Do you ever get a fixation on a project to the point that you can’t settle until you achieve perfection? I can’t say that such state of mind afflicts me too often.. but when it does, it almost always relates to a recipe, or a cooking technique. My kitchen turns into a science lab plastered with sticky notes until I get that exact thing I have to have.
This time I set out to make granola that was not too sweet, not too bland, had nice snacking chunks that don’t fall apart when picked up. It had to be crunchy but a little chewy. And most importantly, I had to feel good about my family eating it. After endless auditions, my perfect granola made a successful debut, and has since been a star of the show.
While experimenting, I learned that folks use different techniques to get granola clusters to clump – from egg whites to overabundant sweetening. I figured I’d take a pass on both. Whole grain oat flour and ground flax seeds make a great binding agent to keep the oats together, and give a lot of flexibility to the size of our granola clusters.
We eat the granola as is, since the clusters are such an easy on-the-go treat. It’s great with probiotic kefir, homemade yogurt or ryazhenka. A generous topping of seasonal fruit and berries makes it a beautiful and vibrant meal that’s as delicious as it is satisfying.
HOW TO MAKE GRANOLA CLUSTERS
Ingredients
Wet:
1 ripe banana, chopped
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil, at room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry:
3 cups old-fashioned thick-cut oats
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup golden flax seeds (grind them in a coffee grinder right before use)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oat flour (you can grind oat in a coffee grinder if you don’t have flour handy)
Equipment
Stand-up mixer with a paddle attachment
Baking sheet
Air-tight jar for storage
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium high for about 5 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients, mix on low for 5 minutes. The mixture will resemble sticky cookie dough.
Place the bowl into a freezer for 15-20 minutes.
Scrape the batter onto a baking sheet. You will have large clumpy chunks. Separate them into smaller pieces with a fork or your hand.
Bake for about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes; or until it reaches the crunch you like. I recommend to taste it a couple of times towards the end since all ovens perform differently.
Cool and enjoy!
Notes
If you want to skip maple syrup all together, you can add another banana or two instead. It works just as well, but tastes a little too ‘bananny’ for my taste.
I keep granola in an air tight jar for about two weeks. It’s probably okay to keep longer but I haven’t tried it.
I made a double batch at a time, and that amount fits well into a bowl of my KitchenAid mixer.
Homemade Granola Clusters {Gluten Free}
Ingredients
- Wet:
- 1 ripe banana chopped
- 1/3 cup virgin coconut oil at room temperature
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Dry:
- 3 cups old-fashioned thick-cut oats
- 1/4 cup coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup golden flax seeds grind them in a coffee grinder right before use
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup oat flour you can grind oat in a coffee grinder if you don't have flour handy
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
- Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium high for about 5 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients, mix on low for 5 minutes. The mixture will resemble sticky cookie dough.
- Place the bowl into a freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Scrape the batter onto a baking sheet. You will have large clumpy chunks. Separate them into smaller pieces with a fork or your hand.
- Bake for about 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes; or until it reaches the crunch you like. I recommend to taste it a couple of times towards the end since all ovens perform differently.
- Cool and enjoy!
Notes
I keep granola in an air tight jar for about two weeks. It's probably okay to keep longer but I haven't tried it.
I made a double batch at a time, and that amount fits well into a bowl of my KitchenAid mixer.
7 comments
This sounds so good! Beautiful pictures! I am sure my little son will like it in the morning when school starts.
I wanted to ask you if you think l can make it raw and use dehydrator on 110F’? l am using sprouted oats what l make with my flaker. Also do you think it is good to use coconut nectar instead of maple syrup?
Hey Tania, thank you so much! 🙂 School time is coming up so soon!!
I haven’t tried using a dehydrator but I bet it would work fine. It might not get that toasty flavor at the end, which I personally like, but I’m sure the trade-off of keeping more natural enzymes in all the ingredients is well worth it. I have no doubt that coconut nectar will work in this recipe.
I really need to get a flaker, I keep looking at KoMo, I should probably just do it, lol.
Hi Valeria,
Komo duett 200 is what l am using to make fresh flakes from many grains every day and to grind all my grains. l am very happy with it. Both in one unit.
Thanks for the tip! I couldn’t justify that one since I have a mill that’s been working so well for years. I’ll probably get their stand alone flaker. Unless I get rich and famous before that 🙂
Just made it! It is now inside dehydrator.
I doubled oats and add almonds, pumpkin seeds, pecan, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, dried apricots, all sprouted and crushed. Also add orange zest. Your idea of using Kitchen Aid is brilliant! It was so easy to mix. My son couldn’t stop taking bites when l was transferring inside dehydrator! Thank you so much for the recipe. It will be even yummier when it’s ready.
This granola is delicious! My husband has declared it his second favorite food (after hamburgers). We couldn’t get oats to sprout, so we’ve been using spelt or rye with excellent results. The spelt doesn’t flake, so I used my grain mill to make a course/cracked spelt flour instead. I used one batch to make granola bars by pressing the mixture into a greased stoneware cookie sheet, then cutting it into bars before baking (it needed a little longer bake time). It turned out very well and makes a handy take-along snack or meal.
Great! Thanks for letting me know, Katie 🙂
I’ve been experimenting with different bars, glad to hear this works so well for you!!