Mocha Granola

This may be my new favorite granola. I’d have to test it side by side with this peanut butter granola to be sure. I really like that peanut butter granola, but boy oh boy is this Mocha Granola good.

This recipe is really just a simple twist on this chocolate granola, but I think it turned out better in texture and flavor than the chocolate granola did. I know that good bakers often use coffee or espresso to enhance chocolate-y goodness in treats like brownies and cakes, so it may not be that much of a surprise if the espresso powder makes chocolate granola better. Of course, I didn’t just add a smidgeon of coffee flavor to boost the chocolate. I gave the chocolate enough of a wallop to change its name to mocha.

Mocha Granola is just as easy to make as any other granola, except you have to treat the chocolate a little more delicately.  I baked this granola (as well as the other chocolate granola I’ve made) at a lower temperature and for a shorter time to prevent the chocolate from burning. I also gave the whole pan of oats, nuts and coating a good stir earlier in the baking process than usual. The coating is thick and stiff when it first goes on the oats and nuts (I used almonds, but hazelnuts would be pretty nifty as well), so I just let it melt a little in the oven, then stirred things up to distribute the coating better.

There is definitely a real coffee presence in the flavor of this granola, making it perfect for breakfast as far as I’m concerned. You might even be able to get your morning cereal and coffee all in one bowl, if you’re so inclined. As much as I like this Mocha Granola, however, I don’t think you’ll see me taking any chances by skipping my cup of coffee.

Mocha Granola

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped almonds (or hazelnuts)

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. In a large bowl, combine the oats and almonds. Set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey and canola oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth.

3. Add the chocolate and stir until it has completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the espresso powder, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.

4. Pour the brown sugar mixture over the oat mixture in the bowl. Stir to coat the oats and almonds as well as possible. The mixture will be thick.

5. Spread the mixture out onto a baking pan lined with a silicone mat (or line the pan with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray). Bake at 300 F for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate mixture has melted. Stir to re-distribute the coating as well as possible.

6. Bake about 20 minutes more, stirring every 8 minutes or so. Be careful not to burn the coating mixture. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. (Remove earlier if the coating appears to be near burning.)

7. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container. Can be frozen in a freezer-safe container or zip-top freezer bag for a few months.

Makes about 6 cups.

Other recipes like this one: Granola; Chocolate, Almond and Cherry Granola; Peanut Butter Granola

One year ago: Basic Tomato Pasta Sauce

Peanut Butter Granola

This is my new favorite homemade granola. I make it with the typical oats, nuts and dried fruit combination baked with a coating of sweetness, but then I slather all that in peanut butter. How did it take me so long to decide this was a good idea? (Or for that matter, when did I become such a fan of peanut butter?)

This variation is as easy to make as any other granola. I do cook the coating mixture a little before stirring it into the oats and nuts, just to melt it together nicely. (I didn’t need to do that in this recipe.) I used lightly salted cocktail peanuts for this, which were just right as far as I’m concerned, but you could use unsalted peanuts or dry roasted peanuts. Of course I recommend peanuts over any other nut simply because there’s already peanut flavor going on here.

 

 

I was a bit concerned when, after a proper baking time, the granola was appropriately toasted, but still quite moist. I let it cool completely in the pan, however, and it crisped up nicely as it cooled. In fact I’d say it crisped up just right. The final product is nice and crunchy without being too hard, gently sweet and good and peanut buttery.

I added raisins, which went well, but I also took the liberty of including chocolate in my final granola mixture. It’s peanut butter, so there has to be chocolate right? Okay maybe not has to be, but is sure is good there. I used semi-sweet chocolate chunks for a real chocolate presence. I also waited until the granola was completely cooled before stirring them in.

This granola is good mixed with vanilla yogurt for breakfast, or with milk or almond milk. It’s also not too shabby eaten by the handful. It’s supposed to be for our breakfast, but I’ll admit it has stood in for a brown bag lunch (with yogurt), and its peanut-butter-and-chocolate-goodness makes it a fine substitute for snacks and desserts as well. I have to keep some of the batch in the freezer so I don’t casually nibble it all away a little at a time each pass through the kitchen.

 

 

Peanut Butter Granola

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup lightly salted or unsalted peanuts (coarsely chopped, if desired)
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup honey
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil (you could use canola or another neutral oil)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet by lining it with a silicone baking mat (my preferred method) or with foil sprayed with cooking spray. Set aside. In a very large bowl, combine the oats and peanuts. Set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, peanut butter, and peanut oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the ingredients have melted together and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the cinnamon, salt and vanilla.

3. Pour the brown sugar mixture over the oat mixture and stir to coat the oats and peanuts well. Spread the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 325 F for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven. Cool the granola on the baking sheet until dry and cool enough to handle. When completely cooled, transfer to a very large bowl and stir in the raisins and chocolate.

Makes about 7 ½ cups. Store in an airtight container for several days. Freeze for longer storage.

Other recipes like this one: Granola; Chocolate, Almond, and Cherry Granola; Almond Butter Granola Bars (you can use peanut butter to make these, too)

One year ago: Lemon-Fennel Egg Salad, Fried Potatoes with Scallions and Ham

Chocolate Granola

I’m afraid Grandmama’s Biscuits were a bad influence on me. Their fluffy, white flour goodness put me in a refined-grain spiral of delicious destruction. I followed them with a loaf of homemade white bread and a batch of this no-knead white bread dough from which I made a rustic loaf to serve alongside Italian Chickpeas with white pasta and some Pain au Chocolate.

It was time for some high WFQ* therapy, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make something that tasted great. I hadn’t made Granola for a while, so I thought I’d try a new recipe. Okay, so this recipe had been languishing in my stash for over 4 years. All the more reason to dig it out and make some chocolate granola.

This recipe follows the basic theory of granola-baking with which I have become familiar, but there are a few twists as well. The usual sweet, syrupy coating that covers and flavors the rolled oats and nuts is spiked with bittersweet chocolate. The coating mixture is thick, and I found it easiest to get my hands right in to get it well-distributed amongst the oats and almonds. The granola then bakes at a lower temperature for a shorter time than in other granola recipes I’ve made. This makes for a slightly less crunchy and toasty granola, but also one without burned chocolate in it.

I focused on the affinity between chocolate and almond flavors when making changes to the original recipe. I used chopped almonds, almond oil, which I love in granola anyway, almond extract in addition to vanilla, and dried cherries. You could use whatever nuts you like, canola oil, all vanilla extract, and whatever dried fruit you like. I do, however, highly recommend the chocolate-almond-cherry combination.

This granola is not super-sweet, so doesn’t quite demand to be served for dessert instead of breakfast. The chocolate flavor is there but subtle and the almonds and cherries performance-enhance each other deliciously. I’m thrilled that under the chocolaty coating there resides chopped almonds and whole grains. Otherwise, I’d have to feel guilty about the way I keep returning to the bowl for handful after handful of this lovely, semi-sweet granola.

*WFQ: Whole Food Quotient

Chocolate, Almond, and Cherry Granola
Adapted from Cooking Light magazine, December 2007

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup wheat germ
1 cup chopped almonds
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons almond oil or canola oil
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup dried cherries

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Prepare a large, rimmed baking sheet by lining it with a silicone baking mat or parchment or foil coated with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ and almonds. Set aside

3. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey and almond oil. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is warm and forms a thick paste.

4. Add the chocolate, salt and cinnamon. Stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Return to the heat and warm gently if the mixture cools too much to melt the chocolate. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract.

5. Pour the sugar mixture over the oat mixture and stir or work with your hands to combine. I found that working the mixture with my hands allowed for more even distribution of the thick coating. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake at 300 F for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire cooling rack. Stir the granola again. Let stand until cooled slightly. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the dried cherries. Cool completely.

Makes 6-7 cups. Store for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container or freeze in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag.


Other recipes like this one: Granola, Gingerbread Granola, Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies with Black Walnuts (you could use almonds instead of the walnuts)

One year ago: Barley Pancakes with Orange Juice and Vanilla

Granola Bread

I know what you’ve been thinking all these months: What ever happened to The Messy Apron Cookshelf project? That challenge I gave myself to cook and bake more from my overflowing cook-bookcase. Forgot about it? Yeah, me too.

Really, I’ve begun to use my cookbooks more as reference material, and then I scavenge actual step-by-step recipes from magazine clippings and the internet. For some reason, a recipe always seems more new and exciting if it was just published, even if it’s pretty much the same thing as or a variation of a recipe that’s residing in a well-trusted cookbook. And so my cookshelf continues to be undeservedly neglected.

Recently, I found myself with a bowl of leftover homemade Granola that was threatening to go stale (I failed to stick it in the freezer when I traveled for Thanksgiving.) I decided to try the granola bread recipe from Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. The recipes in this book are quick to put together and time and the dough itself do most of the work.

This is quite a flavorful recipe with some whole wheat, cinnamon, honey and, of course, the granola. The dough is very wet and spreads into a fairly flat loaf when shaped into a boule, or round loaf, as I did. The baked bread is soft and chewy, with just a bit of crunch that I think would vary depending on the composition of the granola. The original recipe calls for it to be baked in a pan, but I liked the idea of a rustic round bread for breakfast.

At least I was planning to have this for breakfast after an overnight rising of the dough in the refrigerator. Nothing went wrong, really, except that I didn’t read the recipe far enough ahead, and didn’t realize that it needs more time between refrigerator and oven than the other recipes I tried from this book. It was still delicious and quite comforting when served slightly warm on a dreary and cold Saturday morning. It had to be brunch, but at least it was still before noon.

This is great served with a little butter, but I also loved it with my current favorite spread, which is cream cheese mixed with pumpkin butter. (My pumpkin butter is homemade from this recipe at smitten kitchen.) I think there are a lot of ways you could accompany this, and, since it’s a 1 ½ pound loaf, there’s probably plenty of bread to try more than one of them.

Overnight Granola Bread
Adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

The hands-on time for this recipe is very short, but the dough needs to rise for several hours in the refrigerator, and another hour and forty minutes at room temperature before baking.

1 cup warm water
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope-style package)
¼ cup honey
1 ½ teaspoons canola or other neutral-tasting oil
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup granola (I used this granola)

1. In a large container, mix together the water, yeast, honey, oil, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and granola, making sure all the flour is moistened.

2. Cover with a towel and let stand at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until the dough rises and then collapses.

3. Keep covered with the towel and place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 5 days. If storing longer than 1 day, store it in a container with a lid. Cover with the lid, but do not completely seal it, allowing some place for air to circulate into the container.

4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Work the dough into a rough ball (it will be quite wet and sticky) and place it on the lined baking sheet. Let stand for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 F. (Allow time for your oven to preheat while the loaf is rising.)

5. Cut a large X in the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes. The bread should be dark brown. Cool on a wire rack. Can be cut and served slightly warm. I like to cut a piece off the loaf and split it horizontally to spread it with butter or cream cheese mixed with pumpkin butter.

Makes a 1 ½ pound loaf.

Other recipes like this one: Stout Bread with Chocolate and Cherries, Multigrain Baguette, Sweet Pumpkin Focaccia

One year ago: Radish and Carrot Slaw with Zesty Citrus Dressing

Two years ago: Spinach Salad with Apples and Maple Walnut Vinaigrette

Gingerbread Granola

It’s been said that we cannot live on bread alone. I suppose that must apply to gingerbread as well, although that is really a cake, and in some cases a cookie. Since cakes and cookies probably also do not qualify as something on which we could live alone (although it might be fun to die trying), I might have to find something healthier to load with gingerbread flavors.

I nominate granola for this task. While Harry is happy to eat cake and cookies (not to mention Pumpkin Pie) for breakfast, that doesn’t really work for me. But I can get a more wholesome gingerbread fix if I take my basic Granola recipe and adjust the sweeteners and spices to represent the flavors of old fashioned gingerbread.

This means replacing the honey and maple syrup with molasses and more brown sugar and adding plenty of ground ginger along with nutmeg and cloves with the cinnamon. I thought that among dried fruits raisins and dates went best with the ginger-molasses flavors (and I was able to get my hands on some really good, plump dates). Finally, I gilded the lily (or gingered it) with a little bit of finely minced crystallized ginger. This provides a pretty strong flavor and you can leave it out if it’s just too much, or if you cannot find it (it should be available in the Asian section of supermarkets, but I also found it, quite economically priced, among the dried fruits at the local bulk foods store).

When I first made this granola, I burned it a little, so I tried to adjust the recipe for an appropriate baking time. You might want to keep a close eye on it in the final 8 minutes or so of baking, and be sure to stir the granola occasionally while it’s in the oven. If nothing else, it needs to be redistributed so that there are no thin spots or corners that can easily burn.

This may not exactly satisfy your holiday season sweet tooth, but I think you can probably feel less guilty about eating it for breakfast with some milk or lightly-sweetened yogurt than you might about eating the heads off of all the gingerbread men in the house. You also probably cannot live on this stuff alone, but the oats, wheat germ, nuts and dried fruit certainly have a higher WFQ* than just about any batch of gingerbread.

Gingerbread Granola Recipe

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
¼ cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ cup butter
¼ cup molasses
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped dates
¼ cup finely minced crystallized ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F
1. In a very large bowl, mix the oats, pecans, wheat germ, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the molasses and brown sugar. Cook, stirring until the brown sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Carefully pour over the oat mixture and together to coat well.

3. Spread mixture evenly in a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake at 325 F for about 25-30 minutes, stirring every 8-10 minutes. Check the granola frequently after about 25 minutes to make sure it is not burning.

4. Carefully transfer granola to a large bowl. Add the raisins, dates and crystallized ginger and stir to combine. Cool completely.

Makes about 7 cups.


*WFQ: Whole Food Quotient

Breakfast of Champions

“…the food was good solid stuff for a cold morning, all calories and fat and protein and maybe a vitamin crying softly because it was all alone.”

-from Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

If this resembles your breakfast, you may need a bit of an overhaul. Perhaps some additional vitamins, minerals, fiber, and, of course, flavor to give that lonely vitamin a bit of company.

We’ve all heard (a few hundred thousand times) that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As a coffee drinker, I have to agree that the first cup, at least, is indeed more important than anything else I’ll consume in the hours to come. I’m not sure I was all that convinced of the importance of breakfast for most of my younger years. Once I started eating something first thing in the morning, however, I couldn’t change my ways. Breakfast is important because it is addictive (even aside from the caffeine). Now, if I don’t eat breakfast, I feel pretty terrible.

I’ve mentioned before that I really like breakfast foods, and when I have time, I like to make pancakes, waffles, omelets, muffins or even something fancy like an Eggs Benedict Salad. Not being a morning person, though, those tend to be brunch foods, and breakfast is reduced by necessity to toast (usually with homemade bread, at least), yogurt, or cereal. (Harry’s favorite do-it-himself breakfasts include a grapefruit, a personal-sized watermelon, or a bagel accompanied by a chunk of cheese and a chunk of summer sausage. That final one may be beginning to resemble Pratchett’s quote above.)

Boxed breakfast cereals are pretty decent, I suppose, at least the ones that offer more than super-refined starches and sugar and a dizzying array of artificial colors. In my quest to make as much food from scratch as I could (it has been recently suggested that I should make my own ketchup!) I bid most flakes, crisps, and o’s adieu in favor of homemade granola.

I admit, I was pretty surprised to learn how simple granola really is: oats (or other rolled cereal) and some kind of sweet, flavorful coating all baked in the oven. Nuts, dried fruit, and some sort of neutral nutritive, such as flax seed meal or wheat germ, are no-brainer additions. (I would prefer to add coconut, but Harry won’t touch the stuff.) Now, I’m just as hooked on granola as I am on the concept of breakfast and, of course, the coffee that always comes along for the ride.

Here is a basic recipe for granola. I vary it depending on what I have in the cupboard, changing up the nuts and dried fruits as I need to. This is what I made last time I made granola. I like it mixed with yogurt, or with milk or vanilla soy milk poured over it. It lasts well in an air-tight container about a week. I usually freeze about half of it to keep it longer.
Decades ago, granola may have developed a reputation as fuel for alternative lifestyles, but I say, as easy as it is to make, granola is not just for hippies anymore.

Granola

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup quick barley
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup walnut oil or canola oil
1 cup dried fruit


Preheat oven to 325 F

1. In a very large bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients.

2. In a small bowl, mix honey through oil. Stir until well combined. Pour over the oat mixture and stir well to coat.

3. Spread mixture evenly in a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake at 325 F for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

4. Carefully remove to a large bowl. Add dried fruit and stir to combine. Cool completely

Makes about 7 cups.