Sweet and Salty Granola

When we were in Brooklyn a few weeks ago, one of the main destinations was the Brooklyn Flea. I had read about so many new companies starting in Brooklyn and had looked forward to visiting as many as were set up at the Flea to experience them first hand.

One of the products I wanted to try was Early Bird Granola. Even though they weren't set up at the Flea, I was able to find the granola at a neighborhood corner market, so I bought a bag.
I've read the many reviews on this granola so I kind of knew what to expect. The granola is definitely a sweet and salty taste. The sweetness comes from the maple syrup and brown sugar and the salty comes from the coarse salt, Kosher salt to be exact, in the recipe.
I did love the use of chipped coconut for this recipe, (which is, I believe, her Farmhouse flavor?) The coconut gets a nice crunch without having that lingering chewy coconut thing going on.

This granola is more like a mid day or late night snack, to me, than the healthful oat and nut treat that you usually pour over your yogurt, although it uses healthy extra virgin olive oil.
Now, don't misunderstand. This stuff is good! But don't say I didn't warn you! This granola will have you eating it..and eating it, straight out of the bag. It's kind of hard to stop!

So let's make some!

. Get out a large sheet pan and place the oats, raw pepitas, coconut chips and raw pecans onto the pan. ( In the video I watched, I noticed the owner/baker used parchment paper to bake the granola. If you don't want to deal with the sticking issue, then use the parchment to line your pan. I didn't. Just know that the granola will stick to the pan a bit.)

Then mix the wet ingredients and the sugar and stir that together.

And pour it over the oats and nuts and seeds.

Mix it all really well...

And bake it in the oven, stirring every 10 to 12 minutes or so til it gets nicely browned and all the oat, seeds and nuts get well coated.

Remember to scrape and stir as soon as it comes out of the oven if you haven't used parchment to line the pan.
Let it cool completely, then place into, perhaps a large empty clean glass jar or a zip lock bag. I'm not sure if it will stay crunchy enough if you use a rubbermaid type container..not that it will last that long!

Sweet and Salty Granola ( from the recipe from Early Bird Granola)

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup raw pepitas ( pumpkin seeds)

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup coconut chips

1 1/4 cups raw pecans, coarsely chopped

3/4 maple syrup, Grade A

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 300. Line baking sheet with parchment paper( opt. See my notes above.)

1. Place the oats, seeds and pecans into your baking sheet ( or you can place into a large bowl) and mix together.

2. In a small bowl, combine the maple syrup, olive oil, light brown sugar and salt.

3. Pour the wet mix over the oat/seed/nut mix and stir well to coat evenly. Spread out the mixture to an even layer.

4. Bake the mixture for about 45 minutes or til golden, stirring every 10 to 12 minutes.

If you haven't used parchment to line the pan.Once it comes out of the oven, be sure to immediately stir and scrape the mixture from the bottom of the pan or it will stick a lot.