I tested Carla Lalli Music’s No-stir Maple Granola recipe (p.156 in her James Beard Award-winning cookbook Where Cooking Begins ). This is a pantry-staple recipe which was nice because most of the ingredients I already had. Carla referenced that the original recipe is from Nekisha Davis, which I found so respectful that she credited the OG creator of this recipe, even if she put her own spin on it.
Once I gathered the ingredients, the recipe was pretty easy to follow. The only problem was… the baking time was off. The recipe says to bake for about 35 mins but that was definitely too long and unfortunately, my granola burnt. I consider this an expensive lesson to learn because nuts and seeds are hella costly. Just bake it for 25 mins but watch it like a hawk.
I still ate it anyway.
✰✰ stars for the cookbook error.
✰✰✰✰✰ stars if you make a modification to the baking time to 25 mins. It’s not too sweet and has a perfect crunch to it.
Carla Lalli Music’s No-stir Maple Granola
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats not quick-cooking
- 2 cups seeds and/or raw nuts
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1½ cups mixed dried fruit
Instructions
- Position a rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350 ° F.
- In a large bowl, toss together oats, seeds, and coconut flakes to combine.
- Add oil and maple syrup and use a spatula to fold mixture together until everything is evenly coated. Add salt and cardamom and stir through.
- Scrape granola mixture onto a large rimmed baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it into an even layer, wall to wall. Bake, rotating sheet back to front halfway through, until nuts and oats visible on top are very dark golden and mixture is fragrant and toasty, about 25-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut dried fruit into smallish pieces – you could use a pair of kitchen shears.
- As soon as granola comes out of oven, add fruit to baking sheet and toss to disperse evenly; the fruit will soften and pick up seasoning. Let granola cool completely on sheet, then transfer to airtight container and store at room temperature. It will keep well for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
Shout-out to granola kingpin and recreational weather commentator Nekisha Davis, who did the world a favour by inventing Early Bird Granola. — This is Carla’s interpretation of this recipe pg. 156 in Where Cooking Begins cookbookIMPORTANT NOTE: After 20mins in the oven, check the granola because it can burn quickly at this point. Spin It (substitutions)
- Kamut flakes for oats
- Any combination of seeds such as sunflower, pepitas, sesame seeds, and/or hemp seeds
- ¼ cup cacao nibs to replace equivalent amount of seeds
- Nuts such as pistachio, pecan, walnut, almond, and cashew
- Additional coconut flakes can be used to replace some nuts or seeds
- Cinnamon or nutmeg for the cardamom
- Dried fruit such as dates, apricots, sour cherries, gooseberries, and/or golden raisins
Did you make this recipe?
Please let us know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @moody.eater on Instagram and hashtag it #moodyeater #moodyeatersclub .
