Fireball Granola

Last night my family was watching Diners, Drive-In's and Dives and I was an immediate fan of Darby's Cafe, a quirky little vegan / vegetarian spot in Olympia, Washington.

 I'm an immediate fan of true northwestern eats which can usually be described as bold, healthy, fresh, and playful.  This is how this northwestern girl defines "home cookin'".  Darby's Cafe embodied all these characteristics so I fell in love.

[Photo from http://darbyscafe.com/ ]

While I was salivating over each recipe shown, such as the Winter Squash and Apple Hash, I perked up as they began making granola.  I love granola!



The first ingredient in the bowl was bourbon followed by some other simple ingredients before it was all baked in the oven.  After the granola was baked, approximately half a cup was wrapped in a tortilla with some blueberries and yogurt (I wasn't paying close attention.  My mind was still whirrling with curiosity regarding the use of bourbon.  Bourbon?! Really?!?).  The granola burrito was then deep fried and  beautifully served, sliced in two, with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream and dash of powdered sugar.

I was inspired!  Except I didn't have bourbon on hand.  But I did have cinnamon whisky which would provide a nice little kick.

[Photo by Mel Adair]

I usually prefer my granola a bit clumpier with huge chunks of fruits and oats and this recipe was more of what I would consider a baked muesli.  I was still pleased with the results.

Fireball Granola

Ingredients

1/2 cup Cinnamon Whiskey
1/2 cup Maple Syrup
1/4 cup Sunflower oil (or canola)
3 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper (or more!!)
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Cardemom (optional)
1 tsp of Dried Rosemary (totally optional but scrumptious)

3 cups Old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup (or more!) Dried cranberries
1 cup Salted roasted almonds - chopped

Other options - Pecans, dried cherries, raisins, etc

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the whiskey, syrup, oil and honey until well-blended.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats and other seasonings.  Pour the syrup mixture over the oat mixture and stir until all the oats are evenly coated.

Taste test and season to taste.  (I would recommend going for more cinnamon or cayenne).

Bake the oats for 20 minutes on a cookie sheet.  I use stoneware as it bakes more evenly but you can spray a regular cookie sheet with Pam and be happy with the results.

Stir in the dried fruits and nuts to the oat mixture and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  I added the nuts and fruit at the very beginning of the baking which resulted in fruit that was overly dried and nuts that were overly roasted.  I then researched other recipes and found out that you add the nuts (if already roasted) and fruits later in the baking process.

I tend to like my granola on the toasty side - a bit darker and nuttier so I baked mine a bit longer.

[Photo by Mel Adair]

Enjoy with Greek yogurt or as a snack!  Drizzle with local honey for a bit of extra sweetness as well as to help fight off local allergies!

You may also enjoy:
*Granola recipes from Quaker Oats
*Fantastic (highly rated) granola recipe from Food Network Star, Alton Brown
*Slow Cooker Maple Date Granola recipe from AllRecipes.com
*Article from US News - Greek Yogurt Vs. Regular Yogurt; Which is More Healthful?
*Pampered Chef Stoneware Options offered by my favorite consultant!