Homemade cranberry granola

Clearly, Jared and I have been feeling a little ’nola lately. Actually, it’s more like a let’s-use-up-what-we-have-in-the-pantry and a-little-granola’s-good-but-more-granola’s-better kind of feeling. We’re also on a semi-serious mission to only spring for the pre-made/boxed snacks and foods at the grocery store when we can’t make them ourselves in a reasonable amount of time (i.e., I am incapable of replicating the almighty Cheerio, so that’s A-OK to buy off the shelf). So rather than buy a box of our fave pre-made granola (Cascadian Farms Oats and Honey = extreme yum-ness), we took the from-scratch route. What’s that Yogi Berra quote about when you come to a fork in the road, take it? Granola works better with a spoon, but no bother. ‘Tis a yummy analogy, nonetheless.

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Homemade Cranberry Granola
From Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network

• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup unsweetened cranberry juice
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used a heaping 1 ½ teaspoons. Mmm…)
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup chopped roasted and salted almonds (I skipped the nuts, but they would be a nice and crunchy addition.)
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds on a baking sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside. In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup, brown sugar, cranberry juice and cinnamon over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved.

Mix oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and salt (and almonds, if using) in a medium bowl. Pour the maple mixture over the oat mixture, and stir until combined. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven, and stir in the cranberries. Return baking sheet to oven, and continue to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture begins to brown. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

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In the true spirit of granola love, we sprinkled this cranberry oatiness on vanilla bean Häagen-Dazs last night and then used it as a topping on Greek yogurt this morning. Both were wins (though Jared’s not the biggest Greek yogurt fan, so the ice cream was probably more his style). Not only is the granola delicious and crunchy, but it also smells amazing — as evidenced by Ella’s little puppy nose, which has been working overtime since I took the granola out of the oven yesterday afternoon. Poor little fur baby is in desperate search of a tiny nibble to call her own. Her perseverance usually pays off.

What’s your theory when it comes to buying pre-made snacks at the grocery store? Does convenience win over homemade-ness? Are there certain snacks you make at home and others you always add to the shopping list? What’s your favorite snack food, either homemade or off-the-shelf?

XO,
Katrina