Granola that brings the flavors of the Middle East to your taste buds...

This post is an ode to one of my favorite foods....Granola ❤️. I love granola, really, really, LOVE granola... If you must know, I kind of live on a handful of things and one of those is granola. Loose granola, chunky granola, chewy, crunchy, nutty, fruity... granola with oatmilk, granola with yogurt, granola by the handful... I eat a lot of granola.... daily 😂! Yes every single day!

A dear friend sent me a very interesting take on granola the other day. It had date syrup in it which I had just happened to have bought that same day. When I looked at the ingredients I thought I have most, I will change and adapt the rest to my own liking....because that is the BEST thing about granola, it’s adaptable, you can make it your own, by swapping ingredients, adding the things you love, cooking it longer for crunchy granola or less for chewy... stir it more more granola that is loose or stir it less for clumpy granola... you can add other grains like millet, amaranth, etc to the oats or even replace the oats with buckwheat groats... you can add seeds, nuts, fruit, spices... you can choose whichever sweetener you like such as honey, maple, date syrup, or any variety of syrup and sugar you want, as much or as little as you want...and you control the fat in it and can add as much or as little oil as you want, and like all the other ingredients, the kind of oil you choose is up to you! Possibilities are endless.... That is the beauty of Granola...

Before you start mixing the ingredients, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, line a sheet pan with parchment paper and make sure that your oven rack is set in the middle of the oven. Now gather your ingredients.

Ingredients:

4-5 cup old fashioned rolled oats (I used extra thick rolled oats from Bobs Red Mill)

1 cup of raw pecans

1 cup of shelled pistachios

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut chips or flakes

4 tablespoons raw white sesame seeds

1/4-1/2 cup oil (I used pistachio oil but a fruity olive oil or neutral oil would work)

1/3 cup roasted tahini paste

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup date syrup (or more maple if you can’t find date syrup)

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of salt

1-2 cups dried fruit, I used these dried cherries

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper

3. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients except dried fruit. Start with 4 cups of oats. If you add the dry fruit now, prior to baking, the fruit will caramelize and become crunchy/chewy in the oven. If that is your preference add the dried fruit now.

4. In a small bowl mix all wet ingredients

5. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well making sure everything is covered in the syrup mixture. If it seems too wet add the extra cup of oats. You want everything moistened but not swimming wet.

6. Spread the unbaked granola mixture evenly onto the sheet pan and place into the preheated oven.

7. Lower the heat to 350

8. Stir every so often for 30-40 minutes. The more you stir the smaller your clumps will be. I like chunky granola so I only stirred 3 times in 40 minutes.

9. Once the granola is golden enough for your liking, 30-40 minutes, I went the full 40, take out of the oven and cool for an hour on a cooling rack.

10. After an hour break the granola up into clumps and store in an airtight container.

Notes: Remember that all the measurements given for ingredients and also type of ingredient are changeable. If you like one kind of nut or fruit more than another, add what you like. The same goes for quantity, if you like more of one ingredient and don't like another just exchange them or add more or less. You can adjust the sweetness and the fat also. If you go with the higher amount of oil, the more crunchy the granola will be.

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