Build and Bake Your Own Custom Batch of Homemade Granola

Gather any leftover rolled oats, raw nuts, and dried fruit from your pantry to Build Your Own Homemade Granola. You get to choose the exact amounts of sweetener and fat for the batch. The mixed Dry Base and Wet Binders bake in the oven at 300°F (150°C).

The Dry Base and Wet Binders

The recipe requires four cups (360 g) of rolled oats. Do not use steel cut or quick cooking oats. You can add one cup of coconut flakes, or skip the coconut and add more nuts or oats. You need one cup of raw nuts and a half cup of dried fruit. Sliced almonds, chopped pecans, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds are good choices for the nuts. Chopped apricots, apple, pineapple, or raisins work well for the fruit. You also need one teaspoon of your favorite spice. Cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or gingerbread mix are strong options. Add one pinch of salt.

The wet binders include your choice of fat and sweetener. You need one third of a cup of sweetener and one third of a cup of fat. You might use melted butter, canola oil, or coconut oil. Maple syrup, honey, or agave work well for the sweetener. If you choose brown sugar, mix it directly into the dry ingredients instead of the wet liquids. Finally, select one and a half teaspoons of flavoring. Vanilla, almond essence, or orange blossom are common additions.

Flavor Combinations

You can create different variations based on the spices, nuts, and extracts you choose.

• Classic fruit and nut: Mix butter, honey, almonds, pumpkin seeds, mixed dried fruit, cinnamon, and vanilla.
• Apple pie: Combine almonds, dried apples, cinnamon, and vanilla.
• Oatmeal raisin: Use butter, honey, raisins, vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice.
• Blueberry pie: Substitute dried blueberries and lemon essence in place of the cinnamon.
• Maple pecan: Toss together pecans, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla.
• Citrus: Mix almonds with orange blossom to achieve a citrus flavor, and use alternative dried fruits like chopped apricots or pineapple in the batch.

Baking Loose Granola

Loose granola works well for quick breakfast bowls. You set the oven to 300°F (150°C). Toss the dry components together in a bowl. Whisk the wet parts together in a separate small bowl. Pour the wet mix over the dry ingredients and stir well. Give the mix a test. You can adjust the sweetness or fat levels right now if you want more fat or sugar.

Spread the mixture out on a baking pan. Bake the mixture for 35 to 40 minutes. Make sure the oats do not turn golden or browned. Toss the mixture twice during baking so it toasts evenly on all sides. You must keep the dried fruit out of the oven. The exposed fruit will burn if you bake it directly in the loose mixture. Pull the pan from the heat and fold the dried fruit into the hot oats. Let the granola cool to room temperature.

For Clumpy Granola

You can bind the mixture into big clusters. Whisked egg whites act as an edible glue. This creates large clumps without requiring extra fat or sweetener.

Set the oven to 280°F (140°C). Put parchment paper on a large baking pan. Mix the dry elements and the dried fruit together in a bowl. Combine the wet elements in another bowl, skipping the egg whites for now. Pour the wet liquid into the dry bowl and mix them into a large moistened batch.

Whisk two egg whites in a clean bowl until they turn foamy.

Fold the whisked egg whites into the main mixture. You mix the dried fruit into the raw oats before baking for this version. The lower 280°F (140°C) oven temperature prevents the early addition of dried fruit from burning.

Shaping and Cooling the Clusters

Do not spread the mixture in a solid, flat layer. The edges will burn before the middle can crisp.

Press the mixture flat onto your tray. Push the middle out to form an empty circle in the center so heat flows evenly. Bake the shaped granola for 45 minutes. A time of 35 minutes works if your oven runs hot. Do not stir the mixture. A spoon or spatula will break the delicate clusters apart.

Turn off the heat. Keep the pan inside the oven. Prop the door open slightly to help the mixture dry. The gentle heat finishes crisping and setting the clusters. Let the granola cool. The mixture gets hard and turns a deeper color during this time. Wait until the pan is cold.

Snap the hardened block into big chunks.

Storage and Serving

Store the cooled pieces in a sealed container in the pantry. An airtight container maintains the crispness of the clusters for a long time. You can package the finished granola in glass jars to give as customized food gifts.