Wednesday 17 December 2008

Cranberry, Almond and Honey Granola ~ Edible Gifts Part 3

Cranberry, Almond and Honey Granola is my 3rd instalment of Christmas Edible Gifts and also comes courtesy of Nigella Lawson’s Christmas Cookbook (I love this book). This seasonal granola cereal is a combination of big crunchy clusters of toasted oats and almonds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, touched with cinnamon and honey and then tossed with plump dried cranberries! It would make a luscious breakfast on Christmas Day, served with a dollop of yogurt or milk!
Cranberry, Almond and Honey Granola

Makes enough to fill a 1.2 litre tin or jar

Ingredients
225g rolled oats (not instant)
60g sunflower seeds
60g white sesame seeds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
150g (125ml) runny honey
50g soft light brown sugar
60g whole natural almonds
60g blanched almonds
½ teaspoon Maldon salt or pinch of table salt
1 tablespoon rapeseed or sunflower oil
150g dried cranberries

Put everything except the dried cranberries into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Two spatulas are probably the best tools for the job here – or use your own two hands, wearing CSI (vinyl disposable) gloves.

Spread this mixture on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 170oC/gas mark 3 oven, turning over the mixture with a spatula about halfway through baking and redistributing the granola evenly during the baking process. The object is to get the granola evenly golden without toasting too much in any one place. If you have a convection or fan oven, you may need to turn it to a lower heat as well as keeping a sharp eye on it.

This should be ready – golden enough and dried out like a crunchy breakfast cereal rather than the sticky mess that went into the oven – in anything from 40-50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool, taking it off the hot baking sheet, before mixing with the dried cranberries. Store in an airtight container.

11 comments:

Semlan said...

Wow Maria! These granolabars really look yummy! Well done! :)

Finla said...

Wow they just look superb. Much much better than the one form the shops.
I have no idea if you are watching it. There is a new Nigellia cooking programme in BBC 2 which started this moonday, they show it everyday.
The booke you reffered, is it from this current series or is it a old one from last year.

Maria♥ said...

Thanks Semlan and Happy cook :-)

I love granola and this will be a welcoming breakfast on Christmas day, before a day of indulgence!

Happy cook, I have been watching Nigella on BBC2. The recipes are from her new book, the one I refer to in my post.

Maria
x

Beth (jamandcream) said...

haven't made this yet. Looks fab, will have to give it a go at the weekend

Reeni said...

That looks so delicious. What a great gift idea! I made your No Bake Peanut Butter Bars. They came out great! I blogged about it with a link to your recipe. Hope it's ok with you!

Nickki said...

I love this granola Maria and yours looks fabulous! :)

Maria said...

I love granola! Homemade is the best!

Finla said...

Maria thankyou for the information.

Kelly-Jane said...

Oooh it looks gorgeous!

Nic said...

Your gift ideas are brilliant, and this one is really different to most of the ones I've seen!

Maria♥ said...

Thanks as always for the wonderful comments ;-)

Maria
x