Six n' One

I love to eat granola for

breakfast, the kind stuffed

with goodies like nuts,

seeds and dried fruit.

That is really a crumbly,

healthful cookie in disguise!

However, the luxurious,

loaded-with-nuggets

granola typically

sold at high-end grocery

stores can cost upwards of

$15-$17 a pound. A while

back, I learned to make

granola and after some

trial and error now have

a reliable recipe that is, of

course, easy to make.

You can mix and

match this recipe to suit

your own tastes; make

it with any combination

of sweeteners, oils,

seeds, dried fruit, nuts,

spices and flavorings. Just

follow the correct ratio of

six parts dry ingredients

to one part wet and it’s

almost guaranteed to turn

out right. You may need a

few tries to find the flavor

combination you like,

but once you do, you can

easily whip a batch. Bake

the granola in the oven on

a parchment paper lined

jelly roll pan– that’s a

cookie sheet with a lip

around it. The secret to

making those irresistible

clusters is to add an egg

white, pack the mixture

down, don’t stir it while

it’s baking and then let

it completely cool before

eating it.

Six n’ One Granola

3 parts rolled oats

3 parts nuts, seeds, dried

fruit or coconut

1 part liquid - ½ neutral

oil plus ½ liquid

sweetener

1 egg white (per four

to six cups total dry

ingredients)

Spices – cinnamon, nutmeg,

cardamom, ginger

Extract – vanilla,

almond, maple,

chocolate

Salt to taste

Half of the dry ingredients

need to be rolled oats

(don’t use quick cooking

oats). The other half can

be seeds, nuts, dried fruit,

coconut and my favorite .

. . chocolate chips! I use

2 cups oats, 2 cups dry

ingredients and ⅓ cup

oil and ⅓ cup sweetener

for my 12” x 16” jelly roll

pan. You can use six cups

dry ingredients and ½ cup

oil and ½ cup sweetener

and bake it in two batches.

Mix the liquids – the

oil, sweetener, egg white

and extract in a small

bowl. Combine with the

dry ingredients and mix

thoroughly. Spread the

mixture on the jelly roll

pan and use a spatula to

pack it down. Bake at 300⁰

for 20 – 30 minutes until

it starts to turn brown on

the edges. Keep an eye

on it because it overbakes

quickly.

I stay away from

canola and soybean oil

preferring the more

healthful coconut, grapeseed,

walnut and sunflower

oils. The sweeteners

can be honey, agave,

date or maple syrup.

Any kind of nut works.

I’ve used sesame, pumpkin

and sunflower seeds.

When you add dried fruit,

add it after the oats have

cooled. Now you can eat

guilt-free cookies for

breakfast too!