Joel’s mom, Nancy has given me a couple of her recipes recently; one is for mead, the other was for granola. Along with the granola recipe, she sent over her old enameled Dutch Oven that she used to always use for baking the granola in. That would be the beautiful lemon-yellow pot you see above. I made my first batch of granola in it two days ago and have come to the opinion that using pretty cookware does make the whole process a little more fun.
The recipe is as follows:
In a dutch oven or large cast iron skillet heat:
1/2 cup oil (canola)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
until the mixture is thin. Let the mixture cool a little, then add 1 Tablespoon vanilla, and just a pinch of salt. Use a good kind of vanilla, not imitation. Then stir in (one cup at a time) 2 cups of unsweetened grated coconut, and 7 cups oatmeal (rolled oats), until these dry ingredients are coated with the honey-molasses mixture.Put the uncovered dutch oven with the mixture in your oven and bake at 350 F. The granola will begin to toast in about 10 minutes. Once it has begun to brown, you will need to stir it (up from the bottom and away from the sides especially) every 5 or 10 minutes. This is very important to keep it from burning and sticking.
There are various things you can add just before the granola is finished baking (see list below). But when it looks finished, dribble some molasses over it (or even a little maple syrup) — not too much. Stir occasionally as it cools.
This is so good eaten with yogurt in the morning.List of ingredients you could try adding (I haven’t tried these):
Nuts such as almonds.
Dried cranberries
My Oregon source added soy flakes which she toasted in a pan in the oven ahead of time, and then added after the granola is baked. I have not tried this.
Joel got home from work not very long after I had deemed the granola sufficiently toasted, and he sneaked a sample. He said the flavor really took him back, so I guess I did all right.
Honestly, I probably overbaked it a bit…it tasted a bit too toasty, but it’s overall quite good. Next time I won’t bake it quite so long, but for a first attempt, I’m pretty happy with the results.
This is the first of three totally cooking/baking/recipe focused entries. Following will be my new favorite generic cookie recipe for Gonzo Baking and my bagel recipe.
How was the cleanup of the dutch oven? I usually bake mine in a pan lined with parchment paper (which I reuse a few times, since it comes so clean). When I don’t, lots of soaking and scraping ensues.
The cleanup was no problem at all. Just a little soaking and it wiped down just fine.