Chocolate & Peanut Granola

I have always loved the phrase "like father, like daughter''.  Being compared to the man that raised me, loved me, taught me, got me started in the kitchen, got me out of the first few days of third grade to go and stay in a beach house in Malibu, and is the son of my Meme (another person I am elated to be compared to) is something I am so proud of.  He is makes me laugh, holds me when I cry, and laughs at my jokes even when they don't make sense.  I like to think that I have at least some of those qualities that I can share with my family and friends. 

There is something else that we share, something that I only found out about two and a half years ago.  We both love granola.  We have this strange affinity for it.  I am not sure why it is there, but how can any one turn down granola?  It is crunchy and chewy at the same time.  Sometimes heady with cinnamon and sometimes crunchy with toasted grains, nuts, and seeds.  It can be pebbly or broken into shards or slabs; served with ice cream, yogurt, floating in a pool of milk, or eaten straight from the jar in handfuls (as both my father and I prefer). 

Best of all, it is easy to make and makes the house smell fabulous.  The ingredients are, for the most part, shelf stable so with the ingredients scattered around the cupboards, what are you waiting for?  Heat up that oven!

The specific recipe that I am referring to here is my riff on Nigella Lawson's recipe for Andy's Fairfield Granola.  I cut the recipe in half, for starters, and omitted the ginger and cut back on the sweetness by leaving out the brown rice syrup. 

The end result was more like a bittersweet granola speckled with perfectly toasted peanuts and heady with cinnamon.  It is more of a pebbly granola, but that just makes for better hand-scooping, which, between you, me, and my father, is a wonderful thing.

2 1/4c. oats (old fashioned, please)
1/2c. sunflower seeds
1/3c. white sesame seeds
1/3c. (unsweetened) apple sauce
1t. cinnamon
1/4 c. honey
2T. dark brown sugar
2T. cocoa powder
1c. peanuts
1/2t. salt
1T. oil

-Chuck all ingredients into a very large mixing bowl, mix well, and spread out on a lined sheet pan.
-Bake in a 325f oven for 40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.
-Let cool thoroughly before storing.


This makes about 4.5 cups.