Deborah's Granola Recipe



For several health reasons, I shy away from consuming wheat or wheat gluten. This has not been an easy task as I have found products containing one or both in surprising numbers – many of them I cannot even understand why the product contains wheat or wheat gluten, like some ice creams!

The one thing I have missed most over the years has been my morning cereal, so this week I decided to find out if granola could serve as a satisfying and tasty replacement for some of the cereal brands I was fond of in the past.

I tried several different recipes and found that none were quite what I wanted – one of the main reasons being the recipes called for way too much sugar and/or other sweeteners. Ultimately, I developed my own recipe and to my surprise my husband really likes it, too!

So, for those of you who may have been considering making your own granola or have used other recipes and found them too sweet for your palate and are fond of pecans– try this one.

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup chopped pecans
¾ cup shredded sweetened coconut
2 level TBS light brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup (not corn syrup)
¼ cup walnut oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt

1 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the oat, almonds, pecans, and coconut in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl combine brown sugar, maple syrup, walnut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt – mix well and pour mixture in larger bowl with oats, almonds, pecans and coconut.

Mix all ingredients well.

Pour mixture onto a 13 X 18 X 1 sheet pan. Spread mixture evenly in pan with a spatula.

Place pan in oven and set timer for 15 minutes. At alarm, turn mixture with spatula and re-spread evenly in pan. Repeat this process 4 times, so the mixture is baked for approximately one hour. During the last 15 minutes watch the color of the granola – during this time the granola should develop an even golden brown color. If it begins to get too dark cease baking and remove pan from oven.

Allow the granola to cool and then mix in the cup of raisins. Store the granola in an airtight container.

The granola should keep in the airtight container for about a month.