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Gingerbread Granola Clusters

Yields1 Serving

Granola that clumps up into clusters, is crunchy and delicious, and makes your kitchen smell like gingerbread. Run and catch it.
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granola bowl w-spoon

Ingredients
 DRY INGREDIENTS:
 42 oz old fashioned rolled oats
 1 ½ cups diced shredded coconut, unsweetened
 ¼ cup sesame seeds, unhulled preferred
 ¼ cup golden flaxseed meal
 ½ cup sliced almonds
 ½ cup chopped walnuts
 ½ cup chopped pecans
 2 cups puffed brown rice
 1 tsp ground cinnamon
 1 tsp fine sea salt
 WET INGREDIENTS:
 1 cup vegetable oil
 ½ cup honey
 ½ cup maple syrup, the darker the better
 1 cup molasses
 ½ cup brown sugar, light or dark
 1 tbsp powdered ginger
 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Directions
1

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place a large sheet pan on the bottom rack, to help disperse the heat. Have ready two large (12" x 17") jelly roll pans. Measure all the dry ingredients into a very large container, like a stockpot or turkey roaster, and mix together by hand.

dry granola ingredients

2

Measure all the wet ingredients, including the ginger and brown sugar, into a blender jar and puree for about thirty seconds, until completely uniform. Pour over the dry ingredients and blend in very well by hand - try to use just one hand, so you can steady the pan with the other. Divide the granola into the two jelly roll pans, smoothing out as you go so that the entire bottom surface is covered.

granola blender

3

Place the jelly roll pans into the top third of the oven. If you only have two racks, put the sheet pan directly on the oven floor. Bake for about an hour, switching racks and turning the pans back to front every 15 minutes. Do not stir! Five or ten minutes after the third turn, check the color - it should be dark tan, but will darken further as it cools. Pull it immediately if you suspect any burning on the bottom - it's OK to check here and there.

granola pans raw

4

Let the pans cool completely. The granola will still be sticky when it first comes out of the oven, but will quickly harden into a sheet. Break up into large pieces with a wide spatula and store in airtight containers. Keeps indefinitely.

granola pans cooked

Gratuities
5

So many options. The unhulled sesame seeds and flaxseed meal are a personal fetish, and entirely optional. I don't add dried fruit because it hardens unpredictably. Use whatever nuts, in whatever combination you like. Cashews are terrific, and go well with sesame seeds, raw or toasted, hulled or unhulled. Puffed rice is a new chapter in my granola story, and worth tracking down.

You can leave out the brown sugar, but even with this much sweetening, it's not a particularly sweet granola. But don't cut back on the oil, at least not the first time you make this.

I have this insanely high-powered ginger from Burlap and Barrel. It's quite hot, so I don't use much fresh ginger, but taste for yourself while the puree is still in the blender, and adjust accordingly. A little heat is fine and will dissipate into a pleasant tang on cooking. Like gingerbread.

granola bowl