This recipe was part of our meal prep cooking class with Chef Alli, and Rebecca has since been making it on repeat at home! Top your yogurt or oatmeal with this delicious granola, or simply eat it by the handful as a standalone snack - it is warm, cozy, and perfect for the fall & winter season. This would also make an excellent homemade gift for the upcoming holidays. Simply pour into cellophane bags with a pretty ribbon bow tied on top, or gift in a glass mason jar with a decorated lid. Nothing says "I care about you" more than a homemade gift.
| Servings: A TON |
Prep: 5 minutes
|
Cook: 40 minutes |
Ingredients
- 4.5 Cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 Cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1.5 Cups maple syrup
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 Cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 Cups dried cranberries ***do not bake, add at the end!***
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, BESIDES the cranberries. Spread into a single layer on each tray.
- Bake 20 minutes, pull out, stir and toss once without overly agitating, spread back in single layer and bake another 20 minutes.
- Burns easy, so keep an eye on it! Pull when golden and dry, even if a few minutes early.
- Add cranberries once out of the oven. Stir in gently, cool completely, and store in an airtight container.
Rebecca's Notes
- This recipe makes a LOT of granola; you can easily cut this recipe in half as Rebecca does. Even with topping her Greek yogurt nearly daily with a 1/4 cup of granola, the half recipe is lasting her 2-3 weeks.
- You can cut the maple syrup down a bit to reduce the sweetness and sugar, but know that you won't get the clusters of granola that are so coveted. You need the sugars to help the oats stick to each other and clump up.
- You can also help form the clusters: after adding the cranberries at the end while it is still warm, press together bunches of oats to form clusters and then do not disturb until cooled completely
- Don't have coconut oil on hand? You can sub with any form of fat (butter, avocado oil, or a mix of the two is what Rebecca does)
- Rebecca likes to add in a little cardamom or nutmeg, and subbing out different nuts or seeds would create many different variations of this base granola recipe!
- Recipe courtesy of Chef Allison Vyn of Vyntage Kitchen