Dried Fruit Granola

This is my first, of many I hope, recipe collaborations! I have been pressuring my fiancé for many, many months to make his granola recipe for me to share with everyone! Not only is this one super tasty, but also it’s so versatile! Not a huge fan of raisins? Coconut? Substitute them!

Clearly I am excited, as I have used 5 exclamation points in the last 6 sentences!

This past week has been Thanksgiving recipe testing mania. I have been working with iamduende.com creating something extra special for all of you for the upcoming holidays! Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just 2 weeks away?! Between lots of work and endless making and remaking of desserts, there’s hardly been a moment of downtime. Keep in mind that with every recipe that I am testing for this wonderful Thanksgiving special, I am taking endless bites, I mean how else am I supposed to adjust the ingredients?!

This all leads me to just feel oh so balloon-like and even slightly more wound up than usual! I then decided that with this dessert heavy season upon us that I needed to at least have a healthy snack around to munch on instead of my bowl of holiday Rollos and Hershey kisses.

So, as I unwrap my fifth Ghirardelli chocolate bar and melt it down, instead of taking a piece for myself, I instead take a handful of slightly sweet and wonderfully crunchy homemade granola! The natural sweetness in the raisin, cranberry, coconut combination along with the fillingness of the nuts make for an all around wonderful and enjoyable snack.

Feeling extra slumpy recently because you’ve been stuffing your face with any and all things that just scream hey it’s the holiday season, you must eat me! ??! Well, let’s put a slight stop to the madness with this granola!

 

ingredients

Canola Oil—0.75 oz, or 2 TBL

Honey—3 oz, or 1/3 C

Fresh Ginger, peeled & chopped—0.75 oz, or 2” piece

Oats—9.75 oz, or 3 C

Brown Sugar—1.6 oz, or 3 TBL

Salt—0.05 oz, or ¼ tsp

Cinnamon—0.05 oz, or ¾ tsp

Pecans, chopped—2.25 oz, or ½ C

Coconut Flakes—1 oz, or 1/3 C

Dried Cranberries—2.15 oz, or 1/3 C

Raisins—2.15 oz, or 1/3 C

Candied Ginger—2.25 oz, or 1/3 C

 

process

In a small saucepot, combine the oil, honey and fresh ginger.

Preheat the oven to 300˚ F.

Put on low heat and stir to dissolve the honey. Keep on low heat until ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, chopped pecans and coconut flakes. Mix.

Remove and toss the ginger from the honey mixture. Pour the honey/oil into your oats.

Mix to coat.

Spread evenly on a sheetpan that has been lined with parchment paper.

Put in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so that your granola toasts evenly.

Once your granola is nice and toasty (you’ll be able to smell it!), remove from the oven and allow to cool.

When it has cooled, mix in your dried cranberries, raisins and candied ginger.

Store in an airtight container, and enjoy as a snack on its own, with some plain yogurt or cashew milk—my favorite!

 

Bon Appétit!