A Muse in My Kitchen
Cherry Nut Granola
So what are you eating for breakfast?
Cold cereal? Dry Toast? Store-bought granola?
Or are you one of those people who eats nothing for breakfast?
Stop eating right now and pay attention.
I’m eating homemade granola – and it is the best thing I have ever made!
Truly.
I’m going to stop gloating and share this recipe.
It’s a combination of the best of the best – I borrowed the egg white idea from Smitten Kitchen, the dried cherries add-in from Ina Garten and the maple syrup sweetness from Delicious Happens.
Gather your ingredients – oatmeal (I use gluten free – Bob’s Red Mill), sunflower seeds, nuts (I like cashews, almonds and pistachios), dried cherries and unsweetened flaked coconut (use the big flakes for more crunch and flavor).
Mix ‘em all together and pour the maple syrup/brown sugar mixture and whipped egg white over the top and mix thoroughly – use your hands!
Lay them out on a greased cookie sheet – I like to use coconut oil to grease my cookie sheet with.
And bake at 300 degrees for about 45-55 minutes until golden brown and crunchy.
Note: If you like your cherries plumper and not chewy – add them in at the end or the last 10 minutes of baking.
Store in an airtight container – if it lasts that long! The beauty of this recipe is that you can now craft it out for your own tastes – experiment with dried apricots, figs, raisins, different kinds of nuts, flax seeds. Go forth and create!
- 3 cups of rolled oats (don’t use instant – I like gluten free)
- 2½ cups of coarsely chopped, mixed nuts (I like pistachios, cashews and almonds)
- 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
- ¾ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1½ cups dried sweet cherries, chopped (or leave them whole for bursts of flavor)
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 egg white, whipped with a fork until frothy.
- 1 tbs. coconut oil
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
- Mix sunflower seeds, oatmeal, nuts and coconut in a big bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix maple syrup, brown sugar and canola oil until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour maple syrup mixture and egg white over the oats mixture and mix well using your hands.
- Spread mixture over cookie sheet that has been oiled with the coconut oil.
- Bake for 45 – 55 minutes stirring every 15 minutes to keep mixture evenly browned.
- Add cherries in the last 10 minutes of baking or after removing from oven.
- Store in an airtight container.
