Celebrate your mom with something sweet: a delicious granola recipe from The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook. Sprinkle leftovers in waffle batter or atop roasted apples with creme fraiche.
My Mom’s Nutty Granola
When I was a kid, my mother used to make fresh granola—and this was in the ’70s before you could find packaged granola in every supermarket. There was always a fresh batch in a glass jar on the kitchen counter. We now sell My Mom’s Nutty Granola at Hot Bread Kitchen (my mother jokingly likes to call it “Nutty Mom’s Granola.”) It’s not too sweet, the flavor is rich from long-roasting the nuts, and the texture is almost muesli-like. At the bakery we leave out the walnuts, but at home I add them; the choice is yours.
Ingredients
Makes 8 cups
½ cup raw almonds
½ cup unsalted peanuts
½ cup raw walnut halves
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
3 cups rolled oats
¼ cup wheat germ
¾ cup honey
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon boiling water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup raisins
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 F.
Put the almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast the nuts and seeds, stirring now and then, until they smell nutty and are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the oats and wheat germ.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, boiling water, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture into the oat mixture and stir thoroughly to combine. Transfer the mixture back to the baking sheet.
Bake the granola, stirring every 10 minutes, until nearly dry, about 40 minutes. It should be dark brown.
Turn the oven off and open the door. Let the granola cool in the oven as the oven itself cools down, being sure to stir it now and then to make sure the granola is cooling evenly. It will crisp as it cools. Once it is cooled, stir in the raisins. Store in a sealed glass jar up to 2 weeks.
Nut-Free Granola: Leave out the nuts and double the amount of raisins—or do half raisins and half dried cherries, or any other combination of dried fruit.
