With the first swirls of crisp, fall air, we feel an immediate craving for struesel-y spices wafting from the oven. This crunchy almond and coconut granola laced with cinnamon promises to fill your home with the scent of fall. Toasted with flax meal, bran, oats and nuts, this lightly sweet treat makes a healthy and filling breakfast with a quick splash of milk or scattered over yogurt.
The beauty of granola is you can substitute whatever you have — pecans for the almonds, oat bran for the wheat bran, shredded coconut for the coconut flakes, honey for the maple syrup. Just make sure to use raw nuts, as pre-toasted nuts will end up burning when you bake the granola. (Only have toasted nuts? No problem: Toss them into the granola after it’s done baking).
Store in an airtight container for a couple weeks or refrigerate for up to 1 month.
Coconut Almond Granola
Fills a 1.5 liter jar, with a little leftover for snacking
INGREDIENTS
3 cups old-fashioned oats
½ cup wheat bran
⅔ cup flax meal (ground flax seed)
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sliced raw almonds
½ cup sunflower oil or other light oil
½ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, stir together the oats, bran, flax meal, coconut, salt, cinnamon and almonds until combined.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract and almond extract until combined.
Pour the syrup mixture over the oat mixture and stir to coat evenly. Spread evenly on two rimmed baking sheets and bake in center of oven at 325 degrees for 30-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until evenly golden brown. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Registered dietitian and food writer Laura McLively is the author of “The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook.” Follow her at @myberkeleybowl and www.lauramclively.com.
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