Curated Collection of Granolas

My hubby loves his granola, and eats it every day! It's a staple around here, so I'm always making a new one, or revamping an old one...

Granola #1: Original

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 45 minutes

Yeild: 8 cups of granola

Ingredients:

4 cups oats, rolled, thick cut, steel cut, or triticale, or combo, anything but quick cook!!!

3 cups caramelized peanuts (any nut works!)

½ cup REAL maple syrup (Don't chicken out on me!)
¼ cup Agave/Honey
¼ cup oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread out oats on a cookie sheet in a thin layer and bake for 15-20 minutes, this step is crucial in getting that classic granola crunch!
While the oats are a-toastin' combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine the wet ones, whisking to combine if necessary.

Add the roasted oats to your dry bowl then douse with the syrup mixture! Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. I suggest mulling your mixture for a solid 5 minutes, because those dry oats like to hide in little pockets!

Now grease that hot little baking sheet! Okay, it should be just luke-warm now... And spread an even layer of wet granola over it. Stick in that preheated oven for 25 minutes. It will still look wet when you pull it back out, just trust me, it'll harden as it dries!

For a little extra crunch, turn the oven up to 350 during the last 3-5 minutes of baking!

Bon apetit!

Granola #2: Peanut Butter Explosion

Same as above!
Add 1/3 cup of Peanut Butter to your wet mix!
Substiute Agave/Honey for half to all of the maple syrup!

Granola #3: Cashew Craze

Same as above!
Add 3 Tablespoons Cashew Butter to your wet mix!
Plus 2 extra Tablespoons of oil if your butter is a little more on the dry side.
Substitute Cashew pieces for the Peauts.

Granola #4: Coconut Craving

Same as above!
Add 1 ½ cups of shredded unsweetened coconut! (The powdery dry kind in the bulk section at Freddy's, not the bagged wet one)
Substitute Almonds/Almond Pieces for the Peanuts, as the coconut is sweet enough on its own.

Substiute melted Coconut Oil in the oil department.
Good with maple-agave, or just straight up agave for your wet mix!

Granola #5: Autumn Wonder

Same as above!
Substitute Walnut pieces for peanuts.

Add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
Add 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
Add 1 cup of craisins after mixing the two bowls.
Maple is a MUST on this one!

Granola #6: Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Same as above!
Add 1/3 cup Peanut Butter to the wet bowl.
Add 1/3 cup of Dutch Cocoa to the dry bowl.
Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the wet mix.
Add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips at the very end while it's cooling!

Granola #7: Nuts and Seeds!

This one is a little different:

Dry Bowl:

4 cups oats of your choice (minus quick cook!)

½ cup RAW sunflower seeds

½ cup Almond Pieces

¼ cup Flax Seeds

½ cup Coconut (that powdery one I mentioned earlier)

½ cup Craisins

Wet Bowl:

½ cup oil

1 Tablespoon Dutch cocoa

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

¼ cup Sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup agave/honey

Preheat oven to 350. Mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl, and whisk your wet together in a smaller bowl, then combine. Spread onto cookie sheet (use two to keep the crunch, one makes your spread a little thick and more likely to be chewy), then bake for 30 minutes if using one sheet, 20 if using two...Remember to stir halfway through to prevent burning!

This recipe has a tendency to end up chewy, which is why I have so many recipes that require pre-roasting!

These recipes are the final result of 4 years of fine-tuning what I found in "The Tightwad Gazette," "How It All Vegan," and "Skinny Bitch In The Kitch!"

 
If you think I'm frugal, you haven't seen nothin' yet!!! The Complete Tightwad Gazette is where this money saving venture started!!