OK, yet another granola recipe that worked. I say “that worked” because sometimes my granola experiments are less than delicious. Way less than delicious. Take my last one before this one for example.

It included so many healthy ingredients that it tasted like sawdust with a few nuts thrown in for encouragement. Needless to say, that recipe did not make it on this site. One of my never to be repeated, drop it off the face of the earth, do not make this again, what were you thinking kind of recipe that you will never know about. Unless of course I feel compelled to relate another failure I experienced in my kitchen. And yes, I do have monumental debacles every so often. But those washouts often lead to a learning experience. And I did learn one valuable lesson. There is a huge difference between pepitas and dried pumpkin seeds.  

Pepitas are delicious and when just a few are added to granola, everything is just fine. And in salads and seed breads they are divine. But the pumpkin seeds I added to the batch of granola that shall forever remain unpublished, were so dry they tasted just like I imagine fodder tastes. Dried hay. And just to clarify, pepitas and pumpkin seeds are two different things.

Pepitas are harvested from styrian or oil seed pumpkins and the seeds do not have hulls. Any other variety of pumpkin produces a hulled seed that’s fibrous and less tender. Now maybe I just got a bad batch of pumpkin seeds that I used in my second to the latest batch of granola. There is always that possibility. But you know the old saying – fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. And I intend to remain without shame! At least when it comes to pumpkin seeds!

But this batch was perfect. Lots of oats, almonds, coconut, and dried fruit. Just the way I like granola. And I like granola a lot.

So, although I have several recipes for granola on this site, I feel there is always room for one more. Because variety is the spice of life. And I want my life to be spicy.

As always, have fun cooking up a storm. Try new recipes. Try new ethnic cuisines. And don’t be afraid of an occasional failure. No one can produce a winning dish every single time. It truly isn’t possible. Plus, every other cook would hate that person. And who wants that?

Peace and love to all.  

½ c. pure maple syrup

½ c. extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

8 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

3 c. roughly chopped almonds   

1 c. unsweetened flaked coconut

2 c. roughly chopped unsweetened dried cherries

1 c. dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 300-degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, almond extract, salt, and cinnamon together. Then stir in the oats. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet or sheets in an even layer and bake for 25 minutes. (Don’t wash the mixing bowl.)

After 25 minutes, add the chopped almonds and coconut. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the oats are a light golden brown.

Remove from oven and transfer the granola back to the large bowl and add the dried cherries and blueberries tossing to combine.

Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.