Ever since I was a little girl trying granola at my grandmother’s one morning for breakfast, I have been a fan! I love granola bars, as a cereal or just straight munching. Then one November morning, (funny how I can remember the day, time, who was there, the conversation and just about everything going on when food is involved! HAHAHA!), but I do remember the first time I tasted this soft and may I say addict”able” granola. It was sweet and yet nutty and savory. It was soft and yet crunchy. Soo Soooooo good!
We were at my sister-in-laws, Inn, in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. The Roosevelt. Great place to get away and spend the summer or just a weekend. Back to the granola dang it! I was hooked. We were all super busy and it was Thanksgiving weekend, so we were cooking and spending time with family, that I didn’t get chance to corner her and get the recipe. After, we got home I started the remake version of her granola.
It went pretty well. Everyone was raving about how good it was and then my sister in law and her hubby came for a visit and I had some on the counter. They took a handful and said this looks like our granola. Then they tasted it and said, “wow” this tastes like our granola. At this point I felt like I was in the Goldilocks version of who took my granola?
I told them I was trying to re-create their recipe. I couldn’t believe how close I had actually gotten. I had missed a few little things but not much. Then they shared their recipe with me and I updated my version. How nice was that!? So the differences were that I used, were coconut oil and theirs called for vegetable oil. After making it again with the vegetable oil I prefer using the vegetable oil because it stays moist whereas coconut oil will harden at room temperature. Their version also called for sesame seeds but I kept sunflower seeds in mine. I liked the taste of the sunflower seeds over the sesame seeds.
Feel free to go where the wind takes you because it will all taste good and everyone comes out a winner! I even used this recipe to make granola bars. Turned out pretty good, but needs some work to make them hold together better. Work in progress!
Ingredients & Preparation
The Usual Suspects:
- 12 Cups Oats
- 2 Cups Sunflower Seeds
- 2 Cups Pepitas
- 2 Cups Walnuts, chopped
- 3 Cups Sliced Almonds
- 4 Cups Pecan Pieces
- 3 Cups shredded sweetened (or not) Coconut
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 Cups Brown Sugar
- 3 Cups Honey
- 3 Cups Soy or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Cup Currants
- 1 Cup Craisins
- 1 Cup Golden Raisins
- 1 cup Raisins
- Zest of 3 Oranges, on a small grate
The Plan:
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees
- In a very large mixing bowl (the size for making bread), mix oats, seeds, coconut and nuts.
- Mix in the brown sugar, then add the flour and combine thoroughly.
- Add the honey and oil and mix thoroughly again, until moist.
- Spread granola on lined cookie sheets and bake for 30 minutes.
- Using a large spatula, turn the granola and bake an additional 20 minutes. Making sure not to burn. However, do not let it bake longer than one hour. The mixture will look wet but will dry more once it is out of the oven. If you let it stay in longer it will get crunchy. This is a moist granola. The granola will turn a golden to light brown color when done.
- After the granola is removed from the oven and still warm, return granola to the large bowl and fold in the currants, craisins, raisins and orange zest. Mixing well.
Yield: 4 gallons
Stores well for 1 to 2 months, Do not freeze
Soft & Hearty Granola
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Loading...Ingredients
- 12 Cups Oats
- 2 Cups Sunflower Seeds
- 2 Cups Pepitas
- 2 Cups Walnuts
- 3 Cups Sliced Almonds
- 4 Cups Pecan Pieces
- 3 Cups Shaved Coconut
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 Cups Brown Sugar
- 3 Cups Honey
- 3 Cups Coconut Oil
- 1 Cup Currants
- 1 Cup Craisins
- 1 Cup Golden Raisins
- Zest of 3 Oranges
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees
In a large mixing bowl (the size for making bread), mix oats, seeds, coconut and nuts.
Mix in the brown sugar, then add the flour and combine thoroughly.
Add the honey and oil and mix thoroughly again.
Spread granola on lined cookie sheets and bake for 30 minutes to an hour, turning the mixture frequently. Making sure not to burn. However, do not let it bake longer than one hour. The mixture will look wet but will dry more once it is out of the oven. If you let it stay in longer it will get crunchy. This is a moist granola.
After the granola is removed from the oven and cooled, fold in the currants, craisins, raisins and orange zest.
