Librari[d]an

I love granola, but unfortunately the delicious kinds that are my favorite are both expensive and remotely located. Never settle for lower-quality, boxed, preservative-ified granola, because all you will think about is the good stuff you’d rather have! (I have learned this the hard way, with boxes of fancy organic granola outdating as I pine for that one at the co-op with those weird soy malt things in it.)

Knowing full well that granola is easy-as-pie to make, and very cost effective, I decided to give it a go. Lisa’s favorite granola - from a recipe by Sara Foster - seemed like a good starting point, so I decided to adapt her recipe. My variant makes a dark, rich, and very filling granola just as good as the fresh luxury stuff you can buy at your local grocer. Sprinkle a bit over some Greek yogurt and garnish with more substantial dried fruits for a delicious, simple dessert. Or, for a decadent breakfast, have a small bowl of the granola with some soy milk.

:: Cocoa-Molasses Granola ::

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup craisins (or raisins, dried cherries, etc.)
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
salt to taste
cocoa to taste (around 1 TBSP)

1. Preheat the oven to 275.
2. On a baking sheet with sides, layer first the oats, followed by the coconut and almonds. (I used a 16″ pizza pan so I wouldn’t have to make multiple batches.) Then sprinkle with a bit of salt and bake for 12-15 minutes. (The ingredients should not brown.) When finished, pour them into a mixing bowl.
3. Change the oven temp to 350 and spray the baking sheet with cooking spray.
4. Stir the honey (I used blueberry flower, but clover honey is fine too), maple syrup, molasses, and canola oil in a small bowl. At this point, stir in any other spices you’d like, as well as around 1 TBSP of cocoa.
5. Add the wet to dry, stirring to coat everything evenly.
6. Spread the granola on the baking sheet. When the oven has finished preheating, bake for 30 minutes. Turn over the granola every 10 min. If the granola still seems too damp, reduce the oven temp to 250 and give it a little more time. (Watch out, though, because as the granola cools it will also continue to dry!)
7. Pull that sucker out of the oven and give it about 45 min to cool completely. Add your dried fruit* and store it in an airtight container.

*Note: If your dried fruit isn’t as dry as you’d like, add it to the granola after the second time you stir. I used Sunsweet brand apricots which, while amazingly delicious, were not exactly “dried”.

:: Bibliography ::
Foster, Sara, Carolynn Carreño, and Quentin Bacon. Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes from Foster’s Market. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2005.