Christmas Granola
I think I’ve found my new favourite Christmas food gift. Granola, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
1) By the time we actually get to Christmas, some of us are feeling Christmas cookie burnout. (No offense, shortbread. I’ll still eat you.)
2) I have friends who are gluten free, dairy free, egg free – this makes everyone happy without seeming like a compromise.
3) I make a big batch every year for my dad, anyway.
4) It’s easy to stir together and bake, and fun to package in glass jars or Christmassy little bags.
5) It has a long shelf life, so will still be fine if the recipient doesn’t get around to eating it immediately.
6) No one will regift it or get rid of leftovers before their new healthy resolutions.
Have I sold it strongly enough? Today it’s about all I’ve been eating – with plain Vital Green Farms yogurt – on account of picking up Mike’s stomach flu sometime mid-Christmas afternoon.
Christmas Granola
AuthorJulie
Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat.
In a large bowl, mix the oats, nuts, coconut, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the oil, brown sugar, honey/Roger's Golden Syrup/maple syrup and vanilla. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well coated.
Spread out onto one or two baking sheets, making clumps by squeezing some of it together if you like. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring two or three times, until golden. Remove from the oven and stir in the pumpkin seeds and cranberries.
Cool completely, then package in jars or sealed bags.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat.
In a large bowl, mix the oats, nuts, coconut, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the oil, brown sugar, honey/Roger's Golden Syrup/maple syrup and vanilla. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well coated.
Spread out onto one or two baking sheets, making clumps by squeezing some of it together if you like. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring two or three times, until golden. Remove from the oven and stir in the pumpkin seeds and cranberries.
Cool completely, then package in jars or sealed bags.
You guys have been through the wringer! Hope you’re all feeling better soon…
I hope the new year has all of your wishes.
Laurie
You’re right, this is a good choice.
Merry Christmas, Julie!
Noah and I made a massive (35 cups of oats) batch of granola together and gave it out to his teachers and family members.
I love it. All your points are valid, and you forgot a few: it transports well and doesn’t go stale for a while.
May 2011 ring in better than 2010 seems to be ringing out for you & the family! *hugs* Hope you feel better soon!
Such a flexible recipe. We add a mashed banana or some applesauce, along with the oil/ syrup (reduces the amount of each). Our ‘recipe’ or guideline, I guess, has “1 1/2 cups chopped nuts and dried fruit (various)”.
Have you gone all o/c about vacuuming EVERYTHING? I sure did. The beds my kids slept in during the Great Lice Attack of ’93 had drawers. Everything in the drawers was frozen… the beds taken apart and vacuumed… I vaccumed everything at least twice.
(Ahyep, you young folks don’t know what lice are. Do you remember the Great Lice Attack of ’93, when the lice were as big as pennies, and they learned to jump? Wall, I’ll tell ya…
Hah! Yew young fool, you don’t know what lice are! Why, I remember the Great Lice Attack of ’85, when the lice were big as quarters, and they learned to roller skate. Well, they were through our school quicker than cod liver oil through a…
Hah! Why, NONE of yew young fools know what lice are! Why, I recollect the Great Lice Attack of ’78, when the lice were as big as loonies, and they’d team up and use our hair as a trapeze to travel from kid to kid. I tell ya, Cirque du soleil had NOTHIN’ on these babies, they’d…
Hey, waaiiit a minute. They didn’t HAVE loonies in 1978!)
(um, maybe SOME loonies…)
I’ve already made your granola and homemade pancake mix, as well as a porrige blend (apricot and ginger) and a brownie mix for a gift basket for my brother and his wife for Christams. Non-perishable food gifts are always appreciated. Thanks for the great recipes!
We love Christmas granola too. And gave to many people this year, on account of just how easy it is to make.
Merry Christmas, and I hope you’re all feeling better soon.
Maybe I’ll try this next year…! Any good ideas of crunchy non-nut items I can put into granola for my peanut and nut allergic daughter, Julie?
Try loading it with seeds! Pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, flax…
I did use melted butter and only maple syrup for one-half the recipe. Very good.
Christos Restiacia to everyone. I’m not religious but it seems the least I can do, eat pyroghy and wish someone “Merry Christmas” in Ukrainian once a year, to honour my grandmother who so long ago lit my cooking fire
Made a batch yesterday and I can’t get enough of it with liberty plain yogurt
I used butter and golden syrup…delish.
Our family loves this! Thanks Julie