This recipe for Maple Apricot Granola from epicurious (actually from Gourmet Magazine) is outstanding! It is hands down my favorite granola recipe...

8 cuips oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup corn meal
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt

Mix dry ingredients together. Melt butter and add the last 5 ingredients Pour over dry mixture and stir well. At this point you may add 1/2 cup coconut, nuts, sunflour seeds, etc. Spread mixture on large cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool. Rasins, chopped dry fruit or dates may be added after baking. Store in covered container.

This recipe is rather inexpensive, yet good and nutritious. Change it with whatever you have on hand.

Granola

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup unslated cashew pieces
1 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts
1 cup unsweetened large-flake coconut
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 teaspoon maple or almond extract (optional)
1 cup dried fruit of choice (I omit the fruit)

Preheat oven to 250 degreees.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.

In a smaller, separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, salt, & extracts (if using). Combine both mixtures and pour into 1 sheet pan (jelly roll pan).

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes to achieve an even color. (My husband likes the granola really toasty, so I usually bake it for 1-1/2 hours.)

Remove from oven and cool slightly. Transfer granola into a large bowl, add dried fruit and mix until evenly distributed. Store in airtight container.

* Posted by canarybird (My Page) on
Wed, Jul 12, 06 at 9:00

Okay here’s one from the low Glycemic Index Recipe Book:

GI GRANOLA

1 1/2 cups (7 oz) jumbo porridge oats
1 x 40 oz pack of dried apple rings, chopped OR 2/3 cup (3 oz) dried cranberries or 1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz) unsalted sunflower seeds
1/3 cup (2 oz) sesame seeds
1/3 cup (2 1/2 oz) chopped almonds
1/4 cup (2 oz) ground flaxseeds or linseeds
1 TBS ground cinnamon
2 teasp grated orange zest
1/2 teasp sea salt
1 large egg white
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 TBS clear honey
2 teasp frozen orange juice concentrate
1 teasp vanilla essence

1. Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Mix together in a large bowl the oats, apple, sunflower seeds,sesame seeds, almonds, flaxseeds or linseeds,cinnamon, orange zest and salt.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white, oil, honey, orange juice concentrate and vanilla essence. Pour this into the oat mixture and toss until thoroughly coated. Turn out onto a shallow baking tray lined with nonstick parchment and spread evenly. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, turning the mixture once with a spatula halfway through baking time, or until mixture is golden brown.

Store in an airtight container for 2 days at room temperature or freeze for up to one month.

Source: Adapted from Rick Gallop's GI Diet Green-Light Cookbook

My Comments: I still haven't made this yet as we don't see frozen orange juice concentrate here but I hope to make it with fresh juice.
My friend Lynne made this and says it's delicious!

SharonCb

GRANOLA BARS - Makes 16 bars

1 1/3 cups wholewheat flour
sweetener - equivalent to 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup wheat bran
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup apricots - finely chopped
1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup apple juice
3 low-cholesterol (omega 3) eggs
2 tsp vegetable oil

1. Line a shallow 8 x 12 inch baking dish with parchment paper.

2. Mix the flour, sweetener, baking powder, bran and spices in a large bowl. Stir in the oats, apricots and sunflower seeds.

3. Mix the applesauce, apple juice, eggs and oil, and add to the flour mixture.

4. Pour into the baking dish and spread evenly.

5. Bake at 400F for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool and cut into bars.

Source: The Glycemic Index Diet - The Easy, Healthy Way to Permanent Weight Loss.
Rick Gallop © 2002

SharonCb

Granola
=======
I don't follow a recipe so each time I make it it is a little different. I don't measure anything either. Basically I use regular oatmeal as the base and add a couple of other types of oats. Mix in coconut, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, walnuts, sliced almonds, and then toss with a mixture of honey, real maple syrup, orange juice and a little canola oil with a little cinnamon and vanilla added. Once it is all mixed well spread it on two cookie sheets and bake in a 350°F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden. I rotate the pans and I stir the mixture 3 or 4 times so that it toasted evenly. When it is golden, I remove it from the oven, put it into a large bowl and mix in dried canberries, wild dried blueberries, yellow raisins and some cut up dates.

Let it cool before storing either in a glass jar or zip lock bags.

The maple apricot granola recipe I posted actually has both pumpkin and sunflower seeds in it (in addition to almonds)... So you might want to give that one a try!

Emily

* Exported from MasterCook *

Lloyd's Granola

Recipe By : Katie
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
6 c rolled oats
1 c coconut
1 c wheat germ -- * see note
1/2 c cashews -- ** see note
1/2 c sesame seeds -- ** see note
1/2 c oil
1/2 c honey
1/3 c water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt
raisins and/or other dried fruits

Mix oil, honey, water, vanilla and salt and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well. Bake at 300F for about 1/2 hour, until dry, mixing often. Cool and add raisins and/or other dried fruits.

* you can also use bran or rolled wheat.
** use any nuts or seeds

Woodie, the gift bags sound like such a cute idea. I have several friends who are not very good or creative cooks. I always want to make something edible for them, but I'm not much of a cake or cookie type baker. I think homemade granola would be a perfect gift. It's chock full of oatmeal & nuts, it's tasty, and it can make a healthy meal or snack.

Let me know if its good with crystalized ginger -- I must admit I've always made the recipe without, since while I really love ginger I typically find crystalized ginger a little strong for my taste... Come to think of it I should try making that recipe and adding just a hint of ground ginger to it sometime...

Emily

The gift bags look very nice - I found some nice colorful flower 'stick ons' in Target and tied the bags with pink tulle and put one on each plate. (I also found some fake rose petals at Target and scattered them around the table top - they look just like the roses I bought for the centerpiece - just call me Martha!)