Cranberry-Walnut Granola

Submitted by mersaydees

"Based on a recipe from The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook by Laura Trice. She says of this recipe, "I grew up eating homemade granola that my mom made for us and have found that having a tart fruit in the granola gives it extra pizzazz. I enjoy the cranberry-walnut combination. Walnuts have healthy oils and are so good for us. The protein and fat combination of the nut helps to make the granola more filling, providing lasting energy. Granola takes a little while to bake and makes your entire house smell good. This is a good granola for breakfast." NOTE: Add fruit to granola only after the baking is done to avoid drying out the fruit and avoid making it tough to chew and less flavorful."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 6 cups
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• cooking spray or butter, for greasing pan
• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄2 cup sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons orange zest, finely grated
• 1⁄4 cup evaporated cane juice, crystals
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, unprocessed
• 2⁄3 cup honey or 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1⁄2 cup oil, expeller-pressed
• 1⁄2 cup dried cranberries
• 1⁄2 cup dried blueberries (optional)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F Prepare a shallow 14x11-inch pan by greasing with cooking spray or butter.
2. In large bowl, thoroughly mix together oats, walnuts, sesame seeds, orange zest, sugar, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl combine the honey and oil. Pour over the dry ingredients. Thoroughly mix together and spoon into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the pan and stirring every 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. Remove from oven. Mix in the dried cranberries and blueberries, if using, and allow to cool.

Reviews

[PaulaG]

Very tasty. It has been a long time since I made granola and long overdue. I used unsalted sunflower seeds in place of the sesame seeds, coconut oil for the oil and the maple syrup option. I baked the mixture on a cookie sheet lined with a baking map for 40 minutes. I did think the granola was a little salty. Next time I will cut the salt by half. A nice crunchy granola.

 

[magpie diner]

Delicious! I'm catering to youngsters with this so I subbed sliced almonds for walnuts and left out the dried fruit. So I guess I have to call mine almond sesame granola - that's OK because it's still really fantastic even with those missing pieces. I love the orange flavour and the addition of sesame seeds. It's pretty sweet, so you could cut down on the sugar if that was a concern at all, with my plain soy milk it's perfect for me. Watch for burning, 30 minutes was the right amount of time, but the edges were really brown so you probably don't want to go longer than 30. We're really going to enjoy this, thanks mersaydees!

 

[COOKGIRl]

Yummy and ~Tasty Dish~ approved! It was necessary to sub hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and slivered almonds for walnuts because I was out of the latter. I dried my own blueberries back in July and added them along with the cranberries and orange zest. Made as written except for those few changes/subs. Thanks! Reviewed for Veg Tag November.

 

[Dienia B.]

i didnt use organic anything ,not agin em just didnt have um.lol its pretty sweet MAKE SURE YOU USE LIPPED BAKING SHEET MINE ISNT AND THIS STUFF SPREADS!!!! i know iknow instructions already say it . this is a great granola recipe i added almonds and pecans