Showing posts with label granola. Show all posts
Showing posts with label granola. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Orange and olive oil granola

Granola de laranja e azeite de oliva - v.2


I told you the other day that once I started making my own granola I never went back to store bought – not only I can control the amount of sugar and fat in the recipe, I can also vary the flavors and create new types of granola depending on my own taste. 

My chocolate granola is an absolute favorite – it is so delicious I have to refrain myself from eating the whole batch while it cools on the counter. But the granola I bring you today is also wonderful: perfumed with orange zest and juice, flecked with tart cranberries, full of good-for-you sesame seeds and quinoa flakes. You can use honey or make the granola vegan by replacing honey with agave.

This granola is a hit with my dear friend Tania Pereyra, who lives in NY and is a very special woman, who I adore and admire. Let me know if you give it a try too.

 

Orange and olive oil granola

own recipe

 

250g jumbo oats

50g quinoa flakes

50g de flaked almonds

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

finely grated zest of 2 small oranges

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon table salt

1/3 cup (80ml) honey or agave

1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup (80ml) freshly squeezed orange juice

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ cup (65g) dried cranberries, cut in half if too large

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, quinoa flakes, almond, sesame seeds, orange zest, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine honey/agave, brown sugar, orange juice and olive oil and whisk over medium heat until melted and sugar is dissolved.

Remove from the heat and pour over dry ingredients. Stir well to coat. Spread mixture evenly over prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Stir the granola around with a rubber spatula (careful not to tear the foil), spread it evenly again and bake for another 15 minutes – the granola will still be soft and will get crunchy once cooled.

Remove from the oven and stir the granola around again. Let cool completely, then stir in the cranberries.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Serves 10-12 

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Granola jam bars

Barrinhas de geleia e granola

 

Once I started making my own granola I never looked back: store bought just doesn’t do it for me anymore. I am the only granola eater at my house, so one batch lasts quite a long time – I usually eat it in the afternoon with some yogurt and fruit, a nice snack between lunch and dinner, and that also gives me energy to exercise. 

There were times, however, before quarantine, that I was not able to finish off the granola before it lost its crunch. For times like those, these granola and jam bars are absolutely perfect: you can vary the flavors of both the granola and the jam to make several different combinations.

The only jam I usually avoid for these bars is strawberry, for I think it is a tad too sweet.


Granola jam bars

own recipe

Base:

¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour

1/3 cup (45g) whole wheat flour

pinch of salt

100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 egg yolk (save the white for making the topping)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Filling and topping:

½ cup (170g) your favorite jam – my favorite flavors for this recipe are raspberry, blackberry and apricot

1 ¾ cups (210g) granola

1 egg white

 

Start making the base: preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 20x20cm (8x8in) square baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang in two opposite sides, to make unmolding the bars easier. Butter the foil.

In a large bowl, whisk the flours, sugar and salt. Add the butter, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until a dough starts to form – it might be crumbly, no problem, do not overmix to avoid getting a tough base. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and pat onto the bottom of the pan – you can use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to help. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and very carefully not to get burned, spread the jam over the base.

In another bowl, mix well the granola and egg white and then spread evenly over the jam layer.

Bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.

Remove the bars from the pan using the paper as guide and cut into squares to serve.

 

Makes 16

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Gingerbread granola

Gingerbread granola / Granola de gingerbread

My favorite time of the year has arrived and my Christmas tree is already up – I have been thinking of the Christmas Eve menu already, planning the food and the drinks. However, unlike previous years, I don’t think I will be able to have my oh, so beloved Christmas series here on the blog – too much work, other priorities at the moment.

Having said that, I felt I had to bring you at least one recipe with a holiday touch and it is my gingerbread granola: filled with spices it will make your house smell like Christmas immediately.

Even if I am not able to bring you other holiday recipes aside from this granola, there is plenty of inspiration from previous years: it is just a matter of clicking on the Christmas tag here on the blog.

Gingerbread granola
own recipe

2 ½ cups (225g) rolled oats
¼ cup (40g) golden flaxseeds
¼ cup (35g) raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup (60g) flaked almonds
pinch of table salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup (80ml) agave or honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (75g) dried cranberries, chopped in half if too large
½ cup (90g) dried apricots, diced

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the spices, oil, agave/honey and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and stir well to coat. Spread mixture over foil and bake for 10 minutes. Stir the granola around and bake for another 10 minutes – the granola will still be soft and will get crunchy once cooled. Remove from the oven and stir in the dried fruit. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Serves 6-8

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Chocolate granola to make breakfast even more delicious

Chocolate granola / Granola de chocolate

I know that for those of us who like to cook making things from scratch is actually fun and does not feel like a burden, but even for those who are not very fond of cooking I would recommend making their own granola – the difference in quality is huge, you have complete control over the ingredients (especially sugar) and can tweak flavors as you wish, creating delicious types of granola.

I have been making this chocolate granola for a couple of years now for it is so insanely delicious and very easy to put together – it is my favorite granola, hands down, the tastiest I have ever tried. The only real challenge is to NOT eat the entire batch while it cools down – be warned. :)

Chocolate granola
own recipe, inspired for several others I saw online

400g jumbo oats
100g sweetened coconut flakes
50g flaked hazelnuts or almonds
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon table salt
½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (100g) agave or honey – I prefer agave here because its flavor is more subtle, letting the chocolate flavor shine
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut, nuts, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine cocoa, oil, sugar and agave (or honey) and whisk over medium heat until melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla.

Pour over dry ingredients and stir well to coat. Spread mixture over foil and bake for 15 minutes. Stir the granola around and bake for another 15 minutes – the granola will still be soft and will get crunchy once cooled. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped chocolate. Wait 1 minute for it to melt, then mix everything together. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Serves 8-10

Monday, September 22, 2014

Granola muffins

Granola muffins / Muffins de granola

And since we were talking about food waste the other day, let me tell you that the granola saga did not end with the cookies I posted the other day: even after a large batch of cookies I still had two handfuls of granola left and no intention of eating it with milk or yogurt. :(

I was saved by the wonderful Nigella Lawson and her granola muffins recipe: it was easy and quick, and in her recipes I trust completely. When I weighed my granola, I had exactly 252g of it – I turned the oven on immediately. :D

The muffins turned out tender and tasted delicious – it was a great way to use up the unwanted granola. I think that a bit of cinnamon would have done wonders for them – just a hint to any of you who might have a jar of granola begging to be used, too.

Granola muffins
from the always delicious Feast: Food That Celebrates Life

1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*
1 large egg
¾ cup (130g) light brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup (80ml) canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g granola

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, egg, sugar, oil and vanilla. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir just until combined; do not overmix. Add granola and stir just until blended.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until risen and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove muffins from pan and place on a rack until cool enough to handle. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12

Monday, August 25, 2014

White chocolate granola cookies - turning something bland into something delicious

White chocolate granola cookies / Cookies de granola e chocolate branco

I told you weeks ago that my experimenting with new types of recipes had had good and bad results: luckily more good than bad, but some things just did not work at all.

There was an almond cake from this book that ended up in the garbage can – I should have followed my instincts and added flour to the batter once I realized it was much too runny – and there was the granola that tasted funny (the one I mentioned the other day). I felt sad about the cake – it was too rubbery and not flavorsome enough for me to come up with something to do with it – but the good thing is that I managed to save the granola.

If life gives you bland granola, make cookies with it. :D

These are super easy to make and taste great – I used homemade granola, which wasn’t too sweet, and it worked perfectly with the white chocolate. If your granola is sweeter (store-bought usually is), using dark chocolate instead of white chocolate might be a good idea.

White chocolate granola cookies / Cookies de granola e chocolate branco

White chocolate granola cookies
adapted from the most complete dessert cookbook I own

1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
heaping ¼ teaspoon baking soda
heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (175g) light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g granola (I used homemade)
150g white chocolate, in chips or chunks

Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Using wooden spoon, stir in granola and chocolate.
Line two large baking sheets with baking paper. Using 2 leveled tablespoons of dough for each cookie, drop batter onto prepared sheets 5cm (2in) apart. Chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Bake cookies until golden around the edges, 10-12 minutes. Cool in the sheet for 2 minutes, then slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 25

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Peanut butter granola + Woody Allen and Larry David

Peanut butter granola / Granola de manteiga de amendoim

A couple of nights ago I was on my couch, watching “House M.D.” and being horrified by the fact that a child almost as tall as me was wearing diapers on that episode when the reminder for "Whatever Works" appeared on my screen; after watching the movie I thanked the Universe for putting Woody Allen and Larry David together – the witty text, perfectly performed by the fantastic David and a very sharp and talented Evan Rachel Woods, with the addition of a divine, funny and gorgeous Patricia Clarkson made me laugh so hard I was afraid my neighbors would think I’m crazy. :)
There are hundreds of great lines throughout the movie – you can find some of them here – and one of them is absolutely real: “The human race. They've had to install automatic toilets in public restrooms, because people can't be entrusted to flush a toilet.” – it always amazes me – in a very bad way – that the Man has walked on the moon but some people seem incapable of flushing a freaking toilet. Go figure. :D

This die-hard fan of "Mighty Aphrodite" loved the movie and if you like Allen’s sense of humor I’m sure you’ll love it too – watch it and then let me know what you think. Can I ask for one more thing? Make this granola – it’s the best granola I’ve ever eaten and the real challenge here was stop eating it right out of the oven so there would be at least half of it left to store in an airtight container. :D
The recipe comes from a website I adore so much I cannot wait to buy their book.

Peanut butter granola
slightly adapted from the always amazing Food52

250g rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ cup crunchy peanut butter
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup (44g) lightly brown sugar, packed
¼ cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (110g) dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F.
Combine oats, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the peanut butter, oil, brown sugar, honey and vanilla. Pour mixture over granola and stir until oats are fully coated.
Spread gently in an ungreased 22x32cm (13x9in) pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until granola is toasted, stirring gently every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan.
Stir in fruit, if using, and store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a month.

Serves 8-10

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Baked’s granola, getting older and embarrassing secrets

Baked's granola / Granola da Baked bakery

I’ve decided to confess some of my deepest secrets today in order to celebrate my 32nd birthday. :)

Secret #1: I don’t like hazelnuts. I used to, but not anymore (only in creamy, chocolatey form). That’s why next time I make this granola I’ll be using almonds only.

Not embarrassing enough? Watching (again) “Miami Vice” the other day I thought that Colin Farrell looked really good as Sonny Crockett, mustache and hair included. :D

Baked's granola / Granola da Baked bakery

Baked’s granola
from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

2 cups (230g) rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup (44g) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (50g) whole almonds
1/3 cup (48g) whole hazelnuts
2/3 cup (75g) dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.
In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined. Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: gather up some of the mixture in each hand, and make a fist. Repeat until all the oats are coated with the honey mixture.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return to the oven.
Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the granola and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool completely, then sprinkle the cranberries and use your hands to transfer the granola to an airtight container.
The granola will keep for 1 week.

Makes 450g (1 pound)

Related Posts with Thumbnails