Great Granola with Cherries and Almonds
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: Makes 1 quart
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- ½ cup wheat germ
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds
- ⅓ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons flavorless oil, such as vegetable or canola
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅓ cup dried cherries
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Mix oats, wheat germ, salt, almonds and coconut in a medium bowl.
- Heat syrup, oil, water, and almond extract to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Drizzle over oat mixture and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a 13-by 9-inch pan coated with vegetable cooking spray. Working a handful at a time, squeeze cereal to form small clumps.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Stir in cherries. Continue to bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes longer. Let cool and serve. (Can be stored in an airtight tin for 1 month.)
Homemade granola is the best. So easy too! Love this recipe.
This looks delicious! Especially the almond extract! I think I’ll make it this weekend. Thanks! 🙂
I love the coconut in this granola!
Interesting Granola Recipe! Love the addition of Maple Syrup!
I already have everything at the house to make this granola except for the wheat germ. I will be stopping at the store for that and making this tomorrow…probably a double batch. My thirteen year old son is literally eating me out of house and home! He eats at least two bowls of cereal when he gets home from baseball practice every day. He loves granola so I know this won’t last long. I must remember to grab an extra gallon of milk!
Lovely granola! I have only made my own once, now you’ve convinced me to make more!!
Why use store-bought granola when you can make granola like this at home? Yum!
Yum! No need to buy granola from the store anymore…I’ll just make this!
My favorite has always been a very simple, basic granola: oats, honey and almonds, though I do like maple syrup, too. I usually add dried (or fresh) fruit when I’m eating it. It’s so much better than anything I can buy — even the more gourmet granolas.
I would like the nutritional info per serving, including what a serving is.
Hi Shelley,
It’s about 110 calories per 1/4 cup. Enjoy!
So I love Great Granola (and all the variations in Eating Great & Losing Weight) but, true confessions, I hate the part where you squeeze it into clumps. I’m not usually squeamish in the kitchen but something about that sticky wheat germ reminds me of a rainy day at the beach! So, I’ve discovered that I can mix it up, pour it into the pan, then get a slightly smaller pan and press it with that into a flat “bar”. Then, I sprinkle it with the dried fruit at 30 minutes (w/o stirring) and finally stir at about 45 minutes, at which point it breaks into clumps on its own and finishes browning. No more wheat germ hands! I’m loving it!
sounds like my recipe. I use craisins and sometimes dried cherrie/blueberrie mixture and pecans instead of almonds. Almonds sound good too. I eat mine with a fruit of the day and some greek yogurt – doesn’t get much better than that.