Whether you eat granola daily or only occasionally, choosing a high-quality granola is a very important step. The only way to have a really good idea about the quality of your granola is to make it yourself. This is the best recipe I've found for flavor, quality, shelf-life, and versatility.
In a large bowl, pour 18-20 cups of old fashioned rolled oats.
Chop 1 1/2 pounds of walnuts in a food processor or by crushing them in a sealed bag using something heavy - like a candle. The goal is to break the walnuts into pieces, so processing multiple smaller batches (instead of the full amount all at once) is recommended.
Chop three cups of almonds using the same method described above. Add all of the nuts to the rolled oats.
In a medium pot, combine 2 1/2 cups oil, 2 1/2 cups honey, and 1 cup pure maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup - or you'll end up with a bunch of unappealing sugar crystals!).
Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn off the heat. Pour the boiling hot liquid over the dry mixture. Mix well.
The resulting mixture should be fairly wet from the oil/honey/syrup liquid and have no dry oat spots. If there are any dry spots, keep stirring or add a little bit more oil/honey/syrup.
Spread the mixture onto two cookie sheets (jelly roll pans, technically), and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes with one cookie sheet in the middle of the oven and the other cookie sheet below it.
After 30 minutes, stir each pan of granola and swap locations in the oven (with the lower pan going on the top rack, and the upper pan going on the lower rack).
Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Stir and swap pan locations, and then bake for an additional 10 minutes.
If you prefer crunchy granola (like me), the final product before stirring should look fairly dark, but not burnt. Several factors affect the baking time (like how evenly it was spread, the elevation where you live, and how wet the granola is), so make sure to pay attention to the granola as it bakes.
If you prefer chewy granola, don't let it get this dark.
Once all the granola has been cooked, scrape it back into the original large bowl and stir it occasionally until it's cool. Then transfer it into some kind of storage container.
This granola freezes beautifully. I keep one bag in my pantry (or fridge, if there's space), and I put the rest in the freezer.
NUTTY GRANOLA
Mix the following ingredients in a large bowl:
18-20 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 pounds walnuts, chopped
3 cups almonds, chopped
Optional: 1 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut
In a medium pot, mix the following and bring to a boil:
2 1/2 cups oil
2 1/2 cups honey
1 cup pure maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup)
Pour the hot liquid over the dry mixture. Mix well. Spread on two cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (with one cookie sheet in the middle of the oven and the other cookie sheet below it). Stir and swap cookie sheet locations in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir and swap locations in the oven again. Bake for another 10 minutes (or more, if needed).
When cooled, serve with almond milk or cow's milk. Add dried or fresh fruit as desired.
When my kids need an on-the-go snack instead of a sit-down morning meal, I make a batch of granola bars.
GRANOLA BARS
1/2 cube butter
10 oz marshmallows (or 10 giant Campfire Marshmallows) - I use Campfire Marshmallows (see below) because they have no high fructose corn syrup
5 cups granola
Grease a 9X13 pan. On LOW heat, melt the butter in a large pot. Also on LOW heat, add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Add the granola and mix well. Press the mixture into the greased 9X13 pan. Allow to cool and cut into squares. Store in a sealed container, separating any layers with parchment paper or waxed paper.
