A Snack for Spring

Spring is almost here! That means it's time to do some of my favorites thing like fishing, turkey hunting, putting in my garden, picking strawberries, and going camping. It's such a beautiful time of year here in Georgia. Things are just starting to green up, and the frogs have been calling since late last month. In honor of all of this, I think it's a great time to share a new recipe I've worked out for granola, the perfect snack for outdoor activities. This recipe is derived from Alton Brown's version available at foodnetwork.com. While Mr. Brown (a fellow Georgian) is a brilliant culinary expert, he and I have different taste in granola. I kept his perfectly balanced ratios, but tweaked the ingredients. Here's my version:

Blueberry muffin breakfast granola
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups chopped pecans
3/4 sweetened, shredded coconut
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (the REAL stuff!)
1/4 cup oil (I've used canola or light olive oils and both worked great)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dried blueberries

Combine the oats, pecans, coconut, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. In a separate container, combine syrup, oil, vanilla, and salt. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and mix until everything is well coated. Spread the granola over a cookie sheet. Bake at 250 F for 1h 15 min, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Move granola to a bowl or zip top bag and mix in dried fruit. Freeze or refrigerate in an airtight container until use.

My favorite way to eat this is over vanilla yogurt, but it's great on its own. I'm planning to try some different combination trading honey or molasses for maple syrup and different nut/fruit combinations. If you've got kids, I think it would be easy to add M&M's or chocolate chips to keep the kiddos entertained. I'll let you know how my new combinations turn out!

Photo by Jenn Ballard