Raf's Granola

I have been eager to make my own granola mixes for a while now and my sweet friend Tracy from Vanilla And Bean had an easy recipe and some encouragements she sent my way. I adjusted her recipe to our taste and fell in love. I have never been excited about granola before making my own! It is super easy to prepare and foolproof. I highly recommend Tracy’s recipe "Maple Pecan Granola" if you are on a vegan diet and like cinnamon, pecans and coconut or mine if you’re ok with a little bit of butter… The kids want chocolate chips in everything they can think about, so I made a granola version with chocolate chips of course! I also prepared two other versions: one with nuts, sesame seeds and raisins and one to satisfy my chocolate loving soul with cacao nibs, chocolate covered hemp seeds, and chocolate covered chia seeds (healthy stuff!!!)

As I am trying to have healthier breakfasts than my usual feta overload on bread, choosing my homemade granola with slices of banana… (no bread to be seen! I am going to suffer. Seriously.) I hope the trend holds up for a very long time… I am still trying to accomplish my New Year’s resolutions of 1995!
And 1996. 1997. 1998… (no comment)

Bon appétit!

Raf’s Nutty Granola

Recipe credits: Rafaella Sargi

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1/2 cup raw cashew nut
1 cup sliced raw almonds
1/4 cup (55 g) butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions
Prep all the ingredients.
You will need one baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper, a small pot, a large bowl (for mixing) and a jar for storing.

Heat the oven to 275F (135C).

In a large bowl mix the granola, salt, sesame seeds, raw cashew and raw almonds. Set aside.
In a small pot slowly melt the butter. Remove from the heat and add the maple syrup, vanilla extract and mix. Pour over the oats and nuts in the big bowl and gently mix until evenly coated. Spread this mixture on the baking sheet in one even layer.
Bake at 275F (135C) for 50 minutes. Turn the sheet pan and bake at 300F (150C) for 20 additional minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely WITHOUT TOUCHING! It will be soft to the touch as it comes out from the oven but it will harden when it cools down. As Traci mentions in her recipe allowing the granola to cool down untouched will improve the clustering… Before storing the granola in an airtight container, mix in the raisins and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Merci Traci! ;)

Raf’s Chocolate Granola

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1 cup sliced raw almonds
1/4 cup (55 g) butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweet cacao nibs
1/2 cup dark chocolate hemp seeds
1/2 milk chocolate chia seeds

Directions
Follow the same directions adding the cacao nibs, chocolate hemp seeds and chocolate chia seeds once the granola is baked and completely cooled.