We have a friend who works at Eleven Madison Park. The other day the recipe for their granola appeared in the NYTimes. Guests are presented with a small gift at the end of their meal: a jar of granola (which is vegan!) for the next morning’s breakfast. I decided to make some, give it to my friend and see how I stack up to the professional kitchen. In fact, it gave me the idea to make lots of granola and give it to everyone at our annual family Christmas Eve dinner. Just like at the restaurant, everyone will have breakfast for Christmas morning!
Of course, I did make some changes to the recipe…I couldn’t help myself! I used coconut palm sugar instead of brown sugar (because granola is for breakfast so here’s why) and sunflower oil instead of olive oil. I also added way more sour cherries than the recipe suggests and I significantly cut down on the salt. The recipe calls for a tablespoon…that should be illegal!
I really like the part of the recipe where the sugar is dissolved into the maple syrup and oil before mixing with the oats and nuts. I think I am going to start doing that when I make my weekly batches of Ultimate Granola.
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup shelled pistachios (pistachio meat)
1 cup unsweetened coconut chips
1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 overflowing cup of dried sour cherries
Preheat the oven to 300. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together the oats, pistachios, coconut chips, pumpkin seeds and salt.
In a small saucepan, warm the sugar, maple syrup and oil until the sugar is just dissolved. Remove from the heat and fold into the oats. Mix well to coat everything.
Spread the granola onto the baking sheet and press it down in an even layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until dry and lightly golden.
Remove from the oven and mix the cherries into the granola. Cool completely and then transfer to a decorative glass jar or storage container. Enjoy!