Monday, September 05, 2011

Gluten Free Granola

Hey Yall! I posted a pic via instagram of the granola that I had made and got lots of commenters asking for the recipe. I have posted a similar one HERE years ago but here is approximately what I do now. I never make it the same so feel free to mix and tweak whatever you want! Oh and by the way, any oats will do but most all oats are full of gluten so if you are hoping for these to be gluten free you will need to make sure you buy g-free oats. (Here is a link to ones we get if I cant get them at a local g-free store although this is a link to a 4 pack so don't worry its not that expensive!)

I have a method of doing this that keeps the cost down and keeps the majority of items fresh and local. I take a measuring cup with me to a store that sells bulk raw nuts (or farmers market if you have one close that actually sells nuts that are raw & local. local nuts are not easy to find in some cities so at least go for raw) and just measure out and buy exactly what I need.

Ingredients::

4 1/2 cups gluten free oats ::
we prefer quick cooking oats but rolled oats work well too
1/2 cup of 4 different seeds or nuts.
  • Example :: 1/2c pecans,1/2c cashew, 1/2 sliced almonds, 1/2 pumpkin seeds:: all nuts need to be broken up to edible pieces if not already. I some times use extra to make it less sweet...its up to you
1/4 cup flax seeds (optional)
3/4 cup PURE maple syrup ( i use a medium grade)
1/4 cup Local honey
1/4 cup Coconut Oil or Canola Oil whatever you use around your house (canola works best but it is not easy to find non GMO canola in the US)
1 teaspoon vanilla (if you are going for g-free be sure to make sure your vanilla is in fact g-free, not all are)
Cinnamon to taste
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (or raisins or dried anything fruity)

Directions::
Pre-heat oven to 350.

In a large bowl mix all the oats, seeds & nuts. This step is very simple if you already measured out your nuts because all you do is pour them all in and stir!

In a separate small bowl, mix the syrup, honey, oil and vanilla. Once it is mixed well, pour this mixture over the oats/seeds/nuts. Stir until all dry ingredients are covered.

Grease a 10X 13 pan (the deepest one you have) and pour all ingredients into the pan. lightly dust with cinnamon and place in oven. Set the timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes pull it out and stir it carefully (the pan will be very full). Lightly dust with cinnamon again and place back in oven for 10 more minutes. Repeat this until it is a desired texture. I prefer it to be less crispy and sticky so I do it for 3 rounds. But many do it up to 5 rounds.

Pull final granola out of the oven and let it cool to room temp, stirring occasionally to avoid it clumping up. Then add cranberries and you have granola!

If you use G-free oats you will need to refrigerate your granola. We refrigerated it way before we were g-free because we liked it cold!

Enjoy!

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