Balsamic Honey Granola
There are a lot of things over my lifetime that I wish I could go back and either fix, change a smidgen or erase from my mind without any likelihood of remembering. Like my Richard Simmons perm I sported in the third grade… EEEEERASE! Or the MC Hammer pants I had in 8 different colors and *gasp* patterns that I wore religiously every day in the 6th grad… FIX! I’d have only owned two colors, black and the neon pink, because THOSE were rad!
And let’s just say there are a few {lots} recipes I’ve attempted to make in the early years of me recipe developing {okay so like maybe two years ago} that I royally screwed up and destroyed. Crock pot Mac & Cheese for one…
Today I’m making over that recipe I’ve wanted to redo and share with you for like ever now. Today I’m making over… dun-dun-DUNNNN…
Balsamic Honey Granola. I originally made this recipe not really thinking I should reduce the balsamic into a glaze and drizzle it over the granola. Nope… I just dumped it in with a bunch of brown sugar. Straight up soggin’ out my oats! Really? What was I thinking? Oh and let’s just say when I opened up my oven door I got slapped across the face with the vinegar gas {for lack of a better description} making my eyes burn… tear up and almost bringing me to my knees. I kid you not!
So I’ve taken this slight rendition of that recipe-gone-wrong and given it a face lift and I think you’ll like the results. I’ve come a long way with my cooking skills and so has my love for reduced balsamic vinegar! I still can’t promise you won’t get slapped in the face when you open your oven door… but I can promise you the best and crunchiest vanilla yogurt topping!
You really aren’t going to need THAT many dates. I kind of just dumped them in and when I chopped up 4 I thought… whoops.
In a large bowl add the oats and the germ.
Coarsely chop up a half cup of walnuts.
And add those in to the bowl.
Then I added in a quarter cup of sunflower seeds. Really you could add in anything you like! Pecans, pine nuts… the sky is the limit!
Kosher salt… ya know… stir.
In a sauce pot add in the vinegar.
Honey.
Heat.
Before that balsamic honey is at a boil… spray a medium-sized cookie sheet with your Misto {lightly greased with butter would work too!}.
Once that vinegar comes to a boil, reduce and let it simmer for a few minutes.
Remove off of the heat once it is thick and covers the back of a spoon.
Pour it over the oats/nuts/germ.
Use a rubber spatula to coat the oats with all that goodness.
Spread the granola out evenly on the prepared sheet pan and pop it into a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Remove… stir… pop back into the oven for 10 more.
Repeat one more time for a total of 30 minutes in the oven.
While that cools, I chopped up 4 dates.
And sprinkled them into the granola. This is mainly to bulk the granola up a bit… try raisins if that’s more your thing!
Store the cooled granola in a container with a tight lid for up to a few weeks. Could be longer than that… but in my house it doesn’t last long. If you are planning on eating this straight out of the jar… I think it would benefit from a little vanilla added to the reduced balsamic honey reduction. Maybe like a half teaspoon vanilla should do the trick.
I prefer this on top of my midday yogurt snack and I think the vanilla really helps to bring out the other flavors.
So crunchy. So healthy. So.darn.good.
This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you share your own do-over moment at Facebook.com/Frigidaire, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children’s U.S. programs. Plus, Frigidaire will help cover the costs for one lucky visitor to win the ultimate do-over.
Balsamic Honey Granola
My newest favorite midday snack!
Yield: about 3 cups
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cup Oats {not quick cooking}
1/2 cup Wheat Germ
1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds {or any nut you like!}
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar {if you can find flavored balsamic then give that a try!}
4 tablespoons Honey
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract {add to reduced balsamic/honey reduction}
4 Pitted Dates, diced {optional}
Vanilla Yogurt
Directions:
Combine the dry ingredients and chopped walnuts, stopping at the salt and stir.
In a sauce pot add the vinegar and honey. Stir over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until it reduces by 75 percent and coats the back of a spoon.
Remove off of the heat. {now is where you'd want to add the vanilla if you're choosing to use it}
Slowly pour the reduced balsamic/honey over the oats. Stir with a rubber spatula so everything gets coated.
Spray a medium size cookie sheet, I like to use my misto!
Spread evenly and bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes, removing every 10 minutes to stir.
Stir in the chopped dates, let cool and serve over vanilla yogurt!
Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
Aww yum! This sounds super delicious! Love it!
I miss my parachute pants. And this granola wants to appear on my tongue.
What a unique and fabulous granola recipe! I love everything about it and will definitely be making this!
um i want this. and i’m actually super jealous of the mc hammer pants…my parents never let me have any! something about “they won’t be in style forever” or some crap like that
Balsamic plus granola; I love it! What a great combo!
I loooooove balsamic! I make every dressing and sauce with it that I can. Never thought to use it like this!
simplyscratch replied: — June 14th, 2012 @ 6:07 pm
Me too Averie! Love, love, love it!
Looks delicious!
Oh man I love this concoction of granola! I never would’ve thought to add baslamic honey. You’re a genius!
I love your creativity on this Laurie. Sounds wonderful!
You’re so lucky you had MC Hammer pants! I always wanted a pair, but 8 different colors…you’re the luckiest girl I know! His tour is making a stop in Reno, which is close to where I work…I don’t reckon I’ll be going to the concert but if I had a Richard Simmons perm and Hammer pants, I probably would be more inclined to go
Your granola is fabulous, hun! 
I can’t tell you how many times my nose hairs have been fried by that vinegar gas when I’m making a balsamic reduction – it’s like I never learn! The combination of balsamic and honey sounds so cool for granola. I bet this would be fantastic with strawberries and yogurt!
I never thought to use balsamic in granola before…this looks so good!
Every Friday, I share my favorite food finds in a series called Food Fetish Friday. I love this post so much I’m featuring it as part of the roundup (with a link-back and attribution) and I hope you have no objections. It’s a pleasure following your creations…
Your recipe sounds wonderful. I make granola in a large quantity for husband every single week as it’s the only thing he’ll have for breakfast, and at 67, and a commercial lobsterman, he says he’s still a “growing boy.”
One thing I add to my recipe, though, which makes it nice is applesauce. The natural unsweetened kind, two small little cups (from a 6-cup package) or about one full measuring cup per recipe. It keeps the granola moist, too.
I also use dried apricots chopped and raisins as well as chopped walnut and sliced almonds (lots of these).
Oh Hammer pants….my parents would not buy them for me!!
Love the do over on this granola, it sounds amazing with some vanilla yogurt!
I never would have thought to add balsamic vinegar to the glaze, sounds wonderful!
I have a vanilla-balsamic vinegar that would be perfect for this recipe! I’m on it. Oh, and the Hammer pants? Mine were white with multi-sized black polka dots. They looked awesome with my patent-leather combat boots.
Luckily, I skipped over the Richard Simmons pants….BUT I just watched our wedding “video” from 25 years ago, and boy….what a LOT of hair at our reception! Including mine…ouch! Sorry, but I was in the era of Go-Go Boots, jeans jackets, and perms….Yikes! Let’s stick with recipe photos, and none of us “back then”!
Laurie, coming from what I dub myself… a true “granola girl”…. I NEVER would have thought to add balsamic to it. This is crazy! In the best way! I can only imagine how amazing all of the flavors taste. Oh my goodness!
simplyscratch replied: — June 21st, 2012 @ 6:28 pm
I’m a granola girl too! Love it!
I can’t even think about eating yogurt without granola. This looks great, I look forward to trying it.
The printable doesn’t say at what temperature to bake it. I guessed, and burned the granola! I’ll have to try again another day.
simplyscratch replied: — July 13th, 2012 @ 3:45 pm
OH NO! It’s 350 degrees! I’m so sorry that happened to you… making the change now!