WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Store-bought granola is convenient but too often chock-full of pale, dried-out oats and stale-tasting nuts. It provides texture but not a whole lot of flavor. This homemade granola focuses simply on roasted peanuts and oats; it has an ideal crispy, crunchy texture, and you can break it up into whatever size pieces you like. We found that the secret to perfect crunchiness was to firmly pack the granola mixture into a rimmed baking sheet before baking. Once it was baked, we had a granola “bark” that we could break into crunchy clumps of any size. Caramel sauce, maple syrup, and salt added a welcome buttery flavor and an ideal salty-sweet balance and we didn’t skimp on the amounts. This would be as delicious sprinkled over ice cream as it would be with yogurt for breakfast. Do not use quick oats in this recipe.
MAKES: about 9 cups
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour (plus 1 hour cooling time)
INGREDIENTS:
- ¾ cup caramel sauce
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 5 cups (15 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 cups (10 ounces) unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray parchment with vegetable oil spray.
- Whisk caramel, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt together in large bowl.
- Stir in oats and peanuts until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer oat mixture to prepared sheet and spread in even layer.
- Using stiff metal spatula, press down firmly on oat mixture until very compact.
- Bake until lightly browned, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
- Transfer sheet to wire rack and let granola cool completely in sheet, about 1 hour.
- Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size.
- Serve.(Granola can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)
