Stovetop Granola
By: Helen Pitlick
Published: Friday, December 10, 2010 - 1:02am

Ingredients




3 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup dried shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup light oil
 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup dried fruit of your choice

Preparation

1 Use a large, heavy skillet, at least 10 inches round, with high sides. (If you don't have a skillet this big, use a smaller one and prepare the granola in two batches.) Into the cold skillet place the oatmeal, nuts, sesame seeds, coconut, and cinnamon, and mix well. Blend the oil, syrup, and vanilla together in a cup. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients in the skillet, stirring well to blend. Turn the heat under the skillet to medium high. Toast the mixture, stirring frequently, until the oats and nuts are crispy and browned, the sesame 2 Turn off the heat and stir in the dried fruits. Let the granola rest in the skillet to cool, stirring it occasionally to break up any clumps. When it cools to room temperature, transfer the granola to a glass or plastic storage container with a tight-fitting lid. Granola can be refrigerated for about a month, or frozen for about two months. Serve with milk (soy, rice, or almond) or the juice of your choice.

About


Although there are many delicious granolas available at natural food stores, nothing tastes as good as homemade. And it's really not very difficult to make. Plus you get to decide exactly what combination of nuts and fruits to use. Most granola recipes I've seen call for baking it in an oven. This is fine in the winter: it warms up the kitchen and imparts a wonderful aroma throughout the house. But I don't like to use the oven too much in the warmer weather. So here is a recipe for granola that is "baked" at stovetop. Be sure to use regular old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick-cooking or instant.