Dreaming of Granola

I am not even exaggerating when I say that I've actually been going to bed this week looking forward to getting up in the morning because it meant I could have another bowl of this amazing deliciousness. Based on a granola recipe from Molly, which was in turn based on a recipe from Nigella Lawson. Quite a culinary pedigree! I changed a couple of things around, like using maple syrup instead of brown rice syrup (mostly because I couldn't find any) and changing the nut combination a bit. I think using pecan bits and pieces are really key.

If you have a chance this weekend, throw some of this in the oven, you'll be so grateful you did. Your kitchen will smell heavenly and you too will be dreaming granola dreams.

Daily Granola (likely to be twice daily granola)

Dry ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup pecan pieces
1 cup hulled raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt

Wet ingredients:
¾ cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, such as canola or safflower

Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F.

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well. In a small bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Stir to mix well. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and stir well.

Spread the mixture evenly on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown. Set a timer to go off every ten minutes while the granola bakes, so you can rotate the pans and give the granola a good stir; this helps it to cook evenly. When it’s ready, remove the pans from the oven, stir well – this will keep it from cooling into a hard, solid sheet – and set aside to cool. The finished granola may still feel slightly soft when it comes out of the oven, but it will crisp as it cools.

Scoop cooled granola into to a large zipper-lock plastic bag or other airtight container. Store in the refrigerator indefinitely.