I love granola. I eat it almost everyday for breakfast — or for me it’s actually brunch. This recipe is my favorite. It is so simple to make and the maple syrup and hazelnuts is the best combination. You can add dried fruits or any nuts of your choice. It is great with yogurt, milk or nut milk. It also makes an amazing topping for ice cream. And of course you can just eat it out of the jar.
Did you know that granola or granula was invented by a doctor at The Jackson Sanitarium a.k.a. Our Home on the Hillside in Dansville, New York in 1863? Dr. James Caleb Jackson had been sick most of his life and had an amazing recovery after taking hydrotherapy at a spa. Subsequently, he became an advocate for the use of water for healing, became a doctor and opened hydrotherapy spa. Our Home on the Hillside grew to be one of the largest in the world, catering for around 20,000 patients! Jackson believed the diet was the key to improving health. (Yes!) He was a vegetarian and promoted it with the emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed grains. This was back in the late 1800s!!!
At the spa, Jackson created a cereal known as Our Home Granula composed of graham flour and was similar to an oversized form of Grape-Nuts. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg another vegetarian and healthy diet advocate (who would have known!) created similar product but changed the name to Granola to avoid conflict with Dr. Jackson.
Granola took a long hiatus but was revived by the hippies the 1960s! Fruit and nuts were added and it was coined a “health food.” In 1969 at Woodstock, Wavy Gravy made granola popular by serving it to festival attendees!
Now I now why I love granola so much.
Peace, Love, and Granola! ✌🏻 ❤️ 🥣
Maple Hazelnut Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats I like Bob’s Red Mill Thick Cut Gluten Free Oats
- 1 cup hazelnuts toasted and peeled
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place a piece of parchment or silicone baking sheet on a large cookie sheet.
- Toast hazelnuts for 10-15 minutes until slightly brown.
- Rub skins off hazelnuts with a towel or by hand. I like to just rub them together.
- Combine oats, hazelnuts, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
- Stir in the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly coated.
- Pour mixture out onto two cookie sheets and bake for about 25-30 minutes until light brown and toasty.
- Stir every 5 minutes or so for an even color and to make sure the granola is cooking evenly.
- Once cool enough, use the back of a spoon or the flat end of a meat tenderizer to break up hazelnuts into smaller pieces.
- Let cool.