Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Granola Grabbers

Another first for me this week with Dorie's Granola Grabbers, courtesy of Michelle of Bad Girls Baking. I'm not much of a store-bought granola person but I've always been fascinated by the customizable factor in homemade granola. You can pretty much add or omit any ingredient you want and as long as you use what you like, you end up with a winning product every time.

So I embarked on my first granola-making experience. Which, by the way, wasn't bad at all. Pretty easy actually! Mix everything together, bake for a little while and voilà! Homemade granola. Now that I had my base ingredient for the cookies, all I needed to decide were my add-ins. I omitted the peanuts as I'm not much of a peanut-in-cookies kind of gal and replaced them with chocolate chips. Of course. Then I decided to use half dried cranberries and half dried blueberries in place of the raisins. Oh, yeah. I soaked them a bit first in some hot water so the cookies wouldn't be dry. I kept the rest pretty much the same: slivered almonds, sweetened coconut, wheat germ (horrible name but delicious all the same). What did I end up with after all the granola making and ingredient switching and mixing and rolling and baking?

The sexiest oatmeal cookies ever! Oh, yes, that's what these are, sexy, upscale, oatmeal cookies. And addictive too. Sexy and addictive. That'd be a good warning label right there! Check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see all the other marvelous granola concoctions the other bakers came up with. If you'd like the recipe for the (Sexy and Addictive) Granola Grabbers, check out Michelle's Blog. And here's the granola recipe, which you can adapt to your liking, as I did.


Granola

adapted from The Kitchen Sink

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
3 tablespoons flax seeds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup toasted mixed nuts, chopped (I used almonds and pecans)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
4 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.

Spread the mixture in an even layer on your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. I like my granola a nice golden brown so I bake it a bit more but check it often if you like it lighter.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely, in its pan, on a wire wrack. Once the granola is cool, you can mix in up to 2 cups of dried fruit. Omit the fruit if you want to make the Granola Grabbers though as Dorie's recipe calls for fruitless granola.
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39 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got a rush, reading the ingredient list for your granola. And the dried fruit you added to the cookies made my mouth water. I like Marie's word "moreish" that replaces addictive. (http://ayearatoakcottage.blogspot.com/) It just sounds friendlier, but it's true for these cookies!

Engineer Baker said...

Dried cranberries and blueberries sound delicious! Congrats on your first homemade granola!

CB said...

Homemade granola too! Awesome! Love the craisins and... uh... what do you call dried blueberries? blaisins? LOL. Great job!
Clara @ iheartfood4thought

The Food Librarian said...

Great job! You even made your own granola - gold star. Sounds great!

Sarah said...

i really need to try this with homemade granola...i'm sure your were awesome!

Amy of Sing For Your Supper said...

Mmm - these look great! Blueberries are a great idea!!

-Amy
www.singforyoursupperblog.com

Elle said...

I love making granola, but why didn't I ever think of using it in cookies? They're beautiful!

PheMom said...

These look great! I'm not a dried fruit fan myself, but those look like they could change my mind.

Pamela said...

"Sexy & addictive" is a great warning label! Your cookies look fabulous. Love the ides of the dried blueberries.

kimberly salem said...

your cookies look awesome! i wouldn't have thought to call them "sexy", but i think you're right! hehe:)

~Kimberly said...

Good for you to make your own granola. i used the rest of some kashi cocoa beach granola i had in my pantry. Your cookies look so 'sexy'!

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm, mixed berries and chocolate chips. Deeelish!

Anonymous said...

I didn't make my own granola this week, and reading your post makes me wish I had tried it, too. Yours looks amazing. Love the flavor combinations you used.

Ellen and Tom said...

Nice work making your own granola! I make it all the time - once you learn how easy it is, you'll be hooked. I love the smell of it baking, esp in the winter. There are lots of recipes out there to try (I have one on my blog too) until you find your favorite.

Anonymous said...

The cranberries are so pretty -- they look fantastic in your cookies.

Anonymous said...

Your granola looks incredible! Sexy cookies indeed. :)

Bria said...

Cranberries and Blueberries? Yum! They look delicious!

Ginny said...

I love making granola! Cookies looks delicious!

Jessica Eiden Smedley said...

Homemade granola! That's wonderful! I'm sure your cookies were spectacular.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Isn't it fun to make granola? That was the best part of these cookies, imo. Glad you found them sexy!!
Nancy

Dolores said...

Sexy oatmeal cookies!?! Leave it to Dorie!

grace said...

things i always include in my granola: dried cranberries, dried blueberries, coconut, almonds, and cinnamon. you've got good taste. :)

Manggy said...

Yeah, I'm not a nutty person as well, but give me chocolate any day! Looks yummy Lynne! :)

Mari said...

Isn't homemade granola fabulous? My only quip about it is, that if made with the wealth of nut and fruit add-ins that I like use, it can be rather expensive.

I have to agree with you about the peanuts, they are the one thing I'd omit, when I make these cookies again. For the rest, I thought these cookies were super delicious, and yes, rather addictive!

Alexa said...

Crunchy, sweet, fruity and delicious. This looks great!

Piggy said...

wow, you made your own granola! your cookies look great!

Patricia Scarpin said...

LyB, I have got to try these, too! They look delicious and healthy as well.

Sarah said...

After reading the ingredients list, these sound so good for you! I am impressed, as I usually am with a Dorie recipe. Thanks for trying these out!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I have seen these all over the blogosphere and they always look good:D

Flourchild said...

Yum...I love pumpkin seeds, what a great idea. Your cookies look down right tasty!

Jules Someone said...

Mmmmm. Homemade granola in sexy cookies. Mmmmm.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

That looks like fabulous granola. It's been so long since I've tried making granola. Maybe it's time for another go at it. Especially with your wonderful granola as inspiration.

Aimée said...

Looks like you're getting some valuable kitchen time and making good use of it, too! I always think of granola as a big project, but it's pretty simple once you actually do it, eh? Cookies look great!! They would be perfect for a holiday swap!

Anonymous said...

Seeing these around the blogosphere has made me crave granola, which doesn't normally happy! I love your additions.

Daisy said...

For the last few months I've been on a yogurt and granola kick - I really need to start making my own granola. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Robin said...

I am with on on this one. do love how flexible and forgiving granola can be. We have a nut allergy kid in our house so I have to come up with other concoctions. Same with granola bars! These cookies sound wonderful with your adaptaion of dried blueberries and cranberries in place of raisens. I always sub raisens! Great post, thanks!

Jacque said...

Mmmm, your cookies look fantastic! Nice photos :)

Gigi said...

Only you could make granola and oatmeal sexy! Love it!

Anonymous said...

I've often looked at this recipe in the book as a way to use some of the granola I make, and it's so great to hear that you liked how they turned out! Yours look so delicious with the various dried fruit. Well done!