I Swoon for Granola

I heart granola. I heart everything about it. I delight in thinking up new flavour combinations, I simply love creating and baking it, and I absolutely adore eating it. Sprinkled over yoghurt, piled in a bowl with fresh fruit and milk, or thrown into a muffin for a delicious crunch – I heart it each and every way. But this is old news, really. What is new, is the granola recipe I tried yesterday. Be still my hungry heart…this is no ordinary granola. This granola will make you swoon.

I saw the recipe on Hannah’s brilliant blog, Wayfaring Chocolate, a little while ago, and knew that she had created something special. Hannah is a granola rock star, and is pretty much one of the coolest people in the world. She describes this granola as ‘The Tall Dark and Handsome Granola of Your Dreams’, and boy is she right.

When I baked this granola the heavenly, spiced aroma left me intoxicated and positively giddy. And when I ate it, I swooned like I’ve never swooned before. There was simply so much to love. The cardamom was strikingly handsome, the fig was sweetly gallant and the molasses was rich and confident. It was generously flavoured yet not arrogant. Wholesome, yet a little indulgent. See…Hannah is right, this really is the man, woops!, granola of your dreams ;)

Spiced Fig, Pepita and Molasses Granola (or The Tall Dark and Handsome Granola of Your Dreams) Recipe link

How can one handle so much perfection? Personally, I like to eat it at regular intervals in many different ways. Maybe that’s just me. Perhaps you can try it yourself and let me know :)

Heidi xo

Note: Beware that this recipe produces a granola with a prominent cardamom flavour, so if you dislike this spice then it may not be the recipe for you. Also, don’t worry if you find the molasses mixture a bit tough to mix through the oats. Just persist and it will combine nicely.

I doubled the recipe, as Hannah suggested – mum and dad, a container of this is coming your way tomorrow! I altered the recipe slightly according to my tastes and what ingredients I had on hand. I added a ¼ cup extra pepitas, ½ an extra teaspoon of cinnamon, and a full cup of chopped figs - just because I love these ingredients so much. I also used vanilla extract as I didn't have any almond extract. Next time I must remember to buy some, as I would love to try it with the almond flavour.

As a suggestion, I find it especially delicious with soy milk!