Granola Bark…crunchy (without breaking your teeth), nutty, gluten-free, & has just the right amount of sweetness. Plus, you can customize to your liking!
Granola Bark...the right kind of crunch
In the Fall, I’ll go out of my way to step on the dried leaves…I love hearing that satisfying crunch underfoot. And if the leaf doesn’t crunch, I’m disappointed. The worst are those leaves that look perfectly crunchy, only to have them either disintegrate without a sound or kind of mush up. So disappointing.
I also like crunchy foods. Well, let me rephrase that…I like texture contrasts in food, like nuts in brownies or chocolate chips in ice cream...you know, something I can chew on.
I do like crunchy foods solo, like potato chips, but it has to be the right kind of crunch. Not so hard that it echoes around in your head like you’re shaking gravel in a can, or not so soft that you might as well be chewing a piece of paper. Or your cereal has gone all soggy in the milk…you know what I mean?
So when I talk about crunchy foods that can hold their texture when mixed into something else, the best example is the granola I mix into my morning yogurt.
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Personalized granola
Granola is one of those “Goldilocks” foods…it can be plywood hard or leather soft, neither of which are what I want in my morning parfait. No, I want nuggets and pieces of flavor and texture, something to contrast with the creamy yogurt and soft fruit. Something to chew on.
When I came across the recipe for homemade Granola Bark I found on the Smitten Kitchen, I knew I had to try it. The texture is that perfect crunch of a granola bar that is just ready to crumble into pieces of nuts, seeds, and toasted oats.
Even better, this Granola Bark recipe is gluten-free, so those folks who avoid gluten can share in the granola goodness!
Customizable to fit your taste
Homemade Granola Bark is so versatile...just use what's in your pantry. Make changes and alterations as you want (you know how I love to alter recipes!).
I’m not a fan of coconut, so I leave it out and just increase the chopped almonds and seeds by a bit. I like the flavor of maple syrup, so I generally use it without the honey.
I’ve made this recipe once with melted butter and once with canola oil, and the oil actually was better because the other flavors were able to shine a bit more.
The egg white is crucial…that’s what binds the mixture and gives that wonderful crunchy texture. Using egg whites from a carton works quite well, and no yolk to mess with.
Another time I substituted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for the sesame seeds, and I added dried blueberries to add a bit of chewiness which worked quite well. I've even substituted 1/4 cup of cornmeal for some of the almond meal when I didn't have enough.
Substitute as the whim strikes!
I do have to caution you...homemade Granola Bark is highly addictive! I can and do eat it out of hand, either as I'm breaking it up or straight from the refrigerator. It’s hard to stop, it’s that good! Consider yourself warned…
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
Tammy
Recipes using egg yolks
If a recipe uses egg whites, what do you do with the egg yolks? I've got you covered! Here are some ideas...
- Hollandaise Sauce
- Lemon Curd
- Boston Cream Pie
- Chocolate Mint Chip Gelato
- Caramel Swirl Almond Gelato
- Eggnog
Homemade Granola Bark
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup maple syrup, honey, or half of each, (5-1/2 oz, 156g)
- ½ cup brown sugar, (2-1/2 oz, 75g)
- ¼ cup water, (2 oz, 56g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon, optional
- 3 cups rolled oats, not quick-cooking (10-1/2 oz, 300g)
- 1¼ cups almonds, chopped (6-1/4 oz, 175g)
- 1¼ cups unsweetened shredded coconut, (2 oz, 56g)
- ½ cup flax seeds or chia seeds, whole or ground (2-7/5 oz, 80g)
- ¼ cup sesame seeds, (1-1/4 oz, 35g)
- ½ cup almond flour or hazelnut flour, (2 oz, 56g)
- ⅓ cup olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, or melted butter (2-1/4 oz, 57g)
- 1 large egg white, whisked until frothy
Procedure
- Combine maple syrup (and/or honey), brown sugar, water, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.
- Meanwhile combine cinnamon (if using), oats, almonds, coconut, seeds, almond or hazelnut flour in a large bowl.
- Heat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed half-sheet baking pan with a Silpat or parchment paper.
- Once the maple syrup mixture is back to room temperature, whisk in the oil or melted butter, which will cool it further, then the egg white. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Spread the mixture evenly across the prepared baking sheet. Press down firmly to compact it before baking, using another same-size baking sheet or the bottom of a pot.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until dark golden brown, rotating the sheet every 15 minutes to promote even browning. While it bakes, open the oven door a few times to release steam.
- Set on a cooling rack until surface of granola is crisp. Leave oven on...if the surface is still tacky to the touch once the granola has cooled return the pan to the oven and continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes (I didn’t find this at all). Don’t let the granola get too dark or it will taste bitter.
- Once the granola is totally cool, break it into pieces (and try to resist eating it all at once).
Recipe Notes
Sharon says
Sounds great! Can’t wait to try this!
Debbie says
I saw this on Friday AM, I had planned to make gronola with my class that day! The kids really like cinnamon, maple syrup and sunflower seeds, we can’t add nuts at school. I leave out the additional sugar and the recipe works well. This is a great recipe to make with young kids. Thanks Tammy!
Debbie