Maybe
it’s the chilly mornings, but something about autumn makes me want hearty,
starchy, filling foods. This granola is my favorite and one I have been making
regularly for the past few years, especially in autumn and winter.
It’s crunchy
and sweet, but not too sweet. It has wide-flake coconut that gets perfectly
toasted and a pleasant maple-cinnamon flavor. The original recipe calls for
walnuts but also works great with almonds or pumpkin seeds or probably any
other nut you would want to try. I also appreciate the fact that it’s not
drenched in butter or oil. There is a little bit of olive oil, but the real
crunch-creating factor is egg white, which causes delightful clumps and allows
the granola to stand up to milk being poured on top of it.
This
granola is also great with pumpkin butter, apple butter, or pear butter; and
it’s good with yogurt too. It’s also good when snacked on plain. In fact, you
should probably make a double batch while you’re at it.
Fun
Fact: Oats contain soluble fiber, which has a myriad of health benefits. One
benefit is that it can bind to “bad” cholesterol, causing it to be expelled
from (rather than recycled through) your body.
Granola
Adapted
slightly from “The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook”
2.5-3
cups rolled oats*
1 cup
unsweetened, wide-flake coconut
2/3 cup
walnut halves, chopped or hand-broken into smaller pieces
2½
Tablespoons whole wheat flour
2
Tablespoons olive oil
scant ½
teaspoon salt (or ½ teaspoon coarse salt, as the recipe calls for)
½ cup
maple syrup (or more, if desired)
¼
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large
egg white
Raisins,
dried cherries, dried blueberries, or whatever you please, to serve
Preheat
the oven to 300 degrees F.
Mix all
ingredients from oats through cinnamon in a large bowl, making sure the oats
are well coated. In a separate bowl whisk the egg white until it is a bit
foamy. Stir the egg white into the granola until it is well-distributed.
Spread
the granola out flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (At this point, I like
to make a gap in the center of the pan so that the granola forms a giant,
oblong ring instead of a sheet. I find this helps with browning.)
Bake the
granola for 45-55 minutes, carefully flipping after about 25-30 minutes – use a
large spatula, and flip in sections, keeping the clumps as intact as possible.
Continue baking until it is deeply golden brown, and then let cool completely.
Store in an airtight container, and eat with dried fruit and fruit butter,
yogurt, or milk.
*The
recipe calls for 3 cups, or 240 grams, of oats, but I reach 240 grams before I
have poured 3 cups, and when I used all 3 cups once, my granola didn’t clump as
well.