IT’S THE WEEKEND! I have all the feels about cozying up and appreciating the temperature drop and dreaming of all the autumnal things. One thing I love to do and have been doing *so* much more of lately is opening up a recipe book and discovering new recipes, baking, cooking, marinading and preparing all the lovely foodstuffs.
I was staying at Soho Farmhouse a few weeks ago and they do this really tasty infamous homemade granola for breakfast and this was actually the catalyst for me to try and make my own, so I went online, had a little research and then conjured up my own perfect recipe, incorporating all the things that I love.
I have now been making this delicious granola in big batches for the last month or so and it’s so easy, filling and good-for-you that I wanted to to share it with you. I do love my cereals, but more often than note the *tasty* ones are full of hidden sugars, colourings and sweeteners so this is a great option that just has the natural sugars from Honey & Maple syrup.
That is also a great thing about this, you can just switch up the nuts, levels of maple, to suit your taste. Add your favourite nuts, take away the ones you like less etc.
Ingredients:
300g Rolled Oats
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
150ml Maple Syrup (high grade)
2 tbsp Honey (Manuka 10+ or more of possible!)
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Handful of Almonds
Handful of Pecans
Handful of Hazelnuts
50g Pumpkins seeds
50g Sunflower seeds
Desiccated Coconut (to your taste)
Mixed dried fruit of choice : I like simply raisins
Admittedly, the list of ingredients does look lengthy initially, but as I have mentioned, you can mix it up and alter it to suit your taste / budget & preference. Once you have purchased all of your ingredients in large bags / bulk then it will see you through a long ol’ time!
How to:
1.) Mix the vegetable oil, maple syrup, honey & vanilla extract in a large bowl.
2.) Add in the rolled oats and coat well with the mixture
3.) Mix in your nuts of choice and stir well
4.) Spread the mix in a 1 inch layer across a baking tray and roast in oven 150C for 15 minutes (because of the amount of mix, I do this in 2-3 batches : if you have multiple flat roasting trays you can do it at the same time)
5.) After 15 minutes, add the desiccated coconut and give the mixture a stir so it toasts evenly, and put back into the oven for a further 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on it towards the end as it’s easy to over-roast!
6.) Remove and scrape off baked mixture into a bowl to cool, and repeat with the rest of your uncooked mixture.
7.) As it is cooling, I like to add in my raisins/fruit. Once cooled (I usually leave it a good 3-4 hours) you can store in an airtight jar and it will last around 10 days.
I switched up a few different recipes to get to the recipe above, I’ve tried about 6 different ways now and this seems to work best for me. Some recipes suggest adding the dried fruit mid-way through the bake but I found the raisins expanded / popped and then dried very hard, hence why I add them in at the end. Just have a play around and tweak to your preference : You may like more honey / less maple etc.
I like to eat my granola with either milk or yoghurt, and if I want something really hearty I also add chopped dates, bananas and figs on top. Do let me know if you ever give this a go, I promise you you won’t look back! It’s truly addictive.
