I love granola’s, but I am quite picky. I don’t really like raisins, dates or cranberries, and I prefer my granola not too sweet. I do however like some crispiness and some nuts. I did like the Eat Natural granolas, but they tend to be made with honey (why?) and they tend to be really expensive. That is why I wanted to make my own crispy granola, without added oil and with not too much sugar coating the oats.

I found these dried apples at my local Turkish supermarket, but I have also seen them at my local Albert Heijn. I know these aren’t super healthy and do contain some (refined) sugar, but I think they are worth it. Combined with the not-too-sweet oats, it makes for a perfect apple pie combo: sweet apples and a less sweet crust!

For this recipe I decided to go with hazelnuts, but you could easily swap them for pecans, walnuts or almonds. For a next time, I would definitely go with coarser oats, but that is an easy thing to change. However, the granola added a nice bit of crisp to my breakfasts, and I will make this again!

Ingredients

• 225 grams of oats, preferably not too fine
• 15 grams of sugar
• 60 mL of water
• 50 grams of hazelnuts
• 60 grams of dried apple with cinnamon
• A pinch of cinnamon
• A pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Add your sugar and water into a glass and microwave for short intervals, making sure the sugar is fully dissolved
2. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius
3. Add your oats, chopped hazelnuts, cinnamon and salt to a bowl
4. Add the hot sugar water and stir to combine
5. Spread your slightly clumpy oats onto a sheet lined with parchment paper
6. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, tossing after 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t brown too much, especially the hazelnuts
7. Leave to cool down on the sheet before adding your chopped dried apple and storing it in an airtight container
8. Enjoy with your (plant based) yoghurt or milk

Instructions in pictures

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