Crunchy Granola Recipe

5 from 3 votes

The crunchiest homemade granola you will ever make, with big satisfying clusters thanks to a simple oat flour technique and butter instead of oil.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 45

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 293kcal

1 lb. quick rolled oats or 12 oz of quick rolled oats and 4 oz large flake oats
3 cups chopped raw nuts almonds, walnuts, and pecans or any you like
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
⅓ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dried fruit and chocolate chips cranberries, chopped figs, raisins,flaked coconut are all good options

To start with put half your quick oats (8 oz.) in a food processor and grind into oat flour.
1 lb. quick rolled oats
Combine in a large bowl the oat flour, quick oats, nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir.
3 cups chopped raw nuts, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 lb. quick rolled oats
In a small pan combine sugar, butter, salt, and water and heat over a medium heat until it boils, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup butter, ⅓ cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour the melted butter wet ingredients mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir to fully combine. Let it sit 10 min.
Pour granola mixture onto a large cookie sheet in an even layer, and cook in a 300 degree oven for 25-30 min. Stir the mixture and keep cooking for a total of 1 ½ hours, until crunchy and dry, making sure to stir every 15 min. so the edges don't burn. Be careful not to over stir, you want to have some chucky clusters of granola.
When it's finished cooking, let it cool completely, and then add in the dried fruit, and/or chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container, like a glass jar.
dried fruit and chocolate chips

The oat flour technique: Grinding half the oats into flour is what creates big chunky clusters. Do not skip this step.
Do not over-stir: Stir gently and infrequently to preserve cluster size. Stirring too aggressively breaks up the clusters before they set.
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Gifting: Bake up to 2 weeks ahead for holiday gifting, so recipients have plenty of time to enjoy it at its freshest.
Gingerbread Version: Increase cinnamon to 1½ tsp, add ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, and a pinch of cloves for authentic gingerbread flavor.