp honey (could also use same amount of maple syrup or rice malt syrup)
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp vanilla bean paste
Method
Pre heat the oven to 120 degrees Celsius/ 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line two baking trays with baking paper.
In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts and seeds.
In a small saucepan over a low heat, add honey, vanilla bean paste and cinnamon. Stir with a whisk until smooth and combined. Pour mixture into the large bowl with oats, nuts and seeds. Mix until combined.
Spread this mixture and flatten onto the two baking trays. Place into the oven for 1 hour. At the 30 minute mark, rotate the trays in the oven to ensure even crispness. After 1 hour, take out of the oven and let cool completely.
Mix through dried fruits and store in an airtight container.
Cooking Notes:
Keep an eye on the granola in the oven - it can burn if you lose track of time!
You can pop the vanilla cinnamon honey into the microwave instead of over the stovetop. If you’re planning on doing this zap it in short increments and stir intermittently. The most important thing is that it thins out slightly (to make it easier to mix in) and the vanilla and cinnamon combine.
