This is the recipe for the Boyds’ very favorite granola in the whole wide world.
When Jon and I were first married, we were invited the next spring to join his parents for a week on Florida’s Captiva Island. I remember that beautiful week for so many reasons:
- my first reading of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s Gift from the Sea
- my first experience of properly sectioning a grapefruit
- the first time I saw dolphins in the wild
…and the first time I experienced how wonderful Betty Boyd’s homemade granola is for a vacation treat!
Years later, when I was pregnant with Rosie and feeling green with morning sickness, I asked Betty to make me a batch. It was one of the only things I enjoyed eating for a few weeks. I love this granola because it tastes great and makes wonderful, chunky clusters. This recipe is rich with Boyd history!
Since I’ve been lucky enough to be making this granola for over ten years, I’ve had time to experiment with a few additions and substitutions. You’ll find the traditional recipe below, but as with most granola recipes, this one is marvelously flexible. This morning, I decided to make two batches: a cinnamon, pecan, and raisin batch, and a cherry-almond version.
One particular word of caution: don’t double the recipe, as it needs plenty of space in the pan to turn and bake in the oven. Happy baking!
The best granola
Makes two quarts.
2½ cups old-fashioned oats (I’ve successfully used quick-oats, but not instant)
1 cup shredded coconut
½ cup wheat germ (crushed Fiber One cereal works nicely in a pinch)
1½ cups chopped nuts (pecans or salted almonds are my favorite)
1 teaspoon salt
(optional: 1 teaspoon cinnamon)
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup oil
1 cup raisins (or other dried fruit, or nothing)
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Combine dry ingredients (but not raisins) in a large bowl. Stir in condensed milk. Add oil and mix thoroughly. Spread in a large baking pan (we use a roasting pan, but you could probably use a 9×13 pan if you needed to). Bake for an hour or more, stirring every 15 minutes. Stir in the raisins while still warm. Cool completely, and try not to eat it all while it’s cooling (the warm raisins are addictive!). Store in an airtight container. Serve sprinkled on top of a virtuous cereal (like Fiber One) with skim milk on weekdays, or by the bowlful with 2% milk while on vacation.