Ask Design Mom: Granola

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hi Design Mom! A few months back you mentioned your husband made homemade granola every Sunday. I would love a good granola recipe. Would you mind sharing? Thanks! — Angie Potter

Design Mom Answer:
I’d love to share, Angie. Thanks for asking. Here’s Ben Blair’s recipe. (It can be halved.)

Ingredients:
-4 cups rolled oats (not quick)
-1/2 cup slivered almonds
-1/2 cup sunflower seeds (no shells)
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts
-1/2 cup chopped pecans
-1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
-1/2 cup pepitas
Note: Ben uses any combination of the listed seeds and nuts (depending what we have in our cupboard) to equal approx. 3 cups.
-1 cup honey (sometimes a honey/maple syrup combo if we’re low on honey)
-1/2 cup canola oil
-1 cup raisins

Directions:
Put all the ingredients except the honey, oil and raisins in a big bowl and stir them together. In a separate bowl, stir together the oil and honey. Then add the oil-honey mixture to the rest of the ingredients (except the raisins) and stir till everything is coated. Spread mixture onto two greased cookie sheets and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir the mixture after 20 minutes of cooking.

After it’s done cooking, spread the granola onto two pieces of tin foil, then mix in the raisins while it’s hot. Let it cool and then break it into clumps. We store ours in a big rubbermaid container, but you can also store it in freezer bags and save it for later.

Here’s another great granola recipe from Stephmodo (pictured above).

What about you, Dear Readers? Do you like granola? Do you have a favorite recipe?

39 thoughts on “Ask Design Mom: Granola”

  1. When I was pregnant, I found this great recipe for granola. It’s supposed to be great for expecting mamas, but I got hooked and make it now even after my children are walking and talking.

    Here’s the recipe for yummy granola .

    Kate

    1. Too funny! Are they the same thing? How embarrassing!

      When I was typing up the recipe, I pulled out the packages from the cupboard to make sure I was getting the product names right and they looked different to me. Oops!

      1. So…yes and no. Pumpkin seeds are what you see when you carve a pumpkin at Halloween–white, larger. Inside the pumpkin seed are the pepitas (“little seeds”), which are smaller and green. Around here, you can buy both in the bulk section. I used to use pumpkin seeds, but they can be so chewy and woody, whereas the pepitas just crunch nicely.

  2. Ok, so I want to like granola, but whenever I get it from the store it is always so hard to chew and tough that it makes my jaws tired. Is the homemade kind more friendly, or am I eating it the wrong way (just straight from the box with a little milk on top like other cereal), or do I just have wimpy jaws, or what? The only way I enjoy granola now is sprinkled sparingly in yogurt. I’d love to start making homemade granola if it’s better than store bought!

    1. hyzen, you can make it pretty much however you like. The store-bought stuff is tougher because it has more sugar and more fat, giving the mix more “glue.” The hardness comes from the temperature and length of time baking. If you want to make it yourself, just adjust all of the above. Muesli, for example, is basically uncooked granola, so you’d get all the oaty goodness sans crunch, if you like it that way. This is a good, basic recipe I use (but I sub honey for the syrup and use my own dried-fruit mix and whatever nuts I have on hand): http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/crunchy-granola-recipe. Good luck!

      1. Erin and Mom in Mendon, thanks for the answers on my granola/jaw fatigue issues, lol! :) I haven’t had Muesli in awhile, but I remember really liking it, so that seems like its on the right track for me. Maybe I’ll try out some of these recipes and just try to make it less crunchy–thanks!

  3. When I made it in days gone by, I added rolled grains such as barley or wheat to the oats. I cut back on the sugar/honey because I prefer it less sweet, especially if using sweetened coconut.

    As far as tired jaws, when I was first introduced to it , I had to face the idea that it was not your usual corn flakes or cris;py rice. Mentally, I slowed down my eating.–but it shouldn’t hurt to chew it. : )

  4. When Passover rolls around, I make a granola with whole-wheat matzoh farfel instead of oats. I’ve modified a version of Mollie Katzen’s granola (Sunlight Cafe cookbook), but really any recipe works. I store it in the freezer, and it is so delicious.

  5. I saw a brother and sister at the pool last weekend wearing Paul Frank bathing suits. They were so cute!

    My granola recipe is plain but my kids love it sans nuts & raisins:

    4 cup oatmeal
    1/4 cup brown sugar
    1/3 cup butter
    1/4 cup maple syrup
    1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    1/4 tsp sea salt
    1 cup raisins (optional)
    1 cup nuts (optional)
    oven temp: 350
    time: 25-30 min.

    combine oatmeal, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar and mix together.
    Heat in saucepan on low: butter until melts and add maple syrup.
    Pour liquid mixture over dry oats and mix together then pour on flat sheets and
    smooth flat.
    Bake in oven till brown. Always watch!
    Put in raisins and nuts when cooled.

  6. When I first saw the picture of your granola, I immediately thought of my grandma. She had the same dishes. The granola sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

  7. I just made a huge batch of granola this evening! And it looks a lot like the one in the picture, although mine is darker because we went to get frozen yogurt in the middle of the baking part and it probably should have come out of the oven a little sooner!

  8. That’s pretty much my recipe. I make a variation on one a King Arthur (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/crunchy-granola-recipe), but I consider my $7 bottle of real maple syrup far too dear to use most of it in one batch of granola. So I use honey. I also use golden raisins (not as sweet or sugar-gritty as raisins made from purple grapes) and dried cranberries instead of the suggested dried-fruit mix there. I also love pepitas, though I wish they didn’t float in the milk! My favorite thing about making granola is how endlessly flexible it is; if I get a deal on some nut, in it goes! If sunflower seeds aren’t on hand, they stay out.

  9. We love granola too. I make it weekly/biweekly for breakfast and snacks. It’s healthy goodness and is really simple to make yourself. If your interested, my recipe is…http://www.the30girl.com/2010/02/perfecting-granola.html.

    Just have to say…while I’ve posted comments here before…I’ve never said how much I truly appreciate your blog. It’s by far my favorite and I feel like we’re kindred spirits…it always seems that you post about things I think or love. Too funny!

  10. I’ll skip the walnuts and pecans, maybe replace them with cashews but otherwise this sounds fantastic. Given its supposed to rain this weekend I think I’ll have to whip up a batch!

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