Monday, December 5, 2011

Crock Pot Granola

One of my default desserts is Greek yogurt with granola, sometimes with fruit. We're both reading labels more and more lately, and since it's next to impossible to find granola in the grocery store without sugar, I decided to make my own. In the past I've made it the traditional way, on cookie sheets in the oven, but inevitably I always burned it. Then I stumbled upon this blog post about making it in the crock pot, so I tried again. Success!

2 1/2 cups oats
2 1/2 cups seven-grain mix
1/4 c. coconut
1/4 c. dried apricots
1/4 c. chopped almonds
1/4 c. raw sunflower seeds
1/4 c. raw pumpkin seeds
a few scoops of ground flax seeds


Add 1/4 c. melted butter (or nut butter -- I'll try almond butter next) and 1/4 c. honey and stir.


Add to your crockpot and vent with a chopstick (or a wooden spoon or something). Be sure to stir every half hour or so -- definitely if you can smell it, you should stir it.

The original recipe says to cook it for three hours, but I've found even two hours can burn it. This time I cooked it for two hours and left it in the hot crock pot, turned off for another hour, and I still got some burned bits.

Edit: I forgot to mention, the granola won't seem "done" -- it will still be kind of chewy while it's warm. It will crisp up after it cools. The first time I made this I cooked it way too long because it seemed as if it wasn't cooking. Also, if you want it to clump more, you'll need more honey than the 1/4 c. stated in the recipe. Play with it!


Next time I'll cook it for two hours and take it out immediately to cool.

What I like about this recipe is that it's so easy to change. Just take a walk through the bulk aisle and grab what sounds good.

7 comments:

  1. Hmm, just got a xmax present idea. My daughter always laments she wants to eat well, but the good, healthy stuff at the grocery stores always costs too much for her budget. Perhaps I will get her a gift certificate to New Seasons along with a picture of this granola recipe with a link to your blog. She does have a crock pot, so that's a start.

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  2. That's a great idea, Rosalie! I love shopping at New Seasons (our local equivalent is the co-op), but it can get really expensive, so it's not a weekly event.

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  3. Well, that was easy! I just went to the New Seasons site and ordered one (a gift certificate).
    Do I have permission to print out one of these granola pictures at the drug store place with the picture kiosk thing?
    I ask, because last time I was there, I was printing out some of my ancient ancestors' pictures, just off the wagon train or whatever, and the clerk there almost didn't let me, saying like maybe I didn't have their permission!
    Come on! They're all DEAD, how can I get permission??? Jeesh!

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  4. That stuff looks so yummy! Even though crockpots and I don't get along, I'm going to have to try making my own granola like that.

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  5. Sorry, forgot to mention that, didn't I? I used the high setting, as the original recipe suggests, but maybe next time I'll use the lower setting? I think all crock pots vary so much, it's just an experimentation thing.

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  6. Yes, I agree on that crockpot setting problem....I wish there were more reliable that way. Mine sometimes does not even seem the same way itself sometimes. I was looking at the more expensive temperature control ones just because of that. Still I might try this for my sister and son on a day I am around doing other things to see how it works.

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