GF Granola Recipe

I found this recipe online (site now defunct) and have now made it enough (and tweaked it enough) to call it a winner.  What I love about it are the cranberries soaked in orange juice—YUMMO!  I will admit that I use regular quick oats (rather than special gluten-free oats) . . . those of you with Celiac Disease should make sure to use special gluten-free oats (e.g., Bob’s Red Mill brand) to avoid possible cross-contamination.  My batch is also half the quantity of the original recipe . . . this works better with my baking pan and oven (and is a quantity I can consume before it might get stale).  Also note that this recipe doesn’t contains nuts, but I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t just throw some in.  Play with it and post your results in the comments below!

GF Granola

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 3-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole flaxseed [I partially grind mine in my mini-chopper to make them easier to digest.]
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or flavor extract of choice (optional)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cover an 18- x 12-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, bring cranberries and orange juice to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to warm and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cranberries are plump and they have absorbed most of the juice. Drain cranberries, removing as much liquid as you can. (You might try putting the cranberries in a strainer and pressing on them with the back of a spoon.)
3. In a very large bowl, combine oats, oil, salt and flaxseed. Stir until oats and flaxseed are completely covered with oil. Add maple syrup. Stir to mix completely. Add honey. Stir to mix completely. Add brown sugar, extracts and spices (if using). Stir to mix completely. Add drained cranberries. Stir to mix completely.
4. Spread oat mixture in an even layer on the baking sheet, smoothing with a spatula. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir mixture thoroughly, being careful to move lower layers of oats to the top and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir again, moving lower layers to the top, then bake for 15 minutes. At this point, the granola should be starting to brown on the top. Continue stirring and baking for 5 minute intervals, being careful not to let the granola burn.
5. When the entire mixture is toasted and browned, carefully remove the granola to a bowl. Let cool. Store in a sealed container at room temperature. This will last at least two weeks on your countertop or in your pantry. [I put half of this batch in a ziploc freezer back and toss it in the freezer, leaving the other half batch in an airtight canister on the counter.]

The pics below show the granola before and after baking: