Apricot Yogurt Parfait With California Granola Recipes

GRANOLA - MAKE IT YOURSELF!

Steps:

• 1. For the nuts, I use a mixture of what I keep on hand -- almonds, walnuts & pecans. Today I happened to have a good sized jar of mixed nuts (cashews, almonds, brazil nuts, filberts & pecans) that worked very well.
• 2. Put the oatmeal and nuts into a bowl. Combine the remaining ingredients, except for the dried fruit. Stir until the brown sugar has pretty well dissolved.
• 3. Pour this mixture over the oatmeal and nuts, stir to combine thoroughly.
• 4. Spray a rimmed baking sheet (half sheet, 18x13, works well). Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheet.
• 5. Bake in 300 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes, stirring & turning about every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven as soon as it is a light golden brown.
• 6. After removing from the oven, give the mixture another good stir. Be sure to turn it over enough that what was on the bottom has been loosened before it begins to stick. (I let mine cool on this same pan, Bobby Flay recommended transferring to another pan to stop the cooking process.)
• 7. Stir in your half-cup of dried fruits. I use what is always on hand -- raisins, craisins & dried cherries. Apricots, dried pineapples, etc. when I have them. (In this picture, granola looks a little darker than I would consider ideal.)
• 8. Let your granola cool completely to room temp before storing it in an airtight container. This completely fills up a large jar that originally contained 2-1/2 lbs of nuts (a Costco-size jar).
• 9. You can get Bobby Flay's recipe for Apricot Yogurt Parfait from cookingchanneltv. Or you can just eat your granola any way you like to eat granola. Just be aware, the groan of pleasure when I tasted mine this morning would have been embarrassing if anyone had heard me.

GRANOLA YOGURT PARFAITS

Steps:

• Line a strainer with four layers of cheesecloth or one coffee filter and place over a large bowl. Place yogurt in prepared strainer; cover yogurt with edges of cheesecloth. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. , Remove yogurt from cheesecloth and discard liquid from bowl. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, orange juice, honey, vanilla and orange zest. Cover and refrigerate until serving., For granola, in a large bowl, combine oats and walnuts. Combine the brown sugar, honey, oil, vanilla and salt; pour over oat mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. , Bake at 300° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring twice. Cool on a wire rack. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in cranberries. Store in an airtight container., To serve, alternate layers of yogurt and granola in six parfait glasses.

APRICOT-YOGURT PARFAIT WITH CALIFORNIA GRANOLA

Steps:

• For the granola: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or brush lightly with canola oil.
• Combine the oats, almonds and walnuts in a large bowl. Combine the honey, canola oil, olive oil, sugar, syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well until combined. Turn the mixture out onto an 11- by 7-inch jelly-roll pan, and spread into an even layer.
• Bake, stirring and re-spreading the mixture into an even layer every 5 minutes, until the granola is light golden brown, about 45 minutes. Immediately turn the granola out onto another jelly-roll pan to cool and stop the cooking process. Stir in the apricots and raisins and then spread the granola evenly in the pan. Set on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Loosen any dried granola with a spatula and store in an airtight container.
• For the parfait: Combine the nectar, apricots, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the apricots are soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cover. Let the mixture chill in the fridge.
• Fold the apricot puree into the yogurt (don't combine completely), and layer in parfait glasses with the California granola.

YOGURT PARFAIT RECIPE

Steps:

• Layer each cup with yogurt, homemade granola and fresh berries. Repeat the layers until the cup is full. Top with berries and drizzle with honey.

BREAKFAST PARFAIT WITH GRANOLA, YOGURT, AND FRUIT

Steps:

• Set out yogurt, granola, and berries in bowls with serving spoons. Let each person layer their own parfaits in cups or glasses.