Granola Crusted Nuts

Hey Guys!

I'm just popping in quick to share a must-make granola recipe. Since I've been home, I have been munching on this fantastic "granola" that my mom made and absolutely raved about. I either sprinkle it in my yogurt, or I munch on in directly out of the jar! Yum. It's SO easy and quick to make- and more importantly, it's nutritious and delicious!

Granola Crusted Nuts

(Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen)

Granola-Crusted Nuts

Any nut can be used but those bumpy, craggy ones will manage to stow more granola coating.

New note: If you’d like to add additional sweetness with honey or maple syrup, you can probably skip the water in the egg white. The purpose of it is just to thin the egg white enough that it coats well.

These are as excellent with breakfast as they would be for a travel snack or gift.

3/4 cup rolled oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned will work; instant might get a little dusty)
1/4 cup shredded or flaked unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons pepitas, or another nut or seed of your choice (Instead of pepitas, Mom and I used sunflower seeds. We also added two tbsp. of millet after processing for a crunchy pop!)
1/4 cup dark or light brown sugar (for low-to-moderate sweetness)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Few pinches sea salt
1 large egg white
2 teaspoons water (adjusted from 1 T)
2 cups (approximately 1/2 pound) walnuts, pecans or nuts that you prefer

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse oats, coconut, pepitas, sugar, cinnamon and salt in short bursts until the mixture is very well chopped but not powdery — it needn’t be like a flour. In a large bowl, beat egg white and water until frothy (but not stiff). Add nuts to bowl and coat them very well, using a few more stirs than will seem necessary because if the egg doesn’t get into the craters of the nuts, no granola will stick there. And that would be sad. Pour oat mixture into bowl and very gently fold it together with the nuts, so that it just barely sticks. (I found that if you stirred it a lot, the mixture just started falling off, so just a few folds will do.) You’ll have more granola coating than will seem necessary, but this is fine. Spread nuts-and-granola out on baking sheet in a single layer but no need to separate them. Sprinkle any granola mix leftover in the bowl over the nuts.

Bake for 20 minutes, moving nuts around just once in the baking time so that the inner nuts get as toasty as the ones at the edge, and up to 10 minutes more if they don’t look toasty yet at 20 minutes. Transfer pan to cooling rack and let nuts cool completely there. Once fully cool, break up any nut clusters and place mixture in jars/bags/your hand.

Me and my crazy hair mixing the granola. This is clearly not my best photo; however, I did want to showcase the adorable pajamas my mom gave me for Christmas! Gotta love the matching pajama suit!

Breakfast today was an old favorite: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and pumpkin. My Dad's response when I brought this to the breakfast table was, "Eew, Gross". I guess I can see how the color combo is a bit shocking early in the morning.

Last evening, my Mom and I went out for dinner at a local Mediterranean restaurant. We are Armenian, so we'll seek out and try any Greek, Lebanese, or Armenian restaurant we can find.  Last night it was Yellah Grille in Andover, Ma. We started with the Fattoush salad which was awesome.

We also split an order of grape leaves with a yogurt dipping sauce. Yum.

We both had  the sea scallops for dinner. AMAZING, I tell ya! They were pan seared and served with a Roasted Garlic, Cilantro, Shallot, and White Wine Emulsion accompanied by a Trio of Sautéed Shitake, Portobello & Chanterelle over Truffled Shaved Potato (this description is from their online menu- I'm not as artistic with my wording when referencing food!).  I practically licked my plate to soak up the mushrooms and sauce.

Alright, my friends!  I am off! Tonight I'm heading into Boston for dinner( I seem to be eating very well this week!) and to see The Nutcracker! I'm so excited for the show as I haven't seen it in years! Per usual, I'm going to leave you with a little inspirational nugget a friend of mine posted to Facebook last night. As I'm quickly approaching another birthday, the thought below gives me something to look forward to as I inevitably continue to tack on the years ! Enjoy the rest of your day!

Cheers!

Sarah