Buzzz buzz Granola

Looking back over old posts, I realized it has been quite a while since I last wrote an entry about granola. This is rather odd considering how often I make granola, and I rarely make the same exact granola twice.  The beauty of granola is that you can make infinite substitutions once you have a basic ratio of oats : nuts : sweetener : oil : add-ins in place.  This also comes in handy when you want to clean out your pantry.  In my family, we have something called "fridge soup".  There's no actual recipe; it's just whatever is starting to look a little tired in your fridge plus an onion and some spices, finished by being pureed (or what we call "mix-souped").  Going along with this idea, I think I will dub my granolas "pantry granolas" because I rarely rarely follow a recipe fully; there are always substitutions and additions to be made based on what I have lying around!

Below is my latest granola creation, the idea sparked by a container of hazelnuts and a 1/2 gallon of honey sitting on my shelf.  This granola has an intensely honey flavor, so make sure you use a good honey that you like.  The honey I used came from bees living in alfalfa fields.  It's a really delicious sweet and light honey, which gave the granola some beautiful floral notes.

A towering pile of granola, among what little remains of Nemo's thankfully pathetic visit to my neck of the woods.

Honey Buzzz buzz Hazelnut Granola

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• scant 1 cup hazelnuts, skins removed (buy them blanched or do it yourself) and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup puffed millet (or another puffed cereal)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp honey bzzzzzz
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp nut butter (I used my cashew macademia nut butter, but almond butter would be good, too)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, hazelnuts, puffed millet, and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a small microwave-safe bowl, mix together the honey, coconut oil, and nut butter.  Microwave for 45 seconds, stirring halfway through.
4. Stir the vanilla into the honey mixture.
5. Stir the honey mixture into the oat mixture.  Stir thoroughly so that everything is well coated.
6. Spread the mixture in an even layer on the baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip or stir the granola around on the sheet.
8. Bake for another 10 minutes, then stir the granola again.
9. Bake for 5-10 minutes more, watching carefully so that the hazelnuts don't burn.  You want the granola to look nicely toasted.  It will still be soft when you take it out of the oven, but don't worry, it will harden into clumps as it cools.
10. Let the granola cool completely and then store in glass jars or air-tight plastic containers.

With this recipe, I had three jars full.  (Not counting all the granola I snacked on off the baking sheet...)

Enjoy plain, by the handful, or over top yogurt or ice cream!

Feel free to subzzzzztitute away!