maple and nut granola
Maple and Nut Granola
Modified recipe from Deliciously Ella. The Plant-Based Cookbook
I love making granola and have experimented with a lot of different recipes. I think of this as as a classic granola recipe. Feel free to make it you own and add different nuts, seeds and spices. Ella’s original recipe had the zest from an orange plus a squeeze of the juice. I have omitted it but feel free to give it a go for something a little different.
Makes about 1 kg
Ingredients
90g coconut oil
160ml maple syrup
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
400g jumbo oats
70g sunflower seeds
50g pumpkin seeds
40g flaked almonds
40g walnuts (or replace with a different type of nut if you prefer)
60g coconut chips
100g raisins (optional)
Honey (optional)
Creating the Magic
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a couple of large baking trays with baking parchment.
Heat the coconut oil and maple syrup over a low heat until melted. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla and cinnamon.
Mix the rest of the ingredients – apart from the coconut chips and raisins – in a big bowl and pour in the oil and syrup mixture.
Spread the mixture evenly over the lined trays and bake for about 10 minutes. The less granola in each tray, the better it will cook. Stir/turn the granola. Add in the coconut chips. Bake for another 10 minutes. You will know the granola is ready when it is golden brown. Check it out and if needed, keep it in the oven for another 10 minutes. Don’t leave the kitchen. Keep watching it. I have burnt many a tray of granola! If you feel like your oven is too hot, then reduce the temperature.
Remove the trays from the oven and leave them to cool. When the granola reaches remove temperature, mix in the raisins. Store the granola in an airtight container – it will stay fresh for a couple of weeks.
Notes: I don’t love walnuts so I replace with hazelnuts or almonds – feel free to use whatever you have on hand This recipe isn’t super sweet. If you like your granola a little sweeter, then drizzle in some honey before placing in the oven. The honey will also help the oats ‘clump’ up. Mix it up and add some chocolate chips after the granola has come out of the oven.