Have you ever made granola with molasses? How about almond extract? When I saw Crunchy Cranberry Granola on the Fisher Nuts site, I was curious to see how those two ingredients would work and made a quick batch.
I chickened out on the molasses, though. Two tablespoons seemed like a lot of molasses for such a small batch of granola, so I made the cranberry granola with 1 tablespoon molasses and increased the maple syrup a bit. At first I could really taste the molasses, but then the flavors kind of mellowed out. After a few days of eating this I can hardly taste the molasses at all, so I think I’m going to make another batch with the full amount. I’ll let you know in the comments section or write a little update after I’ve increased the molasses. Don’t lose any sleep waiting!
Update: I now make this granola fairly often, and I do use the full 2 tablespoons of molasses. I also like to bake it at 300 instead of 325 and I never stir it because we prefer chunky granola. Other changes I sometimes make are to add about 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger and add a sprinkling of sea salt before baking.
Crunchy Cranberry Granola
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup canola oil or any other vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup maple syrup plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon molasses or use two and omit the extra T. of maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups rolled oats not quick cooking
- 1/2 cup Fisher® Chef’s Naturals Walnuts Halves and Pieces coarsely chopped -- I used 3/4 cup
- 1/4 cup Fisher® Chef’s Naturals Sliced Almonds -- I used 3/4 cup
- 1/2 cup flaked coconut
- 1/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds -- omitted
- 1/4 cup unsalted roasted sunflower seeds -- omitted
- 1/4 cup Fisher® Dried Sweetened Cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a large heavy rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with non-stick foil or parchment.
- In small bowl combine oil, maple syrup, molasses, almond extract and cinnamon; stir well.
- In large mixing bowl combine oats, walnuts, coconut, almonds, pumpkin seeds (if using), and sunflower seeds (if using). Slowly pour maple syrup mixture over at mixtures; toss to coat.
- Spread oat mixture evenly onto pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown; stirring halfway through baking. For clumpier granola, don't stir -- just press it down into a thin sheet, let it cool completely, and break into chunks
- Remove from oven; cool slightly. Stir in cranberries; cool completely.
This looks like an interesting granola recipe! I feel like I owe my daughter a batch of granola and haven’t gotten around to it. This is a good reminder.
Never heard of molasses in granola, sounds good though!
Great tip! I have a personal recipe which I haven’t posted yet that uses egg white. It does include some oil and butter, but the egg white adds a lightness. You can also make decent granola without any oil at all, but I prefer using some fat since ounce for ounce, the fat doesn’t make much of a difference. If you take out the fat, you just up the proportion of carbohydrates and sugar. Adding the egg white is a good alternative.
If you like crunchy granola, you might consider trying egg whites instead of oil. I found a recipe a while back, I want to say from Martha, that included maple syrup, brown sugar and oil. When I tried it, I replaced the oil with egg whites, and made sure to toast the granola well (ensure the egg whites cooked), and I have to say, it has been a huge hit. Everyone loves it. I have not tried molasses, but I will. Thanks. C-
I love granola. I should make it more often. When I was pregnant with J, I used to make a Martha Stewart version that was all molasses. I’m with you — I like the mellowness of maple syrup better. I think the idea is that the molasses has more “nutrients” good for the baby or something… though at only 1-2 tablespoons for a whole batch, it really is a negligible amount!
Hope you guys had a Happy new Year’s celebration!
That’s interesting about the flavour. It’s like the opposite of what I have found with maple syrup where the flavour becomes stronger over time. Maybe the discrepancy in the flavour is the maple syrup bullying the molasses?
And ginger is a great idea! and nutmeg too… because.. uhm.. there should be a little nutmeg in everything :).
That’s a great idea! I’m going to make another batch and put a pinch of ginger in portion of it.
Would you ever add ginger? I think things with molasses need ginger (like some certain biscotti)! 😉