There is nothing better than granola for breakfast. The crunchiness and the warmth is everything that you could possibly want, especially on a cold winter morning.
But the thing I love most about homemade granola is the ability to fully customize it and make it taste exactly how I want it to taste. I change it up depending on my food and what I currently have in my pantry. The one recipe I always go back to though is this apple cinnamon version of homemade granola. My family knows very well how much I love it and they even make fun of how much cinnamon I eat. Well, but what can you do – I just love cinnamon and am not able to stop eating it!
My recipe for apple cinnamon granola uses soaked oats. I love the idea of soaking oats the evening before because it shortens the time you need to spend on preparing your breakfast in the morning and it also makes the grains easier to digest. I do it all the time, whether it’s for granola or simple oatmeal.
Necessary equipment:
- a sharp knife
- a large mixing bowl
- a dehydrator (optional)
- a wooden spoon
- a large towel
- 2 jelly roll pans
- 2 sheets of parchment paper
Ingredients:
soaked oats:
- 8 cups of rolled oats
- 1 cup of organic honey
- 1 cup of melted butter
- 3 T. of whey or lemon juice
granola base:
- ½ cup of maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups of raw almonds
- 2 T. of powdered cinnamon
- 2 T. of vanilla extract
last additions:
- 1 ½ cups of raisins
- 1 ½ cups of dehydrated tart apples (alternatively you can use store-bought dry apples)
- 1 ½ cups of shredded coconut
Instructions:
- Combine the oats, honey, melted butter, and whey in a large mixing bowl.
- Cover with a towel and leave to soak overnight for at least 12 hours.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the maple syrup, almonds, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined.
- Spread the mixture on the jelly roll pans lined with parchment paper.
- Roast the granola for 15 minutes. Stir the granola after each 5 minutes so that all pieces are evenly browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Add the raisins, dehydrated apples cut in small pieces, and the shredded coconut. Stir to combine.
- Your granola is ready to be served! You can either store it in an air tight container for later use (for example, ice cream topping!) or serve it right away with yogurt or milk.
Enjoy!