Chai Granola

Would you like a cup of chai?  Not chai tea, though ... Chai granola!

We've been on quite a granola kick at our house lately.  (Cases in point ... Granola {Oven & Microwave Methods} and Honey-Vanilla Granola.)  Mark now eats a big bowl of my homemade granola every morning for breakfast, and another after dinner as his evening snack.  This means that making him a humongous batch every Sunday has become one of my newest hobbies.  Even with this extra large batch, he's usually out of granola by Friday!

He's got me developing new flavors, too.  Which is so much fun.  As you probably already know if you stop by The Kitchen is My Playground pretty often, I absolutely love to play around with new flavor combinations, tinkering with this and that in a recipe as I go.

Well, one of my new flavors ... and my totally-without-a-doubt-absolute-favorite so far ... is this Chai Granola.  I love, love, love me some chai.  And this creation does not disappoint.  The fabulous chai flavor combination of vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom definitely comes through.  (You'll have to stay tuned for Mark's favorite ... I'll be posting that one soon.)

I tinkered with the spices in this recipe several times before I was satisfied.  I like my chai pretty strong ... so tinker to your liking if the spice amounts aren't quite right for you.  I also considered several kinds of dried fruit for this.  And what did I choose as the best option for my favorite chai granola, you ask?  Well ... dates!  Chopped dates are an amazing compliment to the chai flavors, really making for a rich and flavorful breakfast (or snack) treat.

So go on, sit down with a cup of chai ... granola.  It's mmmm, mmmm good.

I invite you to follow The Kitchen is My Playground with Pinterest, Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Linky Followers, bloglovin', or Feedburner. Buttons are in the right sidebar. I'd love to have you back soon!

Chai Granola
Source:  A Tracey original

Ingredients
3 c. old-fashioned oats
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/3 c. unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 c. wheat germ
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 c. honey
1/3 c. canola oil (or coconut oil, or melted butter)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped dates


Directions
1.  In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ.  Stir in cinnamon, salt, cardamom, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and black pepper. 

2.  Place honey, oil, and vanilla in a small bowl; stir to combine. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; mix together until oats are evenly coated with the honey mixture.

3.   Spread granola mixture onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes.

4.  Remove from oven and stir in chopped dates. Let cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Enjoy!



This post is linked with Tuesday Talent Show hosted by Chef in Training, Totally Tasty Tuesdays hosted by Mandy's Recipe Box, Crazy Sweet Tuesday hosted by Crazy for Crust, Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday hosted by DJ's Sugar Shack, Inspiration Friday hosted by At the Picket Fence, Foodie Friday hosted by Rattlebridge Farm, Foodie Friday hosted by Simple Living with Diane Balch, Sweets for a Saturday hosted by Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Strut Your Stuff Saturday hosted by Six Sisters' Stuff, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Addicted to Recipes, Sundae Scoop hosted by I {heart} Naptime, Think Pink Sundays hosted by Flamingo Toes, On the Menu Monday hosted by Stone Gable, Sunday Showcase hosted by Under the Table and Dreaming, Mangia Mondays hosted by Shine Your Light.

Would you like a cup of chai?  Not chai tea, though ... Chai granola!

We've been on quite a granola kick at our house lately.  (Cases in point ... Granola {Oven & Microwave Methods} and Honey-Vanilla Granola.)  Mark now eats a big bowl of my homemade granola every morning for breakfast, and another after dinner as his evening snack.  This means that making him a humongous batch every Sunday has become one of my newest hobbies.  Even with this extra large batch, he's usually out of granola by Friday!

He's got me developing new flavors, too.  Which is so much fun.  As you probably already know if you stop by The Kitchen is My Playground pretty often, I absolutely love to play around with new flavor combinations, tinkering with this and that in a recipe as I go.

Well, one of my new flavors ... and my totally-without-a-doubt-absolute-favorite so far ... is this Chai Granola.  I love, love, love me some chai.  And this creation does not disappoint.  The fabulous chai flavor combination of vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom definitely comes through.  (You'll have to stay tuned for Mark's favorite ... I'll be posting that one soon.)

I tinkered with the spices in this recipe several times before I was satisfied.  I like my chai pretty strong ... so tinker to your liking if the spice amounts aren't quite right for you.  I also considered several kinds of dried fruit for this.  And what did I choose as the best option for my favorite chai granola, you ask?  Well ... dates!  Chopped dates are an amazing compliment to the chai flavors, really making for a rich and flavorful breakfast (or snack) treat.

So go on, sit down with a cup of chai ... granola.  It's mmmm, mmmm good.

I invite you to follow The Kitchen is My Playground with Pinterest, Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Linky Followers, bloglovin', or Feedburner. Buttons are in the right sidebar. I'd love to have you back soon!

Chai Granola
Source:  A Tracey original

Ingredients
3 c. old-fashioned oats
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/3 c. unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 c. wheat germ
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 c. honey
1/3 c. canola oil (or coconut oil, or melted butter)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped dates


Directions
1.  In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ.  Stir in cinnamon, salt, cardamom, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and black pepper. 

2.  Place honey, oil, and vanilla in a small bowl; stir to combine. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; mix together until oats are evenly coated with the honey mixture.

3.   Spread granola mixture onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes.

4.  Remove from oven and stir in chopped dates. Let cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Enjoy!



This post is linked with Tuesday Talent Show hosted by Chef in Training, Totally Tasty Tuesdays hosted by Mandy's Recipe Box, Crazy Sweet Tuesday hosted by Crazy for Crust, Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday hosted by DJ's Sugar Shack, Inspiration Friday hosted by At the Picket Fence, Foodie Friday hosted by Rattlebridge Farm, Foodie Friday hosted by Simple Living with Diane Balch, Sweets for a Saturday hosted by Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Strut Your Stuff Saturday hosted by Six Sisters' Stuff, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Addicted to Recipes, Sundae Scoop hosted by I {heart} Naptime, Think Pink Sundays hosted by Flamingo Toes, On the Menu Monday hosted by Stone Gable, Sunday Showcase hosted by Under the Table and Dreaming, Mangia Mondays hosted by Shine Your Light.