I've had some fairly terrible homemade granola in my time. Mostly, it was terrible because it was, in food critic speak, "raisin forward." I hate raisins. I want my granola to be crunchy, without any surprise mushiness in any of the bites.

I'd never made granola myself until I bought Roxana Jullapart's Mother Grains cookbook. Her recipe for "Friends and Family" granola is stellar. I've made it several times (and I'll make it again tomorrow). It requires quite an investment in ingredients — particularly nuts and the dried coconut milk powder. But it's totally worth it.

For what it's worth, I've had better success cooking this granola at a lower oven temperature than what the original recipe says.

Friends & Family Granola

This is based on the granola recipe from Roxana Jullapart's Mother Grains cookbook.

Prep time: 10 minutes  ·  Cooking time: 45 minutes  ·  Servings: 6  ·  Calories: 468

Ingredients:

• 160 g old-fashioned rolled oats
• 40 g raw whole almonds
• 20 g raw walnut halves
• 35 g raw whole cashews
• 40 g pumpkin seeds
• 35 g shelled sunflower seeds
• 2 Tbps sesame seeds
• 2 Tbps flaxseed
• 45 g unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 Tbps dehydrated coconut milk
• 25 g almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tbps vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Spray a baking sheet lightly with nonstick spray.
2. Combine the oats, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseed, coconut, coconut milk, almond flour, and spices in a medium bowl.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, maple syrup, applesauce, oil, vanilla, and salt and heat while stirring constantly, until the mixture is lukewarm. Add the warm liquids to the oat mixture and combine until everything is coated.
4. Spread on the baking sheet and toast for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and spread onto a sheet of parchment paper to cool. Let it cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.

I recently tried a variation of this recipe — substituting all the varieties of nuts and seeds for just almonds. I also used almond butter in lieu of the oil and almond extract instead of vanilla. It turned out great. (But like I said, I'm making Roxana's original recipe tomorrow).

I also tried one of the recipes in The New York Times for banana granola. This one tasted great, but it didn't go sufficiently crispy. It was more like eating a banana-flavored oatmeal cookie than eating granola. Kin did not complain.

If I make this again, I will probably cook it longer at a lower oven temperature to try to get a better crisp.

Banana Granola

This is based on the granola recipe from The New York Times Cooking.

Prep time: 15 minutes  ·  Cooking time: 60 minutes  ·  Servings: 5  ·  Calories: 325

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup/5 ounces mashed bananas (from about 1 large or 2 small ripe or overripe bananas)
• 1/4 cup cup/55 grams dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup/50 grams melted virgin coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups/200 grams old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup/30 grams walnut halves, roughly chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the oats and nuts in a medium bowl.
3. Add the mashed banana to a medium saucepan along with the brown sugar and coconut oil. Stir to combine. Cover and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the pot comes to a sputtering boil. (You’ll hear it popping.) Cook for another 60 to 90 seconds, swirling the pan often so the mixture doesn’t burn.
4. Remove the pan from the heat, allow the sputtering to subside, then stir in the lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Fold in the oats and walnuts until combined.
5. Spread the mixture out on the prepared sheet pan in an even layer. Using a spatula, press the oats down into a layer that is about 1/2-inch thick. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating halfway through, then remove the sheet pan from the oven and, using a butter knife, break the granola into large, 2- to 2 1/2-inch clusters on the baking sheet.
6. Spread the clusters evenly around the pan and bake again until the clusters are a deep golden brown, another 15 to 20 minutes, rotating and tossing halfway through so they don’t burn.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the granola to cool for at least 30 minutes on the counter to harden slightly. Once the granola has cooled, break it up with your hands into small or medium clusters, depending on preference. Allow to cool completely, at least one more hour.