Crunchy Granola With Nuts And Dried Fruit Recipes

HEALTHY GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
• Pour in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer.
• Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway (for extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
• Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed (at least 45 minutes). Top with the dried fruit (and optional chocolate chips, if using). Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don't want extra-clumpy granola.
• Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. The dried fruit can freeze solid, so let it warm to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

HONEY NUT GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, stir oats, nuts and sunflower kernels together. In a separate bowl, mix together oil, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Add to dry ingredients; mix well. Spread mixture onto two ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven, for 10 minutes, remove from oven and stir. Return to oven and continue baking until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing.

ULTIMATE FRUITY GRANOLA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, sunflower kernels and flax. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, salt and cinnamon. Cook and stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until brown sugar is dissolved and mixture is heated through. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and toss to coat., Transfer to a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 8 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Stir in dried fruits. Store in an airtight container.

CRISPY HONEY NUT GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.
• Spread the oats, walnuts and almonds onto the prepared baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 7 minutes. Add the coconut and toss well with a rubber spatula, then place back in the oven to cook for 4 to 5 minutes more. Keep an eye on it towards the end; you want the coconut to turn golden but not burn.
• In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk and bring to a rapid boil, then turn off the heat and set aside.
• Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300°F. Combine the oat mixture, honey mixture, rice cereal, and dried fruit in a large bowl and toss well. (Reserve the aluminum foil.)
• Use the reserved foil to line a 9x13-inch baking dish, then spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Turn the granola bar mixture out into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly, patting down with a spatula. Be sure the heat is reduced to 300°F, then bake until lightly golden, 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely, 1 to 1½ hours. Use the foil overhang to transfer the bars to a cutting board, then use a large, sharp knife to cut into rectangles. Store the bars in a single layer in an airtight container, or wrap the bars individually in aluminum foil, for up to a week at room temperature.
• Note: You can swap in your favorite nuts and seeds as long as you keep the proportions of dry to wet ingredients the same. You can also toss in some dried fruit. On occasion, I'll sprinkle some chocolate chips over top for the kids (you can't mix them in or they'll melt).
• Note: Be sure your oven is fully preheated before toasting nuts; the initial blast of heat to preheat the oven can burn them.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The granola bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove them from the container and let them come to room temperature.

FRUIT 'N' HONEY GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix the oats, almonds, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, canola oil, and honey. Spread evenly over the prepared baking sheet, pressing down lightly with the back of a spoon.
• Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely.
• In a large bowl, break the cooled granola into large chunks. Mix in the raisins, pineapple, sweetened dried cranberries, and papaya. Store in an airtight container.

CHUNKY GRANOLA RECIPE

Steps:

• Adjust the oven rack to upper middle position. Heat oven to 325 °F.
• Line your sheet pan with parchment paper. (it helps tremendously when it is time to clean.)
• Whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, salt and oil in a BIG bowl.
• Add the oats, almonds and walnuts in to the liquid mixture and fold until thoroughly mixed.
• Transfer the oat mixture onto baking sheet and spread it to make an even layer.
• Using the back of a ramekin* or a spatula, compress oat mixture until it is very compact.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes rotating pan once halfway through baking.
• Once baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 15-30 minutes.
• Break cooled granola into pieces of your desired size.
• Mix in the chopped dried fruit and shredded coconut.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA WITH NUTS, SEEDS AND DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 165C/325F
• In the largest bowl you have, add the oats, sunflower seeds, pepitas, pecans, almonds, coconut, walnuts and cashews and set aside.
• In a large pot, add the maple syrup, honey, oil, sugar, vanilla and brown sugar and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes and the mixture will thicken slightly.
• Pour the hot mixture over the oats, seeds and nuts and stir to coat.
• Place on baking sheets lined with foil or baking paper (I used foil) and bake for 20 minutes. About halfway through baking, stir the granola to ensure all the granola gets toasted.
• When the granola is light brown, remove from the oven and mix in the sultanas, cranberries, apricots (or other dried fruit).
• When completely cool place your granola in an air tight container and it should last two weeks. (Mine won't be around longer than a week)

FRUIT 'N' NUT GRANOLA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the oats, milk powder, fruit, walnuts, wheat germ and cinnamon. , In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring brown sugar and water to a boil. Remove from the heat; stir in oil and vanilla until mixed. Pour over oat mixture and toss to coat. Pour into a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. , Bake at 275° for 35-45 minutes. Stir in raisins. Cool, stirring occasionally. Store in an airtight container.

CRUNCHY GRANOLA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300°F.
• Mix oats, flax, wheat germ, almonds, pecans, salt and brown sugar in a large bowl. Wisk to combine the oil, honey and egg white, then pour over the oat mixture. Stir well until ingredients are evenly coated. It may seem too dry but keep stirring.
• Spray oil on a jelly roll pan and add the granola mixture. Bake 20-30 minutes, until the edges are browned and it smells toasty. To make clumps don't stir during baking. Cool and allow the granola to harden. Break into smaller pieces and add the fruit. Store airtight for two weeks.
• The dried fruit may hydrate the granola so it loses some of its crunch. If so just pop it back in a 300F oven for about 10 minutes.

CRUNCHY GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and reserve.
• Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Place in microwave on high for 5 minutes and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave, add vanilla extract and salt.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, and brown sugar syrup mixture. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Spread the granola onto cookie sheets and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden and crunchy.
• When the mixture comes out of the oven, it is still very pliable. You may choose to add in dried fruit as a finishing touch at this time. When granola has cooled completely, store in an airtight container.

CRUNCHY GRANOLA WITH NUTS AND DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Lightly coat two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.
• Add oats and nuts; stir to combine. Divide mixture between sheets.
• Bake 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add 1/2 cup coconut to each sheet; bake until mixture is golden brown, 15 minutes more.
• Let cool completely on sheets.
• Stir in dried fruit and chocolate chips, if desired.
• Note - Store in airtight containers, up to 3 weeks. Also can be frozen for longer storage.

ALMOND GRANOLA WITH DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• 1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in oil. Fold in oats and almonds until thoroughly coated. 3. Transfer oat mixture to prepared baking sheet and spread across sheet into thin, even layer (about 3/8 inch thick). Using stiff metal spatula, compress oat mixture until very compact. Bake until lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating pan once halfway through baking. Remove granola from oven and cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour. Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size. Stir in dried fruit. (Granola can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)