January 21
I’m in granola heaven. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to try and track down this recipe. I have been reading the blog A Sweet Spoonful for quite some time now and the author has branched out and started a granola company called Marge, so I always suspected her granola is quite good (she does sell it after all!). Luckily, she recently came out with a book and recipes from the book are littered around the blogosphere. While a number of them look very appetizing, the first thing that I tracked down was this granola recipe, it was a long time coming. I am very pleased that I did because my home has been noticeably granola-lacking the past few months. I don’t know why I haven’t made it in so long, I think I have just been sticking with granola bars as handy lunch-time snacks as opposed to granola, which is more of a delicious, breakfast add-in.
Anyway, while full credit goes to Megan for this recipe, the one that I found actually didn’t include any flavourings in it (beyond the salt, cinnamon and cardamom, which are awesome!). It was one of those recipes which tells you to add 2 cups of nuts or 2 cups of dried fruit, but doesn’t specify what type, so my imagination went wild!
I went with: pumpkin seeds, pistachio and walnut, mostly because it sounded great and was a departure from my usual walnut and almond. For the dried fruit I went with: goji berries, dates and sour cherries. Tangent: When I decided to use pistachios, I realized I would have to shell about 1/2 a cup of them. This is not a big deal, I find tasks like this (and peeling chickpeas and pitting dates… you get the idea) oddly soothing. However, I didn’t realize how nice it would be standing by the window, popping open the pistachio shells to reveal beautiful pinkish, green nuts. Is it weird that this made me extremely happy? The beauty of nuts? I had noticed the colour of pistachios before, but had never sat and shelled them with such determination. It was great.
Anyway, as I expected, the granola turned out wonderfully. It is so smart to add any roasted nuts and the coconut flakes a few minutes before the end of the baking time- I don’t know why I had never thought of that before. And the cardamom flavour is subtle but every few bites you get a hit of it and it is unusual and great. I poured them into my mason jars (which also make me obscenely happy, an oddity that I have already discussed here) and went through it a lot faster than I thought; however, to extend the shelf life of the granola, store it in the fridge. It is barely sweet and is the most perfect with some greek yogurt (or eaten in handfuls on its own, depending on your style). I know that I will be making this more often and experimenting with more flavours, and I encourage you to as well!
Adapted from asweetspoonful Megan's granola.
Make sure you use unsalted and unroasted nuts. If your nuts are already roasted, add them in at the same time as the coconut flakes (after about 20 minutes of cooking, once everything starts to go golden brown).
If you use the larger amount of salt (1 1/2 teaspoons), you will taste it. The granola isn't salty per se but it definitely has some savoury undertones to it. If that doesn't sound especially appealing to you, use the smaller amount, but I quite liked it.
If you don't like cardamom, don't use it but it certainly isn't overpowering at all, you just get hints of it in certain mouthfuls. It's an unusual and delicious touch! If it's not your thing, add some nutmeg or ground ginger, it would be great.
This granola is not overly sweet at all, the more dried fruit you add the sweeter the mix will be.
If you don't like a nut or dried fruit above, replace with what you feel like! Anything goes. Serve on greek yogurt or over cereal, yum!
Preheat oven to 350F
In a large bowl, mix together oats, nuts and spices.
In a small bowl, whisk vanilla, oil and honey.
Mix wet into dry ingredients.
Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning the baking sheet and stirring the granola halfway through.
Add coconut flakes and stir, baking for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove from oven (make sure the granola is golden brown, if not leave it in until it is!) and let cool completely. If you want chunkier granola, don't stir the granola, if you do stir before it's cool.
Mix in dried fruit and store in airtight container. Store in fridge to make it last longer.
http://mysecondbreakfast.com/granola-with-cardamom-and-pistachios-recipe/Granola with Cardamom and Pistachios Recipe was last modified: January 21, 2014 by
3 thoughts on “Granola with Cardamom and Pistachios Recipe”
I made this today and it turned out wonderful with what I had on hand so I made it with dried cranberries and dried mango slices along with the dates. I used a mixture of honey, coconut nectar, and yacon syrup for sweetness. Mine was ready in 15 minutes and I ate it with yogurt cream and sliced banana. Please review the notes on salt, stirring while baking, and when to add coconut and dried fruit as it makes a difference.
These flavors sound amazing together! I am so excited to try this!
Yes! I’ve been making it non-stop since I posted this. I also made a version with hazelnuts which was really nice.