Start Your Day with Homemade Granola and a Sprinkle of Sea Salt

/
Granolatoppedwithseasalt

I love the Smitten Kitchen cookbook so much that I have post-it notes tagged on most of the 300 pages as reminders to get in the kitchen and try them out. Most of the recipes from Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen cookbook uses simple ingredients and yields amazing results. Once you make a few dishes from her cookbook, you feel like a kitchen success. Well, I will speak for myself. (P.S. Deb Perleman has her second cookbook coming out soon! I can't wait!)

The recipe I refer to often is the Big Cluster Maple Granola… soon enough I won't need to refer to the cookbook because I have memorized it. I make a weekly batch so we can have a breakfast of plain Greek yogurt and a generous pour of this awesome granola drizzled with local honey and perhaps, a few seasonal berries. Come on, you know you want to make your breakfast pop with those bright red strawberries, fuchsia raspberries…but if you are anything like me….a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips will do too! 

PS: This recipe also when cooled and jarred in those lovely mason glass jars make awesome teacher gifts, new neighbor gifts, etc. You may be finding yourself making more batches so stock up on these pantry items so you can whip it up anytime. 

Big Cluster Maple Granola

Adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

3 cups of old fashioned rolled oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill.)

1 cup of unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut

1 cup of walnuts, coarsely chopped (I use whatever nut I have in the cupboard…pecans are great too!)

1/4 cup of toasted wheat germ (I don’t usually toast it and the granola still tastes yummy.) 

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1/2 tsp of coarse salt (I use a sprinkle here.)

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup of maple syrup - I like it sweeter and tend to use more syrup if I have it.

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

1 large egg white

1 1/2 cups of dried fruit (I really need to remember this step….I am usually the one to pick the raisins out of my granola, but it does adds an ‘Oomph’ with bright dried red cherries.) 

And a sprinkle of sea salt from the Newport Sea Salt Co. at the very end when you are pulling the warm pan of granola out of the oven. Voila! A fabulous finish! 

*    *    *

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients BUT the egg white and dried fruit in a large bowl, tossing to coat evenly. Whisk the egg white in a small bowl until frothy. (Don’t miss this step….the froth is important. I had a scrambled egg white once on my granola.) Stir this froth into the granola mixture. Spread the granola mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 45-55 minutes and halfway through give it a toss. I usually am too impatient to be gentle here so my granola does not come out in big clusters which is fine for me. When your home is fragrant, and the granola looks evenly browned and feels dry to the touch, go ahead and take the pan out to cool. The impatient person I am takes a warm scoop right about now to taste. Can you imagine on ice cream?! Here is when I sprinkle some coarse flakes of sea salt. Go ahead and try it, the flakes give a little flavor boost and compliments the sweet maple syrup - sweetn and salty. Cool completely then add your dried fruit….if you are trying to be that good dried fruit granola person. 

This granola stays fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

Cheers!