scents i love: maple grain free granola as it bakes in the oven
scents i don’t love quite so much: 24/7 walking pancakes
the what now?
sooo, last week when i was testing this maple grain free granola, i just totally fumbled the little bottle of maple extract as i was trying to screw the top back on. naturally, i happened to not be wearing my apron at the time so the black down vest that i live in from october to may got doused in about half a bottle’s worth of maple extract.
since it wasn’t sticky and didn’t show on the black fabric, i tried to just let it air out for a day or two (by which i mean i continued to wear the vest all day every day for several days) until i finally admitted defeat, acknowledged that i smelled like a giant stack of walking pancakes, and dug out the bottle of down wash soap. ::sigh::
the funny part is that i only bought an apron a few months ago after years of never wearing one and i’ve actually been pretty good about putting it on (perhaps this new habit is linked to all of the splattery chorizo i’ve been cooking lately?). juuuuust not this time. luckily this mishap was reversible and my vest isn’t a perma-pancake…
also luckily, this maple grain free granola was totally worth the extra load of laundry! it’s delicious and i love that i can make it without any added sugar (if you want large clusters, you do need to add a little bit of maple syrup to make that magic happen, but i prefer the no added sugar version).
if you’ve ever read the labels on store-bought granola and tried to find one with less sugar than a cookie, you know that finding no sugar added granola is no small feat. honestly, i’m not sure it would be an exaggeration to say it’s faster to make granola from scratch than it is to find a low sugar option at the store.
either way, i’m excited about this maple grain free granola because the maple flavor is strong without the granola being really sweet, thanks to that mischievous maple extract/walking pancakes perfume. just maybe learn from my mistake and wear your apron?
looking for other granola recipes (with oats)?
cardamom vanilla almond granola
did you make this recipe? i’d love to know what you think of it! leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #tastyseasons.
Save to BigOven
maple grain free granola uses maple extract to achieve great maple flavor without lots of added sugar. the recipe includes no sugar added and large cluster variations. gluten free, grain free, dairy free, low carb, low sugar, delicious! your breakfast and snacks are now sorted!
Ingredients
- 1 egg white, see notes
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup, optional, see notes
- 2 teaspoons pure maple extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 298 g. (2 cups / 10 ½ oz.) macadamia nuts
- 214 g. (1 ½ cups / 7 ½ oz.) hazelnuts
- 227 g. (2 cups / 8 oz.) raw cashews
- 113 g. (1 cup / 4 oz.) raw pecans
- 148 g. (1 cup / 5 ¼ oz.) pepitas
- 113 g. (1 cup / 4 oz.) slivered raw almonds (slivered almonds work best)
Instructions
- preheat the oven to 300° F and line two large rimmed baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper.
- in a large mixing bowl, combine the egg white and water and use a fork to whisk until frothy. add the oil, maple syrup (if using), maple extract, and cinnamon. whisk with the fork to combine.
- add the macadamia nuts and hazelnuts to the bowl of a large food processor. pulse a few times until the nuts are broken down into smaller pieces but stop before they get ground into meal. transfer to the mixing bowl. repeat with the cashews and pecans (these nuts are softer and won't require as much pulsing).
- add the pepitas and almonds to the bowl. stir well until all of the nuts are coated in the egg/maple mixture.
- spread the nuts out evenly on the two baking sheets. bake for 45 minutes (conventional) or 30 minutes (convection), stirring once after 10 minutes. once the granola comes out of the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes before stirring to allow the clumps to form (if you used maple syrup). after 10 minutes, use a thin spatula to release the granola in large pieces.
- once fully cool, store the granola in a large, sealable glass jar (i love the korken at ikea) or other airtight container/ziploc bag. i always store nuts in the fridge (or freezer) and this granola keeps at least a few weeks in the fridge.
Notes
if you want the granola to form clusters, then using a real egg (as opposed to whites from a carton) and maple syrup is necessary. if you'd rather keep it no sugar added and/or don't care about clusters (like me, on both accounts), i really like this granola without the maple syrup. there is plenty of maple flavor from the extract so it's really just the sweetness at play.
adapted from gluten free (and paleo!) granola at the roasted root.
