The stuff of legends. If you find a better granola recipe, please tell me, because I sure haven't yet! This becomes the go-to for everyone I share it with. Thank you, Barb!
Ryan and I have been making this same granola recipe for about five years now, no joke. It's that good, we never get sick of it! I've tried some other recipes, but they're never quite as crunchy, never quite as delicious. I just asked Ry, "What is it you think makes our granola recipe so magical?." He let out a big happy sigh, got this dreamy look in his eyes, and expressed "It's just the perfect combination of sweetness, texture, crispiness and flavour." I guess that pretty much sums it up! Ryan and I now have granola-making dates. He measures the dry ingredients, while I mix up the wet ones, and then we take turns stirring it while baking. We go through so much of this, I got tired of making it once a week by myself, so I enlisted his help. He loves cooking and baking too, so it became a fun thing for us to do together. I started buying the ingredients in bulk (hello, Bulk Barn, if you're a Canadian East Coaster! Costco is also my friend), and doubled the original recipe.
I tried making this recipe with coconut oil instead of olive oil, and have tried various other recipes that are similar but use coconut oil... they all turn out mushy and not nearly as crispy crunchy. Some people say olive oil has an aggressive flavour, but I can't taste it and no one I've shared the recipe with so far has said it tastes olive-y. Olive oil for the win!
A huge thanks to Barb for the original recipe! I was hanging out with my close friend Kate one weekend, and we stopped by her parents' house. I love going there, because they're the most friendly people and full of fun stories, but they also might be the only people I've met who love cooking and baking even more than I do. They always serve us a delicious meal and have the tastiest treats available. I was never a huge granola fan, but Barb asked us if we wanted a snack and I was especially hungry, so when she passed over the jar of granola I took a handful. Then I couldn't stop - it was seriously like eating dessert, and I was surprised when she told me there wasn't much refined sugar in it, just olive oil and maple syrup.
Lucky me that Barb isn't shy about sharing her recipes. The original recipe is just plain olive oil and maple syrup, which is incredible as-is. That's the way my parents and mother-in-law like to make it (told you a lot of people now have this recipe!). I was inspired to make a pumpkin spice version, when my friend Shannon brought me some of her pumpkin spice granola one fall. Then I started trying all sorts of flavour combinations. Cocoa and coconut flakes made their way in. The coconut flakes have become a permanent fixture in the base recipe; they add so much crunch and flavour. Cocoa evolved in to chocolate peanut butter as my other staple variation of the base recipe, because you know I love anything chocolate PB!
Variations
I mentioned above, this recipe is great as just the plain original version. I usually divide this giant batch in two, and turn one half in to cocoa and peanut butter, and the other half in to pumpkin pie spice. Here are some others I've tried:
*these variations are for the full batch. If you're only trying it on half the batch, make sure you half these amounts. - (my first fav!) Pumpkin pie spice: 4 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (sounds like a lot, but trust me!)
- (my other fav!) Chocolate Peanut Butter: Add 1/3 cup cocoa powder, and 1 cup chopped peanuts to the dry oat/nut mix. When it comes out of the oven and is still warm, mix in 2/3 cup of chocolate chips and 2/3 cup of peanut butter chocolate chips. When it cools, it makes delicious clumps that are so, so addicting to snack on.
- Almond vanilla: To the wet mixture, add 2/3 cup almond butter, a scraped out vanilla bean (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract), 2 tbsp more brown sugar and 1.5 tbsp cinnamon. Add 1.5 cups sliced or slivered almonds to the dry ingredient/oat mix.
- Chai spice: 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp ginger, 1 tbsp cardamom, 2 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp of cloves and 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- Chocolate coconut: Coconut flakes (obviously! Already in the recipe), and 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- Lemon poppy seed: to the sugar/oil pan, add zest of 1 lemon, 2 tsp lemon extract and 2 tsp vanilla extract. To the oat and nut dry mixture, add 3/4 cup poppy seeds and 1 tbsp ground ginger
- Chocolate orange: to the sugar/oil pan, add zest of 1/2 orange, and 2 tsp orange extract. To the oat and nut dry mixture, add 1/3 cup cocoa powder
I tried making this recipe with coconut oil instead of olive oil, and have tried various other recipes that are similar but use coconut oil... they all turn out mushy and not nearly as crispy crunchy. Some people say olive oil has an aggressive flavour, but I can't taste it and no one I've shared the recipe with so far has said it tastes olive-y. Olive oil for the win!
FYI, this makes a GIANT batch of granola! It does keep in tupperware containers for several weeks just on the counter top, but if you're not two hungry athletes who eat this on smoothies literally every day, you may want to consider half-ing this recipe.
Barb's Legendary Olive Oil & Maple Granola
Servings: 32 servings (1/2 cup servings), or two extra-large tupperware containers full
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1h5min
INGREDIENTS
700 grams (7 cups) rolled oats 188 grams (1.5 cup) raw hulled pumpkin seeds 195 grams (1.5 cup) raw hulled sunflower seeds 80 grams (2 cups) coconut chips (the chunkier the better! Costco sells great bags of giant flakes) 202 grams (2.25 cup) raw pecans or walnuts, whole or chopped 127.5 grams (packed 1/2 cup) light brown sugar 3 tsp kosher salt 263 ml (1 cup) real maple syrup 180 ml (3/4 cup) olive oil Dried cherries, optional
Chocolate chips, optional
Whatever flavours you want. See some variations above!
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut chips, and walnuts. Add any spices you want, if you're making a flavour variation on the original recipe. Stir to mix.
Over the stove in a non-stick frypan, combine the brown sugar, salt, maple syrup and olive oil. Cook this on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the brown sugar is melted and the mixture is bubbling. Pour it over the granola and mix until totally combined.
Spread the mixture in an even layer on the prepared sheet pan. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until the granola is golden brown and toasted, about 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and stir in dried cherries and chocolate chips. I love to stir in the chocolate chips while it's still warm... when it cools, it makes delicious clumps that are so, so addicting to snack on.
Once it’s cool, transfer to an airtight container. It will keep at room temperature for up to a month.
Awesome but a little sweet. Might try cutting the brown sugar in half. This is my kind of granola! Half oats, half goodies!