Olive oil granola

I'm not going to bother you with my regular old, everyday granola recipe.  Just make this.  It's sweet, salty and fruity all at the same time. And if, for whatever strange reason, you run out of olive oil in your pantry, you can substitute vegetable oil or melted butter, and you will still have very good granola.  But it won't be this.

A quick Google search will reveal that every other food blog in the universe has already made a version of this granola, most of them based on the recipe given by Melissa Clark in The New York Times.  I had a perfectly yummy granola recipe, developed from several sources, so it took me a while to try this one.  So many wasted months....

My biggest change was to reduce the sweetness.  I thought about reducing the oil as well (my usual recipe only has 1/4 cup), but I was afraid to lose the fruitiness of the olive oil, so I left it alone.  Also, I like my granola in big clumps, so I'll share my method, which has the added benefit of reducing the baking time.  As always, granola is forgiving, so substitute your favorite combination of nuts and seeds.

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups nuts (the original calls for raw pistachios, which I forgot to get, so I subbed almonds)

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas), hulled (mine were already roasted and salted, so I skipped the salt later in the recipe)

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp kosher or sea salt (skip if your nuts or pepitas are already salted)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/3 cup maple syrup (or try honey)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix the syrup and olive oil together in the measuring cup and pour into the bowl.  Mix well.  Spread mixture on two rimmed baking sheets lined with Silpats (parchment would probably work, too).  Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring once halfway through. baking.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the baking sheets.  Break granola into large clumps and store in an airtight container.  Serve with yogurt (Greek yogurt is my favorite) and fresh or dried fruit.  Or just eat it straight out of the container at random times during the day.

Get every last bit coated with oil and syrup.

I think I got the tip about the Silpat from my friend Sara--no more scrubbing the pans, and it's easy to fold the mat and pour the last few bits of granola into your container.

Fresh out of the oven--but wait until it cools!

Yes, that is my empty bowl.