PALEO/GF GRANOLA

I love this stuff!

I eat it at all times of the day and night – I like to have a batch on hand whenever I can. Yes, I get sad when the jar is empty! My family also LOVES it, so I do find myself making it frequently.

I also make it for gifts, rocking up to a friends place with a jar of some homemade + nutritious goodness…is there anything better?? So, this is the recipe for this particular batch. I vary the ingredients from time to time, and you really can play around with this. You can’t really go wrong, so get creative!

Great for: Breakfast, snacks, yoghurt topper, use atop a crumble, bircher, muesli bars, late night munchies!! When making this particular batch, I made some gluten free or paleo (as I was catering to some GF’s) and then after I’d done that, I added oats to the rest to bulk it out a little and make it stretch further! You can see both pictured here.

This make a LARGE batch. I don’t do anything by halves, and am catering to a household who can’t get enough of this gear. You can half the ingredients listed and you will still have a decent amount!!

INGREDIENTS 6 cups mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, macadamias, brazil nuts – I used predominantly almonds and walnuts), 1.5. cups dried fruit (cranberries, dates, apricots, figs), 1 cup pepitas,1.5 cups desiccated coconut, 1 cup coconut flakes, 3 tbls pure maple syrup, 4 tbls honey (may also use rice malt syrup, pure maple syrup, coconut syrup), 1 tsp (generous teaspoon) pure vanilla extract, Orange zest from 1-2 oranges (this is optional, but it really is what sets this granola apart from others, so I definitely recommend trying it), 1/2 cup coconut oil, 2 cups oats (optional: not gluten free, not paleo).

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 160C
  2. Add 5 cups of whole nuts (reserve the rest) to a food processor. Process/blend into medium size crumbs. Some of the mixture will turn into a finer flour/meal, that’s ok. We want a variety of shapes and sizes. Transfer to larger bowl.
  3. Add remaining whole nuts to blended nuts. You may like to roughly chop the whole nuts, or leave them whole. Up to you.
  4. Add remaining dry ingredients (seeds + coconut). Mix well.
  5. In a small saucepan gently heat the coconut oil, maple and honey. Mix until combined.
  6. Stir coconut oil/maple mix through nut/seed mix. Use a large wooden spoon to break down clumps when they form after coconut oil has been added.
  7. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  8. At this point I seperated the paleo/gluten free batch and kept it seperate. Add oats to the remainder. Mix thoroughly.
  9. Bake mixture in batches – a generous cover of the tray (a couple of cm’s deep) is a good guide. Check every 10 mins, turn mixture when checking so it toasts evenly. It should take about 20 mins per tray. It can burn very quickly!
  10. Return cooked mixture to large bowl, then add the dried fruit and orange zest. Mix well and you’re done!