I changed my blog name, well, technically just translated it. What do you think? :)

In other news, I have a horrible kitchen secret.

I’ve probably confessed before, but I rarely follow a recipe. Only if it’s a Julia Child recipe or a complicated pastry will you find me double checking every line of measurements and instructions. Otherwise, I like to think of recipes more as guidelines – there to help you on your culinary adventure with tips on flavor and proportions. (Real talk, I even look at my own blog recipes when I want to whip those up again and occasionally stray.)

I just can’t be boxed in!

Recently my roommate was having a horrible string of bad granolas, so I decided that would be a perfect kitchen project. Added bonus? All granola recipes read “…or whatever dried fruit/nuts you want to substitute.” I still didn’t follow most of the rest of the recipe, but hey, I made some bomb granola.

Only problem? My roommate requested raisins as the dried fruit option. Ugh. Now, I’m not the person who might think, “Raisin cookies that look like chocolate chip cookies are the reason I have trust issues.” (I have a keen eye for that sort of trickery.)

But I’m most definitely a fair-weather raisin fan. While I’m still going to recommend that you pick any dried fruit you love (cherries! Pick cherries!), the raisins in this granola actually kinda knocked it outta the park. I let them get nice and toasted so that they’re extra chewy, and the salt and ginger really make them dance. I also added coconut chips and almonds because, awesome.

And oh yeah, I browned the butter that went in. Was that even going to be a question here? I saw recipes with only oil, but I knew brown butter was the only answer.

Salt, spices, brown butter, and your favorite dried fruit and nuts. I definitely expect you to use this recipe as general guidelines, but if you follow it to a T, I promise it will be totally rad.

Here’s what I did…

Toasted Almond Any-way-you-like-it Granola

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter two sheet pans and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add:

• 4 c. rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
• 1 ½ c. unsalted roasted slivered almonds (or walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, etc.)
• 1 ½ c. raisins (or dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried apricots, etc…)
• 1 ½ c. sweetened coconut chips (or not, up to you!)
• 1 heaping tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 heaping tsp. ground ginger
• 1 ½ tsp. salt (less if you don’t like a little sweet/salty situation)

Set that aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt:

• 3 Tbs. butter

Cook the butter for a few minutes until it turns a deep golden brown color, and then add:

• ¼ c. coconut oil (or vegetable oil if you prefer)
• ¼ c. honey
• ½ c. brown sugar

Whisk together until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble, roughly 5 minutes. Then add in:

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Immediately pour the sugar and oil mixture over the oat mixture and stir together with a wooden spoon, making sure that all of the oats and dried fruit and nuts are thoroughly coated.

Evenly spread the granola mixture onto the baking sheets and bake for about 25-30 minutes, stirring twice during baking. Remove from the oven and let cool. Let it cool completely before storing in an airtight container. (If there’s any warmth left, you’ll trap in moisture and be left with soft granola.) Serve over yogurt for an awesome breakfast, eat it by itself for a snack, or serve over ice cream for dessert. Enjoy!

P.S.- For more awesome recipes like this one, head on over to Fiesta Friday!