Tired of the same commercial granola flavors, annoyed by their price, and many times not satisfied with the nutrition profile, I started making my own.
I’ve been wanting to experiment with granola many years ago when I had them once at my sister-in-law’s, who’s a great baker by the way! They were delicious. Special. There’s just something about home-baked goods. The quality, the nonuniform shape, and the aroma filing up the air in the house. And there’s always the guarantee that you are eating the best “clean” ingredients possible.
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Searching online for a healthy granola recipe, I found this in a USA Weekend article, Great Granola: One formula, Eight Yummy Varieties.
I’ve made the Original and the Crunchy variations and would recommend them. I wanted to share here the Tropical Granola flavor, simply because it’s not what you would normally see in your grocer. While my husband and I thought the Tropical was really good, I must admit that my son didn’t like it as much the Original or Crunchy.
So the recipe below is exactly what the article has–except that I have doubled the amount. I also shuffled things around to make it easy to flow and read. One time, I tried to skimp on the fat and took out the coconut flakes. Don’t do it! The granola was too tough it hurt our jaws when chewing!
Another alternative: make the clusters big and pack as a snack or breakfast on-the-go when you don’t have the time to sit down and have it with milk.
Ingredients:
- 4 c old fashioned oatmeal
- 1 c wheat germ
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 c chopped raw cashews (original recipe called for roasted cashews)
- 1/2 c chopped banana chips (I used unsweetened chips)
- 1/2 c coconut flakes
- 1/2 c maple syrup (we use pure maple syrup–doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup or other “weird” ingredients)
- 6 tbs canola oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 c chopped dried pineapples
In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, salt, sugar, cashews, banana chips, and coconut flakes.
In a small-size sauce pan, combine the maple syrup, water, and ginger. Bring to a boil then pour over the oats mixture. Mix until all dry ingredients are coated.
Using your hands, make small clusters of the mixture and place on a pre-greased cookie sheet in one layer. You will need 2 large sheets.
Bake at 275 for 30 minutes. Pull the granola out of the oven, add the dried pineapples, and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until gold.
Allow the granola to cool at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
2 thoughts on “Recipe: Homemade Tropical Granola”
sounds great! never made anything with wheat germ in it before…have to give this a try!
This is great. Thanks
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