Granola Clusters

My youngest daughter has decided to give swim team a try this summer.  She is spending an hour every weeknight in her happy place, and our first meet is just around the corner.

Swimming burns a lot of calories and burning all of those calories requires lots of snacks, but not just any snacks.  You need something that will help you maintain energy but not melt in the heat on the pool deck.  Granola and trail mixes fit the bill quite nicely.

If you are a Costco fan like me, you may have tried their bakery-fresh granola clusters.  They are delicious, chewy clusters of grains, nuts and dried fruits.  They are not necessarily light on calories, but that’s beside the point.  They pack a nice wallop of flavor and can give you an energy boost with the nuts and fruits.  Unfortunately, it has become an elusive find.  I was once told by a Costco employee that the clusters are only made seasonally.  I have also seen on some other blogs some Costcos no longer make it at all.  

Thankfully, other enterprising food bloggers have already endeavored to recreate these delicious morsels at home, so I set to work trying out their recipes.  I made one batch fairly closely following the directions of www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com, and then made some changes to my liking.

Clusters are ideal for snacking, specifically poolside or beach snacking, because the ingredients are evenly dispersed into little bite-sized clumps.  This eliminates lots of crumbs from landing on your feet or your towel.

Jillee discovered that the key to getting the granola to stay in clusters is grinding some of the oats into a fine powder.  This allows the mix to bind together better.  This can be done easily with a food processor or a blender.  For my variation, I used my food processor and finely ground about 2 cups of oats.  

As with all good granolas and trail mixes, you can choose your own favorite fruits, nuts and seeds.  I used sliced almonds, salted cashews and Trader Joe’s Honey Sesame Cashews.  I also like the added health benefits of flax seeds, so I added those in, too.  

For dried fruits, I used a mixed dried berries blend from Aldi that includes blueberries, cranberries and cherries.  Then I added more dried cherries because I love that little added pop of tartness.  You could add raisins or any dried fruit, just be sure to chop up anything that is large, for even distribution.

You mix all your dry ingredients together in a nice big bowl and then make a yummy syrup of melted butter, brown sugar, honey and maple syrup. You drizzle that syrup over the dry ingredients and mix it all until everything is evenly coated.

After sticking to the original recipe, I decided to tweak the buttery syrup mixture. The first round seemed to lack a little something, so I added a touch more honey and vanilla. I also used vanilla paste instead of extract. I have become quite fond of vanilla paste, as it has a nice rich flavor. If you can’t find it with the vanilla extract in stores, try looking in the specialty baking section.

Making these yummy little clusters requires 2 rounds of baking and a bit of patience in between. Admittedly, I made this a tad harder on myself as I had to stop in the middle of the first go around so we could run to swim practice. Learn from me and carve out a nice calm morning to try this recipe the first time.

I learned that you need to press the mixture FIRMLY into your pan before baking. Shmoosh it down really well. This helps the mixture stick together while baking. I also learned that you should remove it from the oven when it just begins to turn brown. This will help prevent over-baking during the second round.

Before breaking the granola into pieces to bake again, you need to allow it to cool completely. I find placing the baking sheet on a cooling rack helps speed the process. Once it is cool, gently work your fingers under the mixture to break it apart.

Then you’re ready to bake again. This final baking should give the clusters a nice golden brown outside, but keep a soft center so you won’t break your teeth. If you find the clusters around the outer edges of the pan are nice and golden brown but the center is still too soft, break off the outer edges and set aside, then pop the pan back in for a couple of minutes.

Once completely cooled again, break the mixture again and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

It may seem like a lot of steps, but like many recipes, it will become easier and faster to prepare each time you make it. Feel free to personalize the clusters and add or subtract where ever you wish.

Happy munching and see you at the pool!

Recipe adapted from www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com.