Breakfast
Apple, Almond & Maple Granola
A sweet, nutty, and fruity way to break your fast. The fresh apple dries out when baked and throws a bit of sharpness and chew into the mix. Orange zest brings a marmalade-like fragrance, and the spice adds warmth. Perfect served with yoghurt and fresh fruit for breakfast, as a snack during the day, or as a garnish to baked fruit and puddings. The cinnamon and nutmeg can be optional, as they aren’t to everyone’s taste. What can taste warm and comforting to some people can be overpowering and intrusive to others. If you’re unsure, add a little, taste the mix before cooking, and tweak to find your level.
Cook's notes
You can use this recipe as a template and mix up the nuts and dried fruit to whatever you have to hand as long as the ratios are roughly correct. The shelf life will be longer if you omit the fresh apple – in which case you can replace with and extra 50g of dried fruit, if you like.
Ingredients
- 120g whole almonds
- 1 orange
- 1 large apple
- 400g jumbo oats
- 100g maple syrup or honey
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 150g mixed dried fruit
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower, or coconut oil
Method
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Step 1
Preheat your oven to 160°C/Gas 3. If your baking trays aren’t very non-stick, it can help to line them with baking parchment.
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Step 2
Coarsely chop the almonds. Finely zest the orange.
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Step 3
Slice the apple flesh away from the core, then cut it into a small ½ cm dice. Add it to a mixing bowl along with the almonds, zest, oats, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, oil, and a small pinch of salt. Mix well, then spread it out evenly onto the baking trays.
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Step 4
Transfer to the oven to bake, turning the mixture occasionally, until golden and crunchy – it could anywhere between 20-30 mins depending on your oven. The top tray may cook slightly faster, so try swapping their positions halfway through.
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Step 5
Meanwhile, coarsely chop the dried fruit.
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Step 6
When ready, remove from the oven and stir the fruit evenly into the mix. Leave to cool on the trays; it’ll become crisper and crunchier as it cools. When completely cool, transfer to an air-tight container to store for up to a month.