Hilary’s Favorite Nutty Granola
To give credit where it is due, this recipe started as a South Beach diet cookbook one, but of course, I changed it, as I tend to do. My sister Hilary loves it, and I keep her supplied every month. You can keep it chilled in the fridge for up to a month. I use Costco nuts (such a better deal!) that I freeze, so that’s why it starts with baking the whole nuts first because they are larger and frozen. This is a delicious topping for Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries or with a warmed up serving of my Pumpkin Spice Baked oats.
Equipment
- Equipment: Large mixing bowl, spatula or wooden spoon, small glass or porcelain bowl to melt the Earth balance, microwave (or small saucepan if melting butter stovetop instead), oven set to 325ºF, baking sheet
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw whole almonds
- 1 cup raw pecan halves
- 1 cup raw walnut halves
- ¼ cup Earth Balance Original Buttery spread can use actual butter instead
- 1 tbsp. Splenda can use sugar instead
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups Old-Fashioned oats not steel cut or instant, just regular
- 2 tbsp. ground flaxseeds
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds roasted and salted is fine or also can use raw but cook time changes
- ½ cup sunflower seeds roasted and salted is fine or also can use raw but cook time changes
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut chips can use smaller flakes, but cook time changes
Instructions
Method Of Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 325ºF.
- Place the whole almonds, pecan halves and walnut halves on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- Melt the Earth Balance in glass or porcelain bowl in microwave (or in small saucepan over low heat on stovetop).
- Once the “butter” is melted, add to large mixing bowl and immediately add the salt, Splenda (or sugar), cinnamon and vanilla extract.
- Add oats, ground flaxseeds, chia seeds to the melted mixture in the bowl. Stir to coat.
- This is where it depends upon which choices you made with the rest of the ingredients. If your pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are raw, add them now. If you have the larger coconut chips, add them now.
- ** If you have already roasted, salted pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and/or coconut flakes, wait to add any and all of those for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
- When the 10 minutes of cooking the whole nuts is finished, add them to the large mixing bowl to coat and mix everything together.
- Spread everything on the baking sheet and bake for 10 more minutes.
- After 10 minutes, carefully stir the mixture around on the baking sheet.
- ** If you had any of the ingredients left and not yet added, mix them in now for the last of the cooking time.
- Bake the whole mixture for 10 more minutes (or until everything is a light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and stir to cool on the tray.
- Store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 3 months.