"Southern Belle" Granola

Who doesn't love a great granola now and again? Whether you're grabbing a handful of it as you run out the door on a busy morning, sprinkling it on a crisp or crumble, layering it into a yoghurt parfait or baking it into cookies, the crunchy, munchy, chunky cereal is perfect for (what seems like) all life's culinary whims. The best thing about it to me, as a baker and cook, is that granola is essentially the "muffin" of the cereal world. By that, I refer to the fact that you can basically throw anything into a batch and wind up with something delicious. Essentially, you just need to keep the components in mind:

• Something dry
• Something grainy (can be the same as #1)
• Something wet
• Something sticky
• Low and slow oven

See how simple it can be? Throw together oats, honey, and peanut butter and BAM! Homemade peanut butter oatmeal. Anything else is window dressing... fruit, nuts, cocoa powder, protein powder... all these make a simple granola your own. It doesn't have to be oats, either - why not use cooked rice or quinoa (something grainy) with coconut flour (something dry)? Once it's all stuck together and essentially dehydrated, it's that perfectly munchable snack.

So, bearing all that in mind, I set about making the 14th granola posted on this blog. I had the "dregs" from a few jars in my fridge - one of  "Peach Cobbler" Dessert Topping and one of the Peach Peel Butter I posted on Flickr. In the freezer lurked handfuls of pecans and coconut, while my pantry was overflowing with various grains and cereals, not to mention a chunk of white chocolate left over from biscotti drizzling. All the components made me think of the Southern States and in particular Georgia, land of peaches, coconut cake and where my mom swears up and down you'll find the best pecan pie.

In short? Absolute decadence, in a totally "okay for breakfast" form. Oh, and it's gluten free too, so you could (maybe...) share with everyone!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays

 "Southern Belle" Granola
Makes ~5 cups, 20 (1/4 cup) servings
1 cup quick-cooking gluten free oats (not instant)
1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats
1/2 cup GoGo Quinoa 4 Grain Hot Cereal (you can use this one or just quinoa flakes if you can't find GoGo)
1/2 cup gluten free oat bran
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 tsp allspice
7 oz (weight) "Peach Cobbler" Dessert Topping
2/3 cup Peach Peel Butter
1 tbsp salted butter
2 tbsp chopped (high quality) white chocolate (I used Callebaut as it's GF)

1. Heat the oven to 300F (convection) or 325F (regular) and line a cookie sheet with parchment.
2. Combine the oats, buckwheat, hot cereal, bran, pecans, coconut and allspice in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl microwave or otherwise melt together the peach mixtures, butter and white chocolate.
4. Pour over the grain mixture and stir until everything is well coated.
5. Spread in an even layer on the baking sheet.
6. Bake for 1 hour, stirring after 40 minutes. Turn off the oven and cool for 2 hours inside.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 137.9
Total Fat: 7.3 g
Cholesterol: 1.7 mg
Sodium: 24.2 mg
Total Carbs: 15.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.5 g
Protein: 2.9 g