Make this delicious granola and you can be smug all week: Raisin Pecan Granola
Store-bought granola almost always underwhelms. It’s often doctored up with things that I do not want in my breakfast (peanuts, coconut, chocolate, dried tropical fruits), or so sweet it overwhelms any other flavors at breakfast. I also find much of it to be chalky, almost dusty; this is not a feature I seek out in breakfast cereal. Luckily, making your own is incredibly quick, makes your house smell amazing, and allows you to feel smug and accomplished all week long.
There is a glorious year-round farmer’s market in Ballard, and we have spent many a Sunday morning roaming the stalls. We fell in love with this particular granola from Tall Grass Bakery, a bakery that makes beautiful artisan breads and granolas. The granola was just the right blend of crunchy, sweet, and salty. There weren’t so many ingredients as to be overwhelming, and it wasn’t so sweet as to make your teeth ache. It had the shininess I require in granola, when so many are dull and pasty (looking at you, bulk section granola). We still indulge from time to time, but given how much of it my family was eating, the price tag was untenable. So, I turned to the internet, and turns out, I’m not the only one trying to figure out how to make this. The following is adapted from the recipe at Half-Assed Kitchen. It’s the only granola I make, and I make it about every other week, depending on how granola-focused breakfast has been.
Pecan Raisin Granola
Ingredients
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup pecans
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup runny honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon flax seeds
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
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Prepare an edged half sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper. This makes transferring the baked granola into an airtight container so much easier. Does parchment paper make you crazy? After tearing off your sheet, crumple it up in a ball, then spread it back out. It will be much easier to manipulate into the corners of your pan.
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Put all your ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer, or into a large mixing bowl. I like the order listed above because it minimizes dishes. If you use this order, you can use the same tablespoon for the flax seeds, cinnamon, and vanilla, but you won't get cinnamon in your flax seed container or have the cinnamon sticking to the residual vanilla. The canola oil should help the honey slide out of your measuring cup, too.
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Mix well, and you can decide how well based on how broken up you like your pecans.
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Spread evenly onto your prepared half sheet pan.
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Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your granola (and how hot your oven runs). Stir, then bake for 10 more minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn't begin to burn.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely (I leave mine for a few hours), then transfer to an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
This is of course delicious over yogurt, but it's also really good in small quantities in a salad that needs a little flavor kick. I also quite enjoy it over a bowl of cheerios. And I won't lie that sometimes it's the perfect dessert in a small bowl, eaten plain. While this is my version of choice, you can of course play around with the add-ins. I occasionally use chopped dried apricots instead of the raisins, but add them halfway through the cooking time, else I find they burn. Dried unsweetened cranberries also work well. A bit of cardamom is another nice addition, but I wouldn't go too crazy (anything more than 1/4 tsp overwhelms for me). I'm sure you could use almonds or hazelnuts in place of the pecans, but why you would ever substitute for a roasted pecan is beyond me.
What are your favorite granola add-ins?
