Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Allen's Blueberry Granola

Allen’s Blueberry Granola
Several years ago, we passed through Denver and spent the night with my cousin Richard and his wife Louise.  They we're kind enough to provide a healthy breakfast of assorted fruit, yogurt and some really great granola.  I asked what brand granola they buy only to learn Louise makes her own and professed it was easy.  Challenge delivered, I set out to find a granola recipe that our household really liked.  While we like a blueberry version you can add any of your own favorite dried fruits. Cherry is a close second. This recipe makes about 30 servings.  We usually split it into two one gallon bags and freeze one while we work our way through the other.  All the ingredients can be found in the bulk food isle at Whole Foods, HEB or Kroger.  Enjoy


INGREDIENTS
8 cups rolled oats                           1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups oat bran                          ½ cup brown sugar
1 cup raw sunflower seeds             ¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup whole raw almonds              ¾ cup honey
1 cup chopped pecans                   1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins                                  1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup dried blueberries or cherries




DIRECTIONS

1.      Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with sides with parchment paper
2.     Combine the oats, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds and pecans in a very large bowl. 
3.     In a saucepan, stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves. Pour half the wet ingredients over dry and stir to mix then the remainder of the wet over dry to thoroughly coat.
4.     Spread a single layer of the mixture out evenly on baking sheets
5.     Bake until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. When it starts to smell great it's probably done.  Be careful to not over cook. It will burn fast. Be watchful to get it crisp but not over browned.
      6.     Cool, then stir in raisins and blueberries before storing in an airtight containers