April 25, 2020
We usually make granola around Christmas time. We give it away as presents to our friends and family. We also enjoy it ourselves for breakfast, and we love the way the house smells while we’re baking. Last Christmas we bought all the ingredients for a double batch but didn’t make it. Cindy had just had thumb surgery and was in a cast and we just didn’t get around to baking. With all the extra time spent at home lately we decided to bake our Christmas granola last week.
The receipe goes back to my college years when I lived in Fresno. We ate a lot of granola in those days. I worked on trail crews for the U.S. Forest Service in the summer time. Granola came in handy while in the backcountry for 10 day tours. The local cowboys, Sierra Nevada horsemen, and USFS mule packers called our granola “horse food.”
All the grains, seeds, and nuts get mixed together with oil and water. You can use almonds or walnuts to make it, depending on your taste. Honey is lightly drizzeled on top and mixed in.
Then into a 325° oven. After 10 minutes the pans come out and the process is repeated. Drizzel with honey, mix and stir, then back into the oven for another 10 minutes.
As the granola starts to brown nicely the house starts to smell amazing.
Be careful not to use too much honey. The granola won’t burn if you mix it every 10 minutes and keep the oven low at 325°.
Umm. Smells good. The total cooking time is about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes depending on your oven and how crunchy you like your granola.
Once the granola cools, raisins and/or coconut can be added and mixed in.
We like to put the finished granola into quart sized Mason or Ball jars.
This time we get 5 quarts and two freezer bags full of granola. It almost feels like Christmas in April!
Everything gets put away and the kitchen is all cleaned up again.
Stay healthy, happy, and positive. [I know that “positive” can have a negative connotation these days, what with the virus circulating around. Of course I mean stay positive in spirit!]