The fun and adventure of cooking is that there are so many ways to put a few ingredients together and make a yummy tummy treat! This simple-to-make homemade cereal, found in the Better Than Peanut Butter and Jelly cookbook by Marty Mattare, is one of those easy recipes made from things you probably have in your cupboards or pantry. You’ll want to add make-your-own granola to your list of recipes.
Make-Your-Own Granola
About 8 servings
What you need:
- 3 cups uncooked rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
- ½ cup slivered almonds1
- ¼ cup wheat germ
- ¼ cup honey or maple syrup (if you have babies one year old or younger in your household, don’t use honey for any cooking or eating)2
- 2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil
- ½ tsp vanilla or almond extract
- Dash of salt
What you do:
- Preheat your oven to 300°F.
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. You can use your hands to mix it together! (Just be sure to wash them first. Nobody likes a stinky chef!)
- Spread the oat mixture on a cookie sheet that has been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray.
- Ask your grownup helper to place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake the granola for 30 minutes. Have your helper stir the mixture after the first 15 minutes of baking. Ask them to remove the granola from the oven and pour it into a non-plastic bowl to cool.
- When the granola is cool, you can put it in a container with a lid or a zippered storage bag and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.3
Helpful Hints & Hacks
- You can use any kind of chopped nuts that you like: walnuts, peanuts, cashews, or seeds like shelled sunflower or pumpkin seeds. For the blog, I didn’t use any nuts.
- To make it easier to pour honey, syrup, or molasses out of a measuring cup, spray the inside of the cup lightly with cooking spray. Then just measure the ingredient and pour into your mixing bowl. So easy!
- When your granola is cooked and dried, you can also add a ½ cup of dried raisins, or maybe a ¼ cup of dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, chopped dates, or even chopped dried pineapple. Add the dried fruit after the granola has baked and cooled. This will keep the dried fruit from getting too hard.
This granola is easy to make and versatile, too! It tastes great alone as a snack. You can also have it for breakfast, topped with fresh fruit and a little of your favorite kind of milk. You can put a scoop of granola in a zipper storage bag or small container and take your snack with you when you’re on the go. So yummy! Ciao’ for now!
Review by Anne
