Jason's/Pris's Granola

This is a recipe from Jason’s vegetarian days in Alaska (early 1970s). Although the recipe does not specify stirring, I stir the mixture several time while baking.

July 2014 --- My usual "home breakfast" is a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter or a meatless breakfast sandwich (egg and cheese on a whole wheat english muffin).  But we're heading to Maine soon and English muffins don't toast well on Condor.  I usually buy some granola for the early morning starts, and I'm usually disappointed. Too sweet for my taste. 

Then I remembered this recipe, a forgotten boat staple. In this revival, I skipped the sunflower seeds, remembering how much I liked the Pear Crisp topping, used half brown sugar and half maple syrup and finished with Maple Walnuts and dried cranberries.   As previously stated stirring is important, as well as watching to see mixture does not overbrown.  I cooked at 325 degrees for 30 minutes,  then for 10 minutes at 300 degrees F..  Since the mix looked pretty browned by then, I added the nuts and fruit, stirred well and cooked a final 10 minutes at 250 degrees F.   I made only 2/3 of the recipe which filled a large cookie sheet.

Mix together:

1 c brown sugar [I use half brown sugar, half maple syrup - 

NOTE: have reduced to 1/4 c brown sugar and 1/4 c maple syrup > Perfect sweetness!]

1 t salt [I omit]
½ c canola oil [I use olive oil]
½ c water
1 t vanilla
1 c sunflower seeds [I omit]



Then add:

18 oz oatmeal, not the quick cook kind [I use 21 oz]
7 oz shredded coconut [~2 2/3 c - think this was based on the size of the bag, I use 4 oz] 

1 c wheat germ [I usually omit]

Mix well. Bake at 300-325 degrees F for 45 minutes [My recipe takes two cookie sheets - I actually use a 17" x 12" cookie sheet and a 13" x 9" deeper baking pan - the latter works better for stirring, would use two of those if availabe. I find 30 - 40 minutes total in a 300 degree F convection oven is usually plenty - the cookie sheet contents browns the fastest.} 

1 c chopped nuts [my favorite is to add 1 c  Maple Walnuts  after baking - but omit for "plain granola"]
1 c raisins or currants [I usually use dried cranberries - but omit for "plain granola"]

Bake additional 15 minutes [I don't bake after adding nuts/dried craanberries, just 30 - 40 minutes total before additions.] Cool completely in pan before storing in closed container.

August 2014: Big mistake! Instead of halving the recipe, I should have doubled it.  We are on our way to Maine and this is my breakfast. So much better than the store bought granolas of previous years. Ed likes it too. It is going to disappear very fast.

June 2015:VARIATION  Strawberries are in season and I was looking for a cereal to complement the berries.  Often I've chosen a cornflake variant, but this year I used a variation of this recipe. By reduced the sweetness (1/3 c maple syrup and 1/3 c brown sugar) and omitting the nuts and currants, I made a not-so-sweet "plain granola" that went really well with the berries. 

November 2024: Note recipe above: maple syrup and sugar is further reduced to 1/4 c each and oats increased to 21 oz. My go to breakfast now is plain non fat yogurt topped with 1/2 cup of "plain granola", a small handfull of chopped walnuts and some pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries.

Reviewed 5/12/17

Revised 12/21/23

Revised  11/21/2024: brown sugar, maple syrup and oat quantities changed