Granola

I went over to Edward & ML's house the other night and we made granola.

This is the granola we serve with Sunday's breakfast during the summer.

I have scaled the ingredients out to both weight and volume measurement. I understand that most home cooks like recipes that use cups of flour rather than pounds of flour, but if you start to get somewhat serious about baking, I urge you to buy a digital scale, as it will help tremendously with accuracy and consistency. This scale is the model I use around the house, and it is only $25.

Dry Ingredients:
2/3LB (3 3/4 Cups) Oats
1/3LB (2 Cups) Shredded Coconut
1oz (1/4 Cup) Pecan Pieces
1oz (1/3 Cup) Sliced Almonds
4oz (1 Cup) Sunflower Seeds
2oz (1/2 Cup) Wheat Germ

Wet Ingredients:
1/3 Stick Unsalted Butter
1/3 Cup Canola Oil
4oz (1/3 Cup) Honey
1/3oz (1 1/3 tsp) Molasses
2 2/3oz (1/3 Cup) Light Brown Sugar
Pinch Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

We did a double batch, so if your ingredients look smaller than the pictures I have up, it is most likely because of that.

First combine all your wet ingredients (butter, canola oil, honey, molasses, light brown sugar, salt, and vanilla) into a sauce pan.
Heat it on Medium to Medium High, stirring occasionally, till it is all melted and uniform. Let it cool off heat for 15 minutes.

Mix all your dry ingredients (oats, coconut, pecan pieces, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds and wheat germ) together in a mixing bowl.

Add in the somewhat cooled wet ingredients. Mix with a spoon for a little bit and then use your hands to mix it all together.

Next, spread out the granola mixture onto a sheet pan. (Again, we did a double batch, which is why you see 2 pans.)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Using a metal spatula, spread the mixture around. Try and break up any large clumps. Return it to the oven for about 6 minutes.

Pull it out and then mix it around with the metal spatula again.

You want to keep repeating this process of baking it for around six minutes and stirring it until you get a nice dark color. We stirred it and returned it to the oven four times to get this result:

So, after you get it all nice and toasted you need to let it cool. Every five minutes or so, stir it around so it doesn't clump all up.

It should only take about 3 times of doing this during the cooling process till you get it where you want it.

Put it in zip lock bags or in Tupperware. Make sure it is completely cooled before sealing it. The granola should last for at least 2 weeks sealed at room temperature.