Sweet and Salty Granola Recipe

Despite the dreary (read: terrible) weather, we had a phenomenal Blogger Bake Sale outside of Powell’s in the Pearl last weekend!

Fabiola of Not Just Baked was a superstar and organized us 10 bloggers, the space, donations and all the other details. We had a lot of really delicious treats for sale, great people and raised over $500 for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign!!

Share Our Strength, which was also the beneficiary for Taste of the Nation, is a great non-profit organization with a mission to end childhood hunger. Through their No Kid Hungry campaign, money goes to local organizations like the Oregon Food Bank and Partners for Hunger-Free Oregon, and other similar charities across the nation. These non-profits coordinate programs like free/reduced lunches, school breakfasts and summer food service to low-income children who would not have access to meals otherwise. I especially love that they also work to teach families how to shop for and prepare healthy meals on a budget.

The $500 we raised equates to 5,000 meals for hungry children! That is a big impact just from selling a few baked goods. I call that a win!

If you want to support this great cause, consider making a donation online!

And if you came out and supported us at the bake sale, THANK YOU!! There were so many generous people who gave more than the products were listed for or just donated money. You people are fantastic.

And if you weren’t able to make it to the bake sale… I’m sorry to say, you missed out! We had such an awesome showing of products for sale. There were scones, bread pudding, chocolate chunk cookies, cocoa-chile spiced hazelnuts, even dog treats, all in adorable packaging. I wouldn’t expect anything less from talented bloggers, but still it was impressive to see.

I made little bags of Sweet and Salty Granola and Peanut Butter Banana Bread served in cute mini loaf pans that I found at Fancy That, a really fabulous store in Orenco Station that I stumbled upon last week. Seriously, I want to throw a party just so I can buy everything in their store.

Here are the bloggers who also participated in the bake sale:

Fabiola of Not Just Baked – not only did she get everything set up for the bake sale, but she also made fabulous scones.

Renee of The Goodhearted Woman – she has the recipe of her fantastic Cranberry-White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Whiskey Sauce up on her blog, so go check that out too.

Marisa of Margaritas in the Rain – my favorite part of the day was watching this adorable little boy in a stroller request Marisa’s Hawaiian Chex Mix made with fish sauce and seaweed rice seasoning, and totally love it.

Jenni of A Well Crafted Party – Brice and I jointly ate about 4 of her perfect chocolate chunk cookies.

Rebekah of PDX Food Love – she made some beautiful lavender scones.

Lindsay of Rosemarried

Marlynn of Urban Bliss Life – I loved her lavender shortbread cookies.

Tiffany of Thyme of Taste – she made some seriously killer cinnamon rolls.

Sarah of Killer Pickles 

Jana of Merlot Mommy – one kid came by, saw her Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie Brownie, then sold a book at Powell’s just to purchase it.

Tana’s Treats which makes dog treats using all-natural, local ingredients.

Now onto the granola recipe! Granola is a lot easier than it seems (at least I used to be intimidated by the idea of making my own) and it tastes so much better when homemade rather than the commercial kind. I love this recipe because it is a touch salty but is balanced by the sweetness of the raisins and cranberries.

It is a great snack to eat right out of the bag (or just off the pan if you are Brice) or it is perfect with some high-quality plain yogurt, like Straus Family Creamery (which generously donated their product for our bake sale!).

Sweet and Salty Granola

Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Makes about 2 cups

Hands-on time: 10 minutes; Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or something fancy and delicious like Jacobsen Vanilla Salt)
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• ¼ Cup honey
• ¼ Cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cup whole almonds
• 1/4 Cup whole hazelnuts
• 1/4 Cup mixed raisins (I like the jumbo kind)
• 1/4 Cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the oil, honey, sugar and vanilla until smooth and combined.
4. Pour the honey mixture over the oats and combine with your hands or a rubber/silicone spatula.
5. Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps for texture. Make sure the oats are not too thinly layered so they don’t burn.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and use a spatula to flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return to the oven.
7. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove, flip again and add the hazelnuts. Return baking sheet to the oven.
8. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Add the raisins and cranberries.
9. Use your hands to break apart the granola into your desired clump sizes and transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy for up to 1 week.

Baker notes: Be sure to not overbake the granola. It will be done with it is golden brown and fragrant. Don’t be fooled by it still seeming soft when you take it out of the oven, the granola will harden as it cools.

Have fun with the granola. Add different nuts, dried fruit and other add-ins to suit your taste!

Keep extras (if you have any!) in an airtight container for up to 1 week.